Cellular Signalling: Introduction & Mechanisms

This lecture introduces cellular signalling, contrasting cellular conditions with 'ideal conditions' and discussing concepts such as crowding, small volumes, and few copies. The instructor covers topics like long-distance signalling, criteria for good signalling, how cells communicate through chemical and electrical means, sending chemical components, receptors, and the consequences of long-distance signalling. The lecture also explores the scale of distance between cells, the quantification of ligands by receptors, time scales of signalling processes, the impact of small numbers in biology, and the effects of crowding on chemical kinetics. The presentation delves into the design of synapses to avoid failures, the significance of individual molecules in biology, and the heterogeneity of cells due to multiple compartments.