The cells are the most amazing creation of nature. Most of us perceive objects from the big picture and we cannot see any of the cells but we know that they are a part of our body. Earlier, before I take Biology and study about cells, all I know is that I am made up of these insignificant “things” but my view of the world changed after I study what these (in)significant “things” are capable of. They exist inside millions of cells that are born from two cells. I cannot imagine how millions of functions are being automatically operated inside something so small that we cannot see. The complicated organelles or little organs that perform these functions are awesome; they corporate with one another for our survival. Moreover, we tend to overlook the microscopic world that surrounds us. The inside of the cells is like another chaotic world (busier than New York or Tokyo) but there is still an order controlling all the components. This is done by DNA and all the instructions for all the organelles come from the DNA. Therefore, DNA is like the president of the United Organelles of Cells that has done his job almost perfectly.
A very interesting fact that I got from reading this passage about cells from Bill Bryson’s book is that the DNA is being damaged every 8.4 seconds. DNA is the genetic materials within our body and it being attacked by rapid chemicals reactions within the cells themselves can become harmful. However, these injuries are healed quickly over and over again. I find this fact interesting because it proves to use that cells are not perfect since mistakes occur but they manage to fix those problems up very fast. My favorite quote from this passage about cells is a line spoken by de Durve “The molecular world must necessarily remain entirely beyond the powers of our imagination owing to the incredible speed with which things happen in it.”
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