The Major Components of Life

Major Components of Life
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Major Components of Life
Question One
Water as a substance or compound is a chemical that exists in abundance. An adult body is composed of close to 60% water present mostly in the cells, body fluids, and tissues. The importance of water to living things derives from its capability to existing in different properties, i.e., solid, liquid and gas (Albèr et al., 2014). As one of the most abundant elements, carbon, on the other hand, is essential as it forms the basic building block for all lives on Earth. Since the human beings can neither create nor destroy carbon, all the living organisms must devise ways of reusing it. As a solvent, water transports many essential particles and molecule to many parts of both plants and animals body. Water also transports ions in and out of the biological organisms, for example, transportation of oxygen in the blood. Also important to note is that water takes part in different chemicals reactions in the body as pointed out by Wu et al. (2014). The author adds that solution form an excellent medium for a chemical reaction since the solvent encloses solute. Carbon, on the other hand, creates the chemical basis for the molecules in the body that are primary in maintaining life. Some of the particles include lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acid among others. Both water and carbon are essential compounds for prokaryotes, for example, the cell uses carbon to manufacture organic compounds.

Water, on the other hand, is necessary for the prokaryotic since they do not have a cell nucleus. Water, therefore, acts as a medium that transports the parts of the cell like the ribosomes (LaRocca et al., 2013).
Scientists from NASA over the past years have tried to establish if water exists on the surface of Mars. The importance of the existence of water on the planet is to determine whether Mars has a potential of supporting life. The search for water would prove the potential existence of extraterrestrial biochemistry on the planet the same as Earth where water plays an important role. Also important to note is that NASA searches for water in mass and other planets to try to establish the existence of alien life outside our space Ben-Naim (2009). As discussed above, water on Mars would act as a powerful solvent which would support human life. Secondly, the presence of water on the planet would mean that the temperatures in Mars cannot expand the substance as it as the ability to resist heating. In other words, water is capable of withstanding broad temperature range.
Question Two
It is a common fact that the biological cells are the basic unit of life. Cells exist in various types but broadly fall into two main categories, prokaryotic also referred to as prokaryotes and eukaryotic cells or eukaryotes. To establish the significant differences between these cells, it is important to divide them into different comparable categories. Prokaryotic cells have no nucleus membrane-bound organelles while on the other hand, Eukaryotic cells contain the organelles. The number of cells per organism in prokaryotic is one while in Eukaryotic includes one or more. On cell reproduction, eukaryotic is either asexual or sexual while Prokaryotic is only asexual. An assessment of the outer structure of the two types of cells also points out to a visible difference. For example, the nuclear body is the location which contains a double membrane surrounds a double strand of DNA on the other hand eukaryotes cells. The wall of prokaryotic is rigid while that of Eukaryotic has a cell membrane and not a wall.
The plasma membrane in both the prokaryote and eukaryote cells make it easy for them to survive since it separates the cells from the external environment. Plasma membrane consists of phospholipids which carry out the functions of most of the proteins. For survival, plasma membrane also performs the function of moving material in and out of the cells. The sexual or asexual nature in both Eukaryotic and prokaryote respectively is vital for the survival of the cells within the body. These cells are capable of multiplying faster to perform their functions in the body of either plants or animals. Finally, the cell walls in prokaryotic acts as a protective barrier for any changes brought about by the osmotic pressure. As the cells move in different solutes within the body, the pressure will rise. In Eukaryotic cells, the cell membrane can withstand the osmotic pressure (Wilson et al., 2018). The feature of the cell discussed here makes it possible for them to survive. The cells are considered successful since they have been in existence for billions of years and still evolve without facing extinction. Over the years, the different types of cells, for example, bacteria in an individual’s mouth perform beneficial functions. Eukaryotic cells can also withstand survival in extreme temperature and environment once again confirming their successful evolution (Spang et al., 2015).
In conclusion, the essays offer a chance to look at the importance of water as a substance to body cells. From the discussion, it is evident that the element is essential for human survival as the substance empower water cells.

References
Albèr, C., Buraczewska-Norin, I., Kocherbitov, V., Saleem, S., Lodén, M., & Engblom, J. (2014). Effects of water activity and low molecular weight humectants on skin permeability and hydration dynamics – a double-blind, randomized and controlled study. International Journal Of Cosmetic Science, 36(5), 412-418.
Ben-Naim, A. (2009). Molecular Theory Of Water And Aqueous Solutions – Part 1: Understanding Water. Singapore: World Scientific.
LaRocca, T. J., Pathak, P., Chiantia, S., Toledo, A., Silvius, J. R., Benach, J. L., & London, E. (2013). Proving Lipid Rafts Exist: Membrane Domains in the Prokaryote Borrelia burgdorferi Have the Same Properties as Eukaryotic Lipid Rafts. Plos Pathogens, 9(5), 1-11.
Spang, A., Saw, J. H., Jørgensen, S. L., Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka, K., Martijn, J., Lind, A. E., & … Ettema, T. G. (2015). Complex archaea that bridge the gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Nature, 521(7551), 173-179. 
Wilson, J. T., Eke, V. R., Massey, R. J., Elphic, R. C., Feldman, W. C., Maurice, S., & Teodoro, L. F. (2018). Equatorial locations of water on Mars: Improved resolution maps based on Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer data. Icarus, 299148-160.
Wu, C., Lu,. T., Chan, D., Tsai, K., Yang, R., & Liu, S. (2014). Effects of Arsenic on Osteoblast Differentiation in Vitro and on Bone Mineral Density and Microstructure in Rats. Environmental Health Perspectives, 122(6), 559-565.