Each organelle here does the job it does in a real animal cell.
Mitochondria (orange capsules) pulse and release ATP particles at a
rate set by metabolic activity — they are the cell's power plants.
The rough ER (studded ribbon) and free ribosomes (small green dots)
translate proteins, feeding the Golgi stack for packaging. The
membrane lets molecules diffuse in and out at a rate set by
permeability — small blue spheres crossing the outer shell.
ATP rate ≈ mitochondria_count × metabolic_activity
transport rate ≈ membrane_permeability × concentration_gradient
active ribosomes ≈ ribosome_density × (0.4 + 0.6 × metabolic_activity)
- Metabolic activity — how hard the cell is working; drives mitochondrial pulsing and ATP output.
- Membrane permeability — how easily molecules cross the plasma membrane by diffusion/transport proteins.
- Ribosome density — how many ribosomes (free + ER-bound) are actively translating protein.
- Use the focus buttons to fly the camera to the nucleus, mitochondria or the ER/Golgi secretory pathway.