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The Inner Life of a Cell

Call me a nerd if you will (well, hell, I am getting my PhD in Biomedical Sciences and all), but this video is so goddamned pretty. Sometimes I feel like the general public would be more interested/involved in science if we just employed a lot more graphic designers/artists. Or, you know, were actually competent at communicating with other people.

Things I picked up on that were represented in the video:
1. Cells adhering to one another via cell-surface proteins.
2. So-called “lipid rafts” on the cell membrane.
3. Signaling molecules binding to transmembrane receptors on the cell surface.
4. The cytoskeleton of the cell.
5. Actin fibers polymerizing and depolymerizing.
6. Microtubules polymerizing and depolymerizing.
7. The transport of molecules/vesicles along microtubules via dynein/kinesin.
8. Export of mRNA from the cell nucleus.
9. Translation of proteins from mRNA.
10. Transport to the Golgi apparatus.
11. Secretion of proteins to the extracellular matrix.

I probably missed some stuff, but I definitely prove my nerd status by being able to pick up on all that in just a few views. Or maybe I’ve just sat through too many lectures/seminars/talks with much worse graphic representation.