The Secret Life of Cells
Explore the microscopic world within you, where tiny biological machines work tirelessly to keep you alive. Learn how cells build, power, and repair themselves in this comprehensive guide to the building blocks of life.
Like Duolingo, but for The Secret Life of Cells. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A deep dive: 40 levels across 5 sections, about 80 minutes end to end, roughly 16 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Living City, The Border and the Interior, Energy and Manufacturing, The Command Center, and Life Cycles and Communication. It starts from scratch.
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Key ideas in The Secret Life of Cells
- The cell as the fundamental unit of life
- The relationship between single-celled and multicellular life
- The fundamental unit of life
- Cells are constantly active, not static or 'still' inside
- The nucleus stores the genetic instructions for the cell
- Thousands of different chemical reactions occur at the same time in a tiny space
- Mitochondria convert nutrients into usable energy
- The membrane controls what enters and exits the cell
- Constant motion and reaction are required to keep the cell from breaking down
- Organelle functions using the city analogy
- The dynamic nature of cellular chemistry
- Life isn't a special ingredient, but a result of how molecules interact
- Individual molecules follow the laws of chemistry, but the whole system follows the laws of biology
- Organization is the key difference between a living cell and a bowl of biological soup
- Life as an emergent property of molecular organization
- Visible light has a physical width (wavelength)
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Secret Life of Cells the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What is true about all living things, regardless of their physical size?
Get it right to open this lesson and 39 more in the app.
How to learn The Secret Life of Cells, step by step
Go in order. 40 short levels across 5 sections, about 1 hour 20 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
The Living City
- The Cell as a Microscopic Machine
- Seeing the Invisible
- 2
The Border and the Interior
- The Plasma Membrane: The Smart Gatekeeper
- The Cytoskeleton: Scaffolding and Highways
- The Cytosol: The Crowded Soup of Life
- 3
Energy and Manufacturing
- Mitochondria: Converting Fuel to Energy
- The Protein Factory: Ribosomes and the ER
- The Golgi Apparatus: Packaging and Shipping
- 4
The Command Center
- The Nucleus: The Master Library
- DNA and RNA: The Blueprints of Life
- 5
Life Cycles and Communication
- Cell Division: How One Becomes Two
- Cell Signaling: How Cells Talk
- Specialization and Death
5 sections · 13 units · 40 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about The Secret Life of Cells
How do I learn The Secret Life of Cells?
Go in order: start with The Living City, then The Border and the Interior, then Energy and Manufacturing, then The Command Center, and 1 more section after that. On Tomo that's 40 short levels, about 1 hour 20 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for The Secret Life of Cells?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. The Secret Life of Cells is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is The Secret Life of Cells free?
Yes. The Secret Life of Cells is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn The Secret Life of Cells?
40 levels across 5 sections, about 1 hour 20 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start The Secret Life of Cells?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
The Secret Life of Cells is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Secret Life of Cells today.
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