Sterol

sterol
(Science: chemistry) Any steroid-based alcohol having a hydrocarbon (aliphatic) side-chain of 8-10 carbons at the 17-beta position and a hydroxyl group at the 3-beta position (therfore an alcohol).
cholesterol is a sterol. Because of its hydrophilic property at the -OH end and hydrophobicity at the hydrocarbon side chain, it can be incorporated into the lipid bilayers of the cytoplasmic membrane. However, sterols only exist in the cytoplasmic membranes of eukaryotes while in prokaryotes, virtually none have sterols in their membranes except mycoplasmas, a group of cell wall-less bacteria.

Growth Patterns

This tutorial describes the sigmoid curve, annual plant growth, tree growth, human growth, and insect growth as the grow..

Primitive Animals

Life, as we know it today, is presumed to have started in the sea and many of them were likely eukaryotic animal-like or..

Genetic Control – On and Off Genes

Genes are the blueprint of our bodies, a blueprint that creates a variety of proteins essential to any organism's surviv..

Protein Variety

The sequence of amino acids determines the type of protein. Protein is synthesized according to the sequence of nucleoti..

The Gene Pool and Population Genetics

According to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, preferable genes are favored by nature in the gene pool, and ..

Roots

This study guide tackles plant roots in greater detail. It delves into the development of plant roots, the root structur..