Читать книгу Astrobiology - Charles S. Cockell - Страница 103

Despite the diversity of cell shapes and types, all cells have three basic components that are essential for an organism to function. These basic components might be considered to be universal. They are: (i) a membrane to hold the cell contents in, (ii) an information storage system to direct molecular synthesis and ultimately reproduction of the cell itself, and (iii) a system for gathering energy from the outside environment to drive chemical reactions, growth, reproduction, and so on. In this chapter, we look at the structure of cells, focusing on the membranes that enclose cells and the information storage system. The ability to gain energy from the external environment dramatically influences whether environments are habitable. There are a very wide diversity of ways to gather energy. For this reason, we spend the whole of the next chapter focusing on how life gets energy to maintain itself, grow, and reproduce.