Thursday, 6 June 2024

New Video Posted: Vesicle Trafficking: How vesicles are formed for trafficking between membranes

Vesicles are crucial for transporting molecules, and they are formed in one of three ways:

  1. Clathrin-coated vesicles - Traffic from the Golgi to the endosomes and from the plasma membrane to the endosomes.
  2. COPI-coated vesicles - Move from the Golgi to the endoplasmic reticulum, within the Golgi stack, and from the Golgi to the plasma membrane.
  3. COPII-coated vesicles - Travel from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi.

In this video, I look at how vesicles are formed and targeted within a cell. 

In the video, I explore some common themes and look at the formation of the coat (clathrin, COPI, or COPII) and the pinching off of the vesicle from the membrane. 

If you would like to say thanks for the fact sheet, then please feel free to buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drnickm

Blog Bonus: Free information sheet summarising the video and defining the key terms - download.
 

Additional Reading

The video was produced with help from the following resources:

Wednesday, 5 June 2024

New Video Posted: Organelles and Membranes - how much membrane is in a cell?

This is an interesting question: "How much membrane is in a cell?".

In this video, I use a football and some sheets of material to explore how much membrane we have in a cell and which organelles have the most membrane.

This was a fun video to make, and I got some very odd looks from passing dog walkers.

If you would like to say thanks for the fact sheet, then please feel free to buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drnickm

Blog Bonus: Free information sheet summarising the video and defining the key terms - download.
 

Additional Reading

The video was produced with help from the following resources:

Tuesday, 4 June 2024

New Video Posted: Organelles - Understanding Vesicular Transport

Cells have organelles, and they need to transport the correct molecules to those organelles — if they don't, the cell will not function correctly and will die. 

The cell has three ways of moving molecules around:

  1. Vesicular transport
  2. Gated transport
  3. Transmembrane transport
This video also looks at vesicular transport, which uses small membrane-bound sacs to move proteins, lipids, and other molecules throughout the cell.

The video introduces the concepts of Endocytosis and Exocytosis - including Phagocytosis, Pinocytosis and Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis, along with Constitutive and Regulated Pathways.

If you would like to say thanks for the fact sheet, then please feel free to buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drnickm

Blog Bonus: Free information sheet summarising the video and defining the key terms - download.
 

Additional Reading

The video was produced with help from the following resources:

Monday, 3 June 2024

New Video Posted: An introduction to cell organelles - why do cells have organelles?

In this video, I look at why cells have organelles - my answer might surprise you.

I also examine the different organelles, discuss how proteins are targeted to these organelles, and describe the mechanisms used to get proteins across membranes. 

If you would like to say thanks for the fact sheet, then please feel free to buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drnickm

Blog Bonus: Free information sheet summarising the video and defining the key terms - download.
 

Additional Reading

The video was produced with help from the following resources:

Friday, 31 May 2024

New Video Posted: Understanding Microscopy: Debunking Misconceptions in Cellular Biology

This was a fun video to make!

In this video, I use bagels to explain how some common misconceptions about the function and shape of organelles came about. I also explore, using images of horses, how we have not fully appreciated the dynamic structure of the cell and vesicle trafficking.

If you would like to say thanks for the fact sheet, then please feel free to buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drnickm

Blog Bonus: Free information sheet summarising the video and defining the key terms - download.
 

Additional Reading

The video was produced with help from the following resources:

Thursday, 30 May 2024

New Video Posted: Understanding Intermediate Filaments: Structure, Function, and Dynamics

In this video, I continue to look at the cytoskeleton by examining the structure and function of the Intermediate Filaments.

Intermediate filaments are made of various proteins (lamins, vimentin, desmin, keratin, and neurofilaments), and their composition can change depending on the cell's state. The filaments provide mechanical strength, line the nuclear membrane, and can form higher-order structures with or without accessory proteins.

If you would like to say thanks for the fact sheet, then please feel free to buy me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drnickm

Blog Bonus: Free information sheet summarising the video and defining the key terms - download.
 

Additional Reading

The video was produced with help from the following resources:

Friday, 24 May 2024

Science Book Catalogue

I have a growing collection of science eBooks available on the Google Play Bookstore.

Book Title and Contents
Maths and Chemistry Refresher for Life and Biomedical Scientists
Go to Download

Maths and Chemistry Refresher for Life and Biomedical Scientists

The book is a refresher for life, biomedical sciences and chemistry students who may be a little unsure of some of the key maths and chemistry skills they need and covers: Elements, atoms, ions, molecules, and compounds; Atomic weight, isotopes and molecular weight; Amounts, volumes, and concentrations; The SI units and the SI unit prefixes (m, ยต, n, p etc.); Scientific Notation; Dealing with unit prefixes (m, ยต, n, p etc.) in calculations; Order of operations (BODMAS and PEMDAS) in maths; How to get the best out of your calculator; Maths 'tricks' — Logs; and, graphs

Coming soon....

The big bumper book of Biomedical Sciences Terms and Definitions.

The book will contain the definitions of over 2,000 terms used in the biomedical and life sciences, along with commonly used abbreviations, molecular structures and links through to over 40 relevant videos that place the terms in context.