Molecular Bioscience for Forensic Sciences - Cell Structure Part I

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on the lecture notes for Molecular Bioscience for Forensic Sciences, focusing on cell types, specific microorganisms, and forensic applications of cellular biology.

Eukaryotic cell

A type of cell characterized by having a nucleus and being composed of millions of molecules.

Nerve cells

Specialized cells that conduct electrical signals throughout the body and can receive signals from up to $100,000$ other cells.

Paramecium

A single giant protozoan cell that swims using cilia and is known to consume the pathogenic fungi $Cryptococcus\,neoformans$.

Chlamydomonas

A photosynthetic organism found globally in soil, water, and snow that swims using flagella.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A yeast cell used for baking bread that reproduces through a process called budding.

Helicobacter pylori

A bacterium that causes stomach ulcers and uses whip-like flagella made of flagellin protein to move through the stomach lining.

STEC

An acronym representing shiga toxin-producing $E.\,coli$.

iGAS

Invasive group A streptococcus, which resulted in $516$ deaths in the United Kingdom during the $2022–2023$ outbreak.

Epithelial cells

Cells that cover inner and outer body cavities and are the first type of cell to differentiate in an embryo during the eight-cell stage.

Mesothelium

The specific type of epithelial cells that line the body cavities.

Endothelium

The specific type of epithelial cells found in the cross-section of blood vessels.

Skin cell shedding

The forensic concept that an average person sheds approximately $400,000$ skin cells every day.

Fingerprints

Patterns produced by the undulations of ridges and furrows in a stratified layer of cells, composed of proteins, lipids, water, and inorganic ions.

Muscle cells

Cells responsible for the movement of the skeleton, heart, and various internal organs such as the stomach.

Connective tissue cells

Cells that create extracellular material to hold tissues together and may be specialized to resist external forces in structures like tendons and bones.