- #1
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Anyone out there have a general idea/range of the weight of a typical eukaryotic cell? I found that E coli is at about 665 femtograms, but I'm more interested in mammalian cells.
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Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around the weight of mammalian cells, with participants exploring the mass of typical eukaryotic cells compared to bacterial cells like E. coli. The conversation includes considerations of measurement units and the variability in cell types.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory
- Technical explanation
- Debate/contested
Main Points Raised
- One participant inquires about the weight of a typical eukaryotic cell, specifically mammalian cells, noting that E. coli weighs about 665 femtograms.
- Another participant suggests that a typical human cell weighs about 10-19 grams but expresses uncertainty about the general applicability of this information due to the variability among different cell types.
- A participant points out that if a femtogram is 10-15 grams, then a weight of 10-19 grams would imply that mammalian cells are smaller in mass than E. coli, which they find questionable.
- One participant provides a size estimate for typical animal cells, suggesting that their diameter is about 10-20 micrometers, and relates this to potential mass estimation.
- A later reply reiterates the previous point about the mass comparison, indicating that the initial answer could be incorrect and referencing lecture notes as the source of their information.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants express differing views on the weight of mammalian cells compared to E. coli, with no consensus reached on the accuracy of the provided weights or the implications of the measurements.
Contextual Notes
There are unresolved issues regarding the definitions of weight and mass in the context of different cell types, as well as potential inaccuracies in the conversion between measurement units.
- #2
loseyourname
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The weight of a typical human cell is about 10-19g. I'm not sure how useful this information is, however, as the weight of any individual cell depends largely on what type of cell is being weighed.
- #3
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If a femtogram is 10-15 g, that would put 10-19 in the attogram range, which would then make the mammalian cell smaller (of less mass) than E. coli, which I don’t think it is.
- #4
Monique
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A typical animal cell is 10-20 um in diameter (1/5 the size of the smallest particle visible to the naked eye). A bacterium is typically 1 um in diameter. You should be able to estimate a mass from that 
- #5
loseyourname
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DocToxyn said:
The answer I gave could be wrong. I just googled it and found lecture notes for somebody's class.
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