The Cell Factory

Dayana Hristova

A “cell” is only a four-letter word,
but it means the whole living world.
From bacteria to humans, the cell is an essential feature, 
the building block of each existing creature.

As curious and eager scientists,
we always love to zoom in on the tiny things.
You will be surprised how much can happen in a cell,
resembling an entire factory itself!

As every other factory, the cell has its main station,
which contains all the important information.
I am sure you can guess this at the first try,
yes, that’s right, they are called the nuclei! 

They encrypt their orders in the form of DNA,
which can only be read by the messenger RNA.
So, DNA into RNA is the cellular code of conduct,
followed by RNA into protein – the main factory product.

The protein is then processed through the endoplasmic reticulum track, 
which makes sure defective items will be kept back. 
But if everything in the process goes alright,
the Golgi apparatus is our next site.
This is where the protein product gets packaged,
all prepared and ready to be passaged!

Finally, all factories have their own source of energy –
the mitochondrion, which saves the cell from going into lethargy.
Now, imagine trillions of cells in creative synergism
this is what fuels the human organism!

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the Cell unity.
With love, from the Science Community!

The Science

As a cell biologist myself, I have always been fascinated by the complexity of the human organism, in particular the cross-talk between the different biological processes. It all starts with understanding the basic unit of life – the ‘cell’. The poem ‘The Cell Factory’ is a fun recreation of the highly ordered mechanisms that happen within the human cell, with analogies to real-life examples.

The Poet

Dayana Hristova is from Sofia, Bulgaria. She did her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Manchester and is currently a third year PhD student in the lab of Dr. Brian Ferguson at the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge. Her project focuses on the innate immune response to virus infection in human cells. Dayana has a strong passion for science communication, always looking for creative and artistic ways to engage the wider public and make science more accessible. You can connect with her on Instagram (@dayanahri.science), or on YouTube (Rhymes and Scribbles).

Next poem: The Cloud by Michael J Leach