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Cell Organelles

Title text: It's believed that Golgi was originally an independent organism who was eventually absorbed into our cells, where he began work on his Apparatus.

Explanation

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a GOLGI ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.

This comic depicts a biological cell diagram with a mix of real and fictional organelles, blending accurate cell biology terms with misplaced or absurd labels. While it includes actual cell components like the nucleus, mitochondria, and Golgi apparatus, it also includes unrelated concepts from various fields such as geology, engineering, software, and pop culture. Labels like "evil endoplasmic reticulum" and "sticky endoplasmic reticulum" make fun of scientific terms. The comic plays on the complexity and diversity of cell structures by mixing in unrelated and humorous terms, highlighting the often confusing and intricate nature of scientific diagrams with clever wordplay and cross-disciplinary jokes.

The title text adds a humorous fictional backstory to the Golgi apparatus, an essential cell organelle involved in processing and packaging proteins. It playfully suggests that Camillo Golgi, the scientist who discovered the Golgi apparatus, was originally an independent organism. This organism was supposedly absorbed into our cells, where it then started working on what is now known as the Golgi apparatus. The joke is a satirical take on endosymbiotic theory, which posits that certain organelles within eukaryotic cells, like mitochondria and chloroplasts, originated from independent symbiotic prokaryotic organisms that were absorbed by a host germ cell. Golgi appears to be depicted in the comic as a tiny alien being.

Label	Meaning	Real?	Cell organelle?	Explanation
Carbonation	Carbon dioxide dissolved in a liquid.	Yes	No	Carbonation causes soda pop and similar liquids to bubble, fizz, foam, and effervesce.
Cellophane	A thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose.	Yes	No	A type of packaging material. Cellulose is only found in plant cells, while the cell shown appears to be an animal cell because it lacks a cell wall.
Chloroplasts if you're lucky	Organelles in plant cells responsible for photosynthesis.	Yes	Yes	Actual cell organelles, only found in plant cells. The phrase "if you're lucky" could suggest that they might be less dangerous than other misplaced plant organelles, or that the animal cell is lucky to be able to photosynthesize.
Drain plug	A stopper for a drain.	Yes	Conceivably	A plumbing term, which could refer to a porosome. Even small, temporary damage to the integrity of the cell membrane puts the cell at immediate and great risk of death.
Evil endoplasmic reticulum	Not a real term.	No	No	A humorous twist on the different types of actual endoplasmic reticula, implying a malevolent version.
Golgi	Camillo Golgi (1843–1926) was an Italian biologist and pathologist who discovered the Golgi apparatus; known also for his works on the central nervous system.	Yes	No	The real Golgi was not and is not a tiny alien being who merged with our cells, as the comic and title text imply.[citation needed]
Golgi apparatus	A complex of vesicles and folded membranes involved in secretion and intracellular transport.	Yes	Yes	Actual cell organelle, which takes polypeptide chains from the rough endoplasmic reticulum (carried via transport vesicle) and processes them into their ultimate protein structure before sending them (via vesicles) to their destination (such as an organelle or outside of the cell).
Human skin	The outer covering of the human body.	Yes	No	Skin cells aren't normally inside other cells.[citation needed]
Hypoallergenic filling	Materials that cause relatively fewer allergic reactions.	Yes	No	Consumer product term.
Lithosphere	The rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.	Yes	No	Term from geology; part of the Earth's crust.
Mantle	The layer of the earth between the crust and the core.	Yes	No	Misplaced geological term with many other meanings.
Midichlorians	Fictional microorganisms in the Star Wars universe, which confer Force sensitivity and thereby Jedi associated powers.	No	Fictional	It's unclear whether George Lucas intended for "midi-chlorians" to be endosymbiotic organelles or internal symbionts.
Mitochondria	Organelles that generate energy for the cell.	Yes	Yes	Actual cell organelles, widely known as the "powerhouse of the cell."
Natural flavor	Flavoring derived from natural sources.	Yes	Conceivably	A common ingredient on labels, usually meaning any substance to add flavor, aroma, or both, other than synthetic chemicals which are referred to as artificial flavors.
Norton AntiVirus	A software product designed to protect computers from malware.	Yes	No	Computer viruses and biological viruses are completely different, and systems designed to counter one generally don't work for the other. Many cell types do have antiviral mechanisms, notably the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) DNA sequences in prokaryotes, which resist viral (bacteriophage) infection. However, the cell shown is not prokaryotic, since it contains a nucleus.
Nucleolus	A small dense spherical structure in the nucleus of a cell during interphase.	Yes	Yes	Actual cell organelle, involved in ribosome production.
Nucleoloulous	Not a real term.	No	No	A humorous continuation of the terms "nucleus" and "nucleolus."
Nucleus	The central and most important part of an object, forming the basis for its activity and growth.	Yes	Yes	Actual cell organelle which houses genetic material.
Nucleons	Protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.	Yes	No	The depicted circles are far too big to be actual nucleons.
O-ring	A mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; used to seal connections.	Yes	No	Engineering term.
Pith	The central tissue in plants, used for nutrient transport.	Yes	No	Botanical term.
Pleiades	A cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus.	Yes	No	Even a single star is far too big to fit in a cell.[citation needed]
Rough endoplasmic reticulum	Endoplasmic reticulum with ribosomes attached, involved in protein synthesis.	Yes	Yes	Actual cell organelle. "Rough" refers to the presence of ribosomes covering its membrane, which translate messenger RNA into polypeptide chains. Normally the endoplasmic reticulum would wrap around the cell nucleus.
Seeds	Plant embryos used for reproduction.	Yes	No	Seeds are multicellular, and sometimes contain small proportions of non-cellular tissue.
Slime	A moist, soft, and slippery substance.	Yes	Conceivably	Could refer to the texture and appearance of cytoplasm, but not specific to cells.
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum	A network of tubular membranes within the cytoplasm of the cell, involved in the transport of materials.	Yes	Yes	A standard term for the smooth (i.e., not ribosome-covered) portion of the endoplasmic reticulum.
Sticky endoplasmic reticulum	Not a real term.	No	No	Another humorous twist on the actual types of endoplasmic reticula.
Ventricle	A chamber of the heart that pumps blood out.	Yes	No	Ventricles are actually part of the body, and they are composed of many cells. Possibly a pun on vesicle (or vacuole), a small membrane-enclosed vessel, such as the transport vesicles that carry polypeptides from the rough endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus for processing.
Vitreous humour	The clear gel that fills the space between the lens and the retina in the eyeball.	Yes	No	The vitreous humor is in eyes, not cells.
Weak spot	A vulnerable point.	Yes	Conceivably	Cell membrane surfaces do indeed vary in strength, often due to the presence of organelles such as ion channel pores or porosomes, both of which can be leveraged by viruses to enter cells.

Transcript

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Cell Organelles

[A cell is shown with the following structures and areas labeled, counter-clockwise from upper left then down the middle (with the last five labels being inside the cell):]

• Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
• Lithosphere
• O-Ring
• Pith
• Nucleus
• Nucleolus
• Nucleoloulous
• Nucleons
• Drain plug
• Evil endoplasmic reticulum
• Hypoallergenic filling
• Weak spot
• Mitochondria
• Midichlorians
• Chloroplasts if you're lucky
• Human skin
• Carbonation
• Golgi
• Golgi apparatus
• Norton AntiVirus
• Sticky endoplasmic reticulum
• Pleiades
• Natural flavor
• Cellophane
• Rough endoplasmic reticulum
• Ventricle
• Mantle
• Slime
• Vitreous humour
• Seeds

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