1. The Nucleus By: Megan Mercanti

2. Some History of the Nucleus  Was discovered by Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealand born British physicist, in May of 1911.  In a well-known experiment done by one of Rutherford's students, alpha particles were observed to scatter backwards from a gold foil. Rutherford’s explanation was that the scattering was caused by a hard, dense core at the center of the atom–the nucleus.

3. Structure  Consists of a:  Nuclear envelope(outer membrane)  Nucleoplasm(chromatin and nucleolus)  Nuclear envelope is a double bound membrane with four phospholipid bilayers and large pores that passes material back and forth.

4. Function of the Nucleus  Regulates all cell activity(control center of the cell)  Controls the enzymes present  Contains the information for the production of proteins within the DNA  Regulates gene expression

5. Diseases/Disabilities associated with the Nucleus  Downs Syndrome- the nucleus of the human cell typically contains 23 pairs of chromosomes. Downs Syndrome occurs when the individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21.  Cancer- in the majority of healthy cells, the nucleus is smooth and has a spherical shape. People with cancer have a nucleus that is abnormal in shape and size characterized by blebs(irregular bulge).

6. Continued..  Spinal Muscular Atrophy- caused by a genetic defect in the SMN1 gene. SMN1 is necessary for the development of motor neurons. A diminished abundance of the protein results in death of neuronal cells in the anterior horn of the spinal cord and subsequent system-wide muscle wasting (atrophy).

7. Interesting facts  Under a light microscope the nucleus looks like a black dot  Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46 chromosomes in the nucleus.  Only eukaryotes contain a nucleus

8. Works Cited  Chodos, Allen, ed. "May, 1911: Rutherford and the Discovery of the Atomic Nucleus." American Physical Society. AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY, n.d. Web. 7 Mar 2014..  Davidson, Michael. "Cell Biology and Microscopy Structure and Function of Cells and Viruses." Molecular Expressions. Florida State University, 14 May 2005. Web. 7 Mar 2014..  "Physical Sciences in Oncology." National Cancer Institute. National Cancer Institute. Web. 7 Mar 2014. <http://physics.cancer.gov/research/2013/march/po_news_d.asp&xgt;.  "Spinal muscular atrophy." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 06 March 2014. Web. 7 Mar 2014..  "The Virtual Cell Web Page.". N.p.. Web. 7 Mar 2014..  "What is Downs Syndrome?." National Downs Syndrome Society. National Down Syndrome Society, n.d. Web. 7 Mar 2014..