Living things are based on a universal genetic code The nucleus (chromatin) contains DNA. Living things grow and develop The nucleus (chromosomes), cytoplasm and cytoskeleton (microtubules and centrioles) allow cell division. Living things respond to their environment The nucleus (DNA & RNA) as well as ribosomes make production of proteins possible. Proteins control everything that happens inside the cell and help it adapt to changes in environment. Some proteins attach directly to the cytoskeleton, enabling cells to respond to their environment by using their membranes to help move or change shape. Living things reproduce The nucleus (chromosomes), cytoplasm and the cytoskeleton (microtubules and centrioles) make cell division possible. Cells reproduce by mitosis - asexually. …show more content…
Contractile vacuoles pump excess water out of the cell. Lysosomes break down lipids, carbohydrates, proteins and nonfunctional organelles - they remove unuseful remains of numerous reactions inside the cell that might otherwise accumulate and clutter up the cell. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum contains enzymes that synthesize membrane lipids and detoxify drugs. Living things obtain and use material and energy Vesicles and vacuoles help cell obtain material in processes of phagocytosis and pinocytosis. Chlorophyll inside the chloroplasts captures the energy from sunlight, and stores it in the energy storage molecules ATP and NADPH while freeing oxygen from water. Almost all eukaryotic cells contain mitochondria, whose main function is to convert the chemical energy stored in food into compounds that are more convenient for the cell to use. Since water, salts, proteins and carbohydrates are essential to every plant cell, vacuoles are very important due to their function of storing those materials. Taken as a group, living things