Molecules and Compounds of a Cell Necessary for Life

Cells Name Institutional Affiliation Cells All living things share seven common characteristics, including movement, respiration, sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion, and nutrition. From the deepest ocean trenches to the Yellowstone geysers, the Earth supports conditions necessary for life. While the diversity of life is staggering, a variety of living organisms ranging from small bacteria that are invisible to the naked eyes to large and gigantic sequoia trees portray the common characteristics of life (Mader & Windelspecht, 2017). For life to be sustained, all living things have to reproduce. Plants and animals have reproductive systems that facilitate the continuity of life. Respiration is a process where living organisms break down organic compounds to produce energy. The common energy currency in all living things, including plants, animals, and unicellular organisms, is adenosine triphosphate or ATP. ATP is the molecule that sustains all processes taking place in a cell. Generally, all living organisms have shared characteristics that differentiate from non-living thing. While stones do not reproduce nor respire, maize (Zea mays), carry out these functions on a daily basis. This paper will discuss the critical molecules sustaining life, the basic anatomy and physiology of a cell, cell respiration, respiration, and photosynthesis, Mendel’s law and DNA structure and function, and finally conclude with DNA mistakes can result in cancer and possible mechanisms to regulate gene expression. Molecules and Compounds of a Cell Necessary for Life For life sustenance, living organisms require an outside source of energy and materials in maintaining their organization and carrying out life activities. While plants require carbon dioxide, water, and light energy to synthesize their own food, animals such as humans acquire energy and other materials by easting food, which is broken down to energy in the presence of oxygen. There are many molecules and compounds necessary in supporting life on Earth. These molecules and compounds range from organic to inorganic substances that are assimilated into the cell to support living processes such as locomotion, photosynthesis, and respiration. In photosynthesis, plants make their own food using light as a form of energy and carbon dioxide. In the process, they yield oxygen while producing sugars that are also necessary for sustaining animal life. On the other hand, animals oxidize these sugars in the cell through the help of mitochondria to produce ATP, a molecule that powers cell processes. Basic Anatomy and Physiology of a Cell Living things are organized in different level, with the cell being the basic unit of life. The cell comprises of atoms and molecules, and is the functional and structural unit of every living organism. The cells such as the plant cell and the nerve cell different in terms of physiology and anatomy. Cells have an outer membrane known as the cell or plasma membrane and contain a cell cytoplasm ad DNA (Starr & McMillan, 2016). Membranes are critical in enclosing the cells and their organelles and allowing exchange of materials inside and outside the cells. Cells of most complex organisms have compartments known as organelles that facilitate cell function...