To function properly, our bodies depend on tons of chemical messages to fire every second of our lives, but how exactly does our body know how to do this? In this episode, Patrick will help break down communication on a cellular level.
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There are trillions of conversations happening between cells or within cells at all times.

Today, we’re going to learn what exactly a cellular message is, and how cells get messages from point A to point B via the language of chemicals. The message cells send out is a chemical called a ligand and these ligands come in all shapes and sizes. A ligand is simply a molecule that binds to a receptor and a receptor is exactly what it sounds like. Ligands and receptors can be on the outside of the cell or within a cell, and as you can imagine, there’s a time and place to use different ligands and receptors.

Once a ligand binds to a receptor, the chemical message gets interpreted and any number of biological reactions can happen—cellular processes can start or speed up or slow down, often leading to a complex chain of events that makes up many of the important processes in our biology. But in this episode of Human, we’re focusing on how exactly messages are spoken and heard between cells and not necessarily what the cells do with that information.

A ton of functions around the body depend on cell communication to happen in a timely manner and in this Human Patrick takes a deep dive into the complexities of the mode of cell communication and why it is such a crucial part of the human body.

#humanbody #cell #health #humanseries #seeker #science #physiology

Read More:
There are 37.2 Trillion Cells in Your Body
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-...
“You know that your body is made of cells - but just how many? Turns out that question isn’t all that easy to answer.”

A Summary of Cell Communication
https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/mhc...
“Receptors are protein molecules inside the target cell or on its surface that receive a chemical signal. Chemical signals are released by signaling cells in the form of small, usually volatile or soluble molecules called ligands.”

Discovery that 'size matters' in cell-to-cell communication could unlock new methods for disease diagnosis and treatment
https://phys.org/news/2017-03-discove...
“Size really does matter when it comes to the mechanisms that cells use to communicate with each other, according to pioneering new nanobiotechnology research which has important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of disease.”

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This Seeker health miniseries will dive deep into the cellular structures, human systems, and overall anatomy that work together to keep our bodies going. Using the visual structure and quick pacing of Seeker’s Sick series, these human bio-focused episodes will give a new audience an inside look on what’s happening inside all of us.

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