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a phosolipid bilayer makes up the plasma membrane. The bilayer forms because the hydrophobic regions (water hating) cling together and face inwards while the hydrophillic regions (water loving) attract each other and face the outside, water touching area. Lipids are amphiphillic, meaning they have both water loving, and water hating regions within its structure, allowing them to conform into a bilayer structure

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Why cant an optical microscope be used to see a plasma membrane?

An optical microscope cannot be used to see a plasma membrane because the plasma membrane is composed of lipid bilayers that are too thin to be resolved by the limited resolution of an optical microscope. Additionally, the plasma membrane is transparent and lacks sufficient contrast for visualization using an optical microscope. Specialized techniques such as electron microscopy or fluorescence microscopy are better suited for imaging the plasma membrane.


What is refractive index of lipids?

The refractive index of lipids can vary depending on the specific lipid composition. In general, lipids have a refractive index range of approximately 1.42 to 1.47. This property can be utilized in various techniques such as microscopy to study lipid-containing structures.


What is the lipid that humans use to store energy?

The primary lipid that humans use to store energy is triglycerides. Triglycerides are made up of three fatty acids and one glycerol molecule, and they are predominantly stored in adipose tissue throughout the body for energy reserves.


What best describes the waxy-appearing material called myelin?

Myelin is a fatty substance that forms a protective sheath around nerve fibers, helping to increase the speed and efficiency of nerve signal transmission. It is produced by specialized cells called oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system and Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system. Its waxy appearance comes from its high lipid content.


What do cells use for energy storage and insulation?

Cells use lipid molecules for energy storage as well as insulation and structuring. These molecules are mostly known in the vernacular as fats although they do encompass more than just traditional fat molecules.

Related Questions

Why is the skin permeable to organic solvents?

Because they can dissolve the lipid bilayers of epidermal and dermal cell plasma membranes.


Is phospholipid one of the structured lipid found in cell membranes?

Yes,they are found in plasma membrane.They form the basic structure.


What is the structural model of the plasma membrane called?

The plasma membrane is the most thoroughly studied of all cell membranes, and it is largely through investigations of the plasma membrane that our current concepts of membrane structure have evolved. Theplasma membranes of mammalian red blood cells (erythrocytes) have been particularly useful as a model for studies of membrane structure. Mammalian red blood cells do not contain nuclei or internal membranes, so they represent a source from which pure plasma membranes can be easily isolated for biochemical analysis. Indeed, studies of the red blood cell plasma membrane provided the first evidence that biological membranes consist of lipid bilayers. In 1925, two Dutch scientists (E. Gorter and R. Grendel) extracted the membrane lipidsfrom a known number of red blood cells, corresponding to a known surface area of plasma membrane. They then determined the surface area occupied by a monolayer of the extracted lipid spread out at an air-water interface. The surface area of the lipid monolayer turned out to be twice that occupied by the erythrocyteplasma membranes, leading to the conclusion that the membranes consisted of lipid bilayers rather than monolayers


What is lipid rafts in plant membranes?

Lipid in membranes is phospholipid. It lays the foundation


What is found in some viruses and are external lipid membranes borrowed from the host cell.?

Lipid membrane called the Envelope


What structure in the membrane causes plasma membranes to resist freezing?

The presence of unsaturated fatty acids in lipid bilayers helps plasma membranes resist freezing by preventing the lipid molecules from packing tightly together. Unsaturated fatty acids create kinks in the lipid tails, increasing membrane fluidity and allowing the membrane to remain flexible at lower temperatures.


Which molecule has hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties and would be found in plasma membranes?

Phospholipids have hydrophilic ("water-loving") heads and hydrophobic ("water-fearing") tails, which allow them to form the lipid bilayer of plasma membranes. This dual nature of phospholipids helps create a barrier that is selective about what can enter or leave the cell.


Surrounding each Cell in your body is a what and a what?

That is a bi-lipid Cell plasma membrane coated with a glyco-callyx Cell coat. Plant Cell plasma membranes are coated with a cellulosic Cell wall.


What does a lipid build in your body?

Lipids (fats, waxes, and oils that are essential for bodily functions) help to store energy, make up cellular plasma membranes as well as the membranes of organelles, and allow your body to absorb vitamins.


What are proteins embedded in the plasma membrane called?

Proteins embedded in the plasma membrane are called integral membrane proteins. These proteins are permanently attached to the lipid bilayer and play important roles in various cellular functions such as cell signaling, transport, and cell recognition.


What has the author H Ti Tien written?

H. Ti Tien has written: 'Planar bilayer lipid membranes (Progress in surface science)' 'Bilayer lipid membranes (BLM)' -- subject(s): Bilayer lipid membranes


Does cells have plasma membranes?

I assume that by "Cell Membrane," you mean a lipid bi-layer that makes the cell membrane of micro-organisms. If that is what you mean, the iPhone does not have a cell membrane. There are not any lipid bi-layers anywhere in or around the iPhone.