Cell Size and Scale



This is a fun little learning tool, provided by The University of Utah.  Use the slider bar to zoom smaller and smaller in scale, from 12 millimeters (coffee bean) to 140 picameters (carbon atom), and track progress with the graph in the upper left.  And if something looks fishy about that sperm cell...

How can an X chromosome be nearly as big as the head of the sperm cell?

No, this isn’t a mistake. First, there’s less DNA in a sperm cell than there is in a non-reproductive cell such as a skin cell. Second, the DNA in a sperm cell is super-condensed and compacted into a highly dense form. Third, the head of a sperm cell is almost all nucleus. Most of the cytoplasm has been squeezed out in order to make the sperm an efficient torpedo-like swimming machine.


Link via Twisted Sifter


Comments (6)

Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

No, I didn't miss the point. The reason the update is funny is because there are so many modern actual baseball players with names funny enough to work in a classic comedy routine.

The old one is funny. It's classic, it's genius.

The new one is funny because of the reality incorporated into it.
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Miss C: You missed his point entirely! All your points are common sense ones but don't answer his question. What Houndogg asked was why does a classic comedy routine like Who's on First need updating? It is a timeless example of comedy. That's why it is a classic. It most certainly does not need updating. It stands on it's own merits. It is one of the all time funniest routines ever. I suppose next you will want to update the Mona Lisa painting.

(P Hu)

(BTW it can't legally be updated any way since it
was copywrited in 1944 but that's beside the point.)
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Because it's funny to see real players in it? Why does anyone write entertaining things? Maybe he wants to give people a chuckle. Maybe because someone is paying him to write entertaining things. You could ask him.
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