What's your favourite Cell?

Tree

It's been a while since a "what's your fav" thread. So to start the ball rolling, what's your favourite cell type?


I may be biased (my undergrad major was in haematology) but I'm going to say haemopoetic stem cell.

These guys are the shizz. They can develop into any of the cells that make up blood (red cells, the megakaryocytes that produce platelets, and the plethora of white blood cells).
These are the guys that get wiped out and replaced during bone marrow therapy for leukaemia.
They're only found in the bone marrow, in these niches that provide them with the right signals so they do what they should (if you find them in the blood, that a Very Bad Thing (well, unless you're inducing them to collect them (that's an alternative to taking bone marrow from the hip for transplant, but it's also a painful set up))).

So anyway, what cells do you love?

Jessibelle

I love the 'Typical Plant Cell', you know the one that turns up in every biology text book, has a wall, vacuoles, mitochondria and all them lovely things? Now it's not for any great scientific reason I love them but they are what got me hooked on science and were the first cell I learned about when I was young. Even now I have a bit of a fondness for them when I see them in text books
Course if I had to do hard core micro, it'd be dendritic cells. Though that might be because they remind me of spiky pac men...nom nom nom

ThatDrGuy

I like the one in Hardcourt St Garda station. Toilet is clean, it has old school bars and the graffiti is par excellence. Great place to spend the night

drzhivago

ThatDrGuy wrote: »

I like the one in Hardcourt St Garda station. Toilet is clean, it has old school bars and the graffiti is par excellence. Great place to spend the night

Alcatraz

A scary place can only imagine what it was like in its hey day

mardybumbum

My god, that is a tough one. I'm a big fan of the auld neurons myself.

locum-motion

Whatever type of sensory neurone is responsible for triggering orgasm, that's my favourite!

PhysiologyRocks

I like the osteocyte quite a bit. But I also like the osteoblast. Not sure about the osteoclasts, though.

Tree

But osteoblasts and osteoclasts are like the ultimate DIY duo!

PhysiologyRocks

Tree wrote: »

But osteoblasts and osteoclasts are like the ultimate DIY duo!

To an extent, I agree. If I'm honest, it's probably my own issue and I shouldn't take it out on the poor osteoclasts...

Jimoslimos

Not sure if they're my favourite, but I tend to dote on my lipocytes a little too much:(

DeadlyTwig

Neutrophils........

Nom Nom Nom Nom!

mardybumbum

mardybumbum wrote: »

My god, that is a tough one. I'm a big fan of the auld neurons myself.

I think I agree. Although I hated having to get my head around the very basic neuroscience I had to do in college, they are pretty cool.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Neuron-SEM.png

Dr Galen

Jessibelle wrote: »

I love the 'Typical Plant Cell', you know the one that turns up in every biology text book, has a wall, vacuoles, mitochondria and all them lovely things? Now it's not for any great scientific reason I love them but they are what got me hooked on science and were the first cell I learned about when I was young. Even now I have a bit of a fondness for them when I see them in text books
Course if I had to do hard core micro, it'd be dendritic cells. Though that might be because they remind me of spiky pac men...nom nom nom

When I saw the thread title that exactly what I was thinking. While I have a family medical thing going on ( 3rd generation nurse in a family if doctors and dentists) that simple ass diagram in first year biology got me proper interested in science as a whole. Very nearly ended up as a biology student back in the day instead of this too.

DrIndy

I'm reading "blood music" by greg bear - so that is my favourite cell!

Amantine

I find rbc very soothing and beautiful to look at, red is also my favourite colour so maybe I'm biased. They look like comfy pillows and the lack of nucleus means they can be shared.

Sid_Justice

Beta cell that release insulin.