The Cell is like a Biotech Company

Nucleus CEO

• The Boss of the Cell
• Stores DNA, the genetic instructions for everything in our body

• The CEO is the boss of a company

Cell Membrane Security

• Entrance and Exit for the cell.
• Selectively lets things in (food) and out (waste) of the cell

• In a company, there are many people who monitor and direct the traffic for the company

Cytoskeleton Walls and Cell Wall Support Beams

• The cytoskeleton and cell wall (only found in plant cells) provide structural support and shape for the cell.

• You can think of a cytoskeleton as the wood and metal beams of a building, and the cell walls as the walls of a building.

Cytoplasm Factory Floor

• The cytoplasm is a jelly-like fluid made mostly of water and takes up most of the cells volume

• The floor of the company is like the cytoplasm because it covers almost all of the building and it is where most of the working is done

Endoplasmic

Reticulum (E.R) Workstation

• The E.R is an organelle with many folds in its structure.
• The rough ER serves as the site of protein production and has many ribosomes in it

• In a biotech company like Affymetrix, the main workstation for creating important products are in the cubicles and in the lab

Ribosomes Assembly Line

Workers

• The ribosome in the main "worker" of the cell, making protein

• At a biotech company, the main "workers" are scientist and engineers

Golgi Apparatus Quality Control

• The job of the Golgi Apparatus is to make final inspections on a protein and get it ready to ship out for use

• People who do inspections and make sure a company's products are good to go work in the quality control department

Lysosome Maintenance Staff

• Lysosomes contain digestive enzymes to clean up the cell and get rid of waste

• In every company and school, there is always an important maintenance crew that makes sure everything is clean and tidy

Vacuole Storage

• The vacuole is the storage area for the cell

• In a biotech company, there are different types of storage areas depending on what you are storing (supply closet, fridge, flammable cabinet)

Mitochondria Powerplant

• Mitochondria powers the cell by breaking down and getting energy from food molecules

• The power plant at Affymetrix generates enough electric power for all the equipment and machines to work.
• The food in the cafeteria provides food for the employees.

Chloroplast Solar Panels

• Chloroplast are found only in plant cells and capture sunlight to produce energy via photosynthesis.

• Affymetrix is in the process of going "green", and soon they'll be putting up solar panels on the buildings to harvest energy from the sun.