EurekAlert!: Extracellular cell matrix stiffness induces drug resistance of breast cancer cells
A new study, led by Prof. Liu from the department of pharmacy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, discovered that the extracellular cell matrix (ECM) could induce the drug ...
The mechanical properties of tissue matrix are crucial for maintaining cell health and function. With aging, tissue matrix loses its mechanical integrity and exhibits altered biophysical properties, ...
Cell publishes findings of unusual significance in any area of experimental biology, including but not limited to cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, virology and microbiology, cancer, human genetics, systems biology, signaling, and disease mechanisms and therapeutics.
A cell is a mass of cytoplasm that is bound externally by a cell membrane. Usually microscopic in size, cells are the smallest structural units of living matter and compose all living things. Most cells have one or more nuclei and other organelles that carry out a variety of tasks.
Cell theory, developed in 1839 by Matthias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, states that all organisms are composed of one or more cells, that cells are the fundamental unit of structure and function in all organisms, and that all cells come from pre-existing cells. Organisms are broadly grouped into eukaryotes and prokaryotes.
Cells consist of a variety of internal and external structures that perform specialized functions necessary for survival and reproduction. These components vary depending on whether the cell is prokaryotic or eukaryotic, and whether it belongs to a plant, animal, fungus, or protist.
All cells can be sorted into one of two groups: eukaryotes and prokaryotes. A eukaryote has a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles, while a prokaryote does not. Plants and animals are made of numerous eukaryotic cells, while many microbes, such as bacteria, consist of single cells.