protoplasm
Living cell contents
Protoplasm is the living material inside a cell—the jelly-like substance that comprises cytoplasm and nucleus together.
The term was central to 19th-century biology, when scientists debated what distinguished living matter from nonliving.
Modern biology has largely replaced it with more specific terms, but protoplasm survives in general writing to evoke the basic stuff of life: the primordial protoplasm from which all creatures evolved.
Existing from the start
- amoebaShape-shifting single-celled organism
- oozeSeep gradually out
- slimeThick wet gunk
- gelatinousViscous and semisolid
viscous · pseudopod · endoplasm · blob · mucilaginous · colloidal · jellylike · protist
Specialized cell subunits
- membraneThin tissue sheet
- nucleusCentral controlling part
- mitochondriaCell's energy-producing organelles
- ribosomesCellular translation machinery
endoplasmic reticulum · cytoskeleton · lysosomes · vacuoles · vesicles · chromatin · nucleolus · peroxisomes
Amino acid polymers
- enzymesReaction-speeding proteins
- amino acidsOrganic compounds forming proteins
- nucleic acidsBiopolymers carrying genetic code
- lipidsWater-insoluble biomolecules
carbohydrates · metabolism · biosynthesis · macromolecules · colloidal suspension · organic compounds · RNA · DNA
Animating principle of life
- life essenceAnimating force within beings
- animationTechnique creating movement illusion
- organismicOf whole living beings
- spontaneous generationLife arising from nonliving material
primordial
Existing from the start
gelatinous · viscous · pseudopod · endoplasm · blob · mucilaginous · colloidal · jellylike · protist · unicellular
organelles
Specialized cell subunits
- membraneThin tissue sheet
- nucleusCentral controlling part
- mitochondriaCell's energy-producing organelles
ribosomes · endoplasmic reticulum · cytoskeleton · lysosomes · vacuoles · vesicles · chromatin · nucleolus · peroxisomes · cytosol
proteins
Amino acid polymers
- enzymesReaction-speeding proteins
- amino acidsOrganic compounds forming proteins
- nucleic acidsBiopolymers carrying genetic code
lipids · carbohydrates · metabolism · biosynthesis · macromolecules · colloidal suspension · organic compounds · RNA · DNA · homeostasis
vital force
Animating principle of life
- life essenceAnimating force within beings
- animationTechnique creating movement illusion
- organismicOf whole living beings
- biologycells, DNA, cell, biology, gene
- cellscells, blood cell, cell theory, nerve cell, red blood cell
- Biology HistoryDarwin, Mendel, evolution, natural selection, cell theory
- cell biologycell membrane, cell division, ribosome, mitochondria, nucleus
- Old Sciencephlogiston, aether, ether, caloric, miasma
- cytologycytology, Pap test, cell division, chromosome, cervical smear
plasma, cytoplasm, proto, ectoplasm, bioplastic, neuroplasticity