Jello Cell Dissection Lab WebQuest
INTRODUCTION
You have been accepted as part of a team of scientists to study a newly discovered line of megacells!
These megacells were found in remote a jungle area were a maze of caverns have existed free from any recent human contact up until now. These caverns have throughout them "punctuated areas of light" where sunlight infiltrates and allows for these very rare forms of life to exist. In areas such as these it would otherwise be very difficult for light dependant organisms to exists. Only due to the unique situation of light infiltration has this been possible. It is still unclear how these cells could grow so very large, and further experimentation will be done to try and explain this phenomenon.
In these special cavern niches there also occurs occasional watery shallows, this is where some of these cells were discovered. In these pond like areas animals live and plants thrive along the edges of the watery environment, but only where a reasonably well lit area occurs. It was only at a few of these very remote locations that all of these necessary conditions co-existed, and even then, it was at only a fraction of these niches where any specimens were found. Because there are so few of these life forms available, and their existance seems so precarious, scientists have only a very limited supply of megacells for experimentation. We cannot afford to upset the delicate balance of these newly discovered ecosystems.
You are excited and honored to be one of the few scientist invited to take part is this endeavor!
You hurry to the lab to get a look at these megacells!
The question is what types of organelles do these cells have and what might their functions be?