Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Cell Day 2014
As part of its commitment to encouraging future generations of scientists, NIGMS will host an interactive Web chatroom about the cell and careers in research for middle and high school students.
Cells are the smallest form of life—the functional and structural units of all living things. Your body contains trillions of cells, organized into more than 200 major types. Different cell types are each customized for a particular role. NIGMS is keenly interested in cell biology because knowledge of the inner workings of cells underpins our understanding of health and disease.
Cell Day is sponsored by NIGMS, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIGMS' mission is to support research that increases understanding of life processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
The chatroom will be open from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday, February 28, 2014.
There are plenty of suggested background materials to read before the chatroom opens. Visit the Cell Day Classroom Resources page to learn more.
NIGMS scientists will be on hand to field questions from teachers and students on cell biology and careers in research. Please visit our Meet the Cell Day Scientists page to learn more about our Cell Day experts. Middle and high school students, educators and members of the public can ask questions. You must be at least 13 years of age or have the permission of your parent/guardian to participate.
We will make every effort to answer questions in a timely fashion. However, we are expecting a very high volume of questions throughout the day. Please be patient, and remember that you can always check the transcript if you do not see your response posted during your class period.
Yes! A transcript will be available shortly after the chat is over. The transcript will be fully searchable. You can either search for answers by a certain expert or search for particular keywords.
If you experience technical problems during the chatroom, please report them to email@example.com or call 301-435-9291.
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