The term Glycocalyx is used to describe the fuxxy, sticky carbohydrate-rich areas at the cell surface. The glycocalyx is enriched both by glycolipids and by the glycoproteins secreted by the cells that cling to its surface. Every cell type has a different pattern of sugars in its glycocalyx. The glycocalyx provides highly specific biological markers by which approaching cells recognize each other. Examples: A sperm recognizing an ovum by the ovum's unique glycocalyx. The cells of the immune system identify a bacterium by binding to certain membrane glycoproteins in the bacterial glycocalyx.
-A Cancer cell's glycocalyx changes continuously, allowing the cell to keep ahead of the immune system recognition mechanisms and avoid destruction.

25-26) The Glycocalyx and the Mitochondria

The Mitochondria are rodlike, double-membrane structures that are the site of ATP synthesis and are the powerhouse of the cell. The shape of the mitochondria changes continuously and its density reflects the cell's energy requirements. Busy cells like kidney and liver cells have hundreds of mitochondria, whereas relatively inactive cells such as lymphocytes have only a few. The mitochondria are enclosed by two mmebranes. The outer membrane is smooth and featureless, but the inner membrane folds inward, forming shelflike cristae that protrude into the matrix (the gel-like substance within the mitochondrion. Intermediate products of food fuels are broken down to water and carbon dioxide by terms of enzymes. The mitochondria preforms aerobic cellular respiration- where the metabolites are broken down and oxidized. The energy released is captured and used to attach phosphate groups to ADP molecules to form ATP. The Mitochondria also contains their own DNA and RNA and are able to reproduce themselves.