Why Is Plasma Membrane Flexible?

Just to have a recap of your biology class back in the days, remember that your science teachers talk about cells as tiny units or carriers of the biological composition that keeps living things alive. Meaning to say, humans, animals and plants are made out of cells that if you divide them, you are only creating smaller pieces of these living units. Further on, we were once taught that as living things, our cells contain the major substances that keep us alive and kicking. In addition, all cells have what they call the plasma membrane, which is the flexible substance that helps enclose the substances inside the cell and serves as a protective layer from the cells outside environment.

What is astonishing about the plasma membrane is though it serves as a boundary of sorts for alien matter not to enter the cell, its composition is at the same time semi-absorbent or porous which therefore allows other essential elements like nutrients and air to enter and like wise, allow waste from the body to travel out of the cell.

For plants, the plasma membrane in them is deemed to be more rigid and tight as compared to the flexible lipid layer that composes an animal cell’s plasma membrane. This is because animal composition is more complex than that of plants and the cells need to adjust and be flexible depending on the changing needs of each cell. Another reason as to why the plasma membrane is flexible is because it is actually composed of little oil like substances that are scientifically called Phospholipids. This is actually a good thing because since cells in environments made of water, it would be necessary for them to be in a form that does not dissolve where submerged into water.