Organelles and Disorders

Doctors Log: 1/24/08

Jimmy was first brought in when he was about 2 years old. I first noticed that his body seemed to have been aging rapidly, for only being 2 years old. The child was already losing hair and the head was disproportionately large for the face. Upon closer inspection I noticed they had a high pitch voice, stiff joints, some hearing loss, hip dislocation, and a resistance to insulin. All of these symptoms led me to believe that whatever had occurred, was an issue with an organelle that was found in nearly all of the cells, and was disallowing for the functions of other cells to occur.

• Cytoplasm

• Mitochondria

• Cell Membrane

• Nucleus

• Ribosomes

On the left is an organelle from a healthy person. The organelle on the right is the same organelle, but from Jimmy. It was easy to tell which cell to find this in, all we had to do was avoid any of the prokaryotic cells that were in Jimmy's body.

• Cytoplasm

• Mitochondria

• Cell Membrane

• Nucleus

• Ribosomes

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-1

NGSS.MS-LS1-2

This organelle is responsible for directing other actives in the cell. It controls and regulates functions such as protein synthesis and cell division.

• Cytoplasm

• Mitochondria

• Cell Membrane

• Nucleus

• Ribosomes

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-2

Progeria (pro-JEER-e-uh), also known as Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome, is an extremely rare, progressive genetic disorder that causes children to age rapidly, starting in their first two years of life. Jimmy was first brought in when he was about 2 years old. I first noticed that his body seemed to have been aging rapidly, for only being 2 years old. The child was already losing hair and the head was disproportionately large for the face. Upon closer inspection I noticed they had a high pitch voice, stiff joints, some hearing loss, hip dislocation, and a resistance to insulin (High amount of symptoms that affect multiple cells in multiple organs, so this must be an organelle that is found in multiple cell types). All of these symptoms led me to believe that whatever had occurred, was an issue with an organelle that was found in nearly all of the cells, and was disallowing for the functions of other cells to occur. (The nucleus allows for functions of other organelles to occur, so seeing that the other organelles and cells aren’t functioning properly points more to an organelle that is “controlling”)

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS1-1

NGSS.HS-LS3-2

Doctor's Log: 9/18/19

Mrs. June came to visit my office around the beginning of winter. She told me that she was experiencing loss of smell and had also started to drool periodically throughout the day. She also reported some stiffness that she was beginning to develop in her joints. She also said that some days she would have a mask-like facial expression. I did a quick test with her to see if my pre-diagnosis was correct. I let her hands relax in mine to check for tremoring. Sure enough, her hands started to shake even while they were relaxed in mine. She also told me that she had been needing to take in more sugar lately, as it seems her body had been using it more often than usual.

• Cytoplasm

• Mitochondria

• Golgi body

• Lysosome

• Endoplasmic Reticulum

The following is a diagram of a nerve cell with the organelle at fault, which has led to Mrs. June's disorder.

• Cytoplasm

• Mitochondria

• Golgi body

• Lysosome

• Endoplasmic Reticulum

This organelle is responsible for creating energy from the breaking down of glucose. It provides cells with a usable kind of energy, ATP.

• Cytoplasm

• Mitochondria

• Golgi body

• Lysosome

• Endoplasmic Reticulum

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS1-7

Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder that affects the nervous system and the parts of the body controlled by the nerves. Mrs. June came to visit my office around the beginning of winter. She told me that she was experiencing loss of smell and had also started to drool periodically throughout the day. She also reported some stiffness that she was beginning to develop in her joints (This is our first sign of an issue with muscle cells, which are higher in mitochondria). She also said that some days she would have a mask-like facial expression. I did a quick test with her to see if my pre-diagnosis was correct. I let her hands relax in mine to check for tremoring. Sure enough, her hands started to shake even while they were relaxed in mine (This shows the high activity of mitochondria). She also told me that she had been needing to take in more sugar lately, as it seems her body had been using it more often than usual. (The mitochondria uses sugar to produce energy, so the fact that she needed more sugar meant that her body was in high demand)

Doctor's Log: 11/23/14

Henry came in to my office and his mom informed me of his condition. From what I saw there were underdeveloped cheekbones, jaws, palate and mouth. Henry also had difficulty breathing, due to the lack of structures in his throat and nose.

From my deduction, it appears as though there are less structures in the facial region being developed. Henry's mom told me that she tried giving Henry amino acid supplements, but it seems like it didn't have an effect.

• Cell Membrane

• Golgi Body

• Ribosome

• Endoplasmic Reticulum

• Lysosome

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS1-4

NGSS.HS-LS3-1

NGSS.HS-LS3-2

The following image is from Henry's cells when amino acids are added. We can see the organelle responsible for this disorder is not fulfilling its function.

• Cell Membrane

• Golgi Body

• Ribosome

• Endoplasmic Reticulum

• Lysosome

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS1-6