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Expanded section on the structure and function of flagella.
A Flagellum is a long, tail-like organelle in a cell that allows a cell to move around.
A Flagellum is a long, tail-like organelle in a cell that allows a cell to move around. It is made up of microtubules and surrounded by a plasma membrane.
In single-cell organisms flagella move like a whip to provide propulsion to the cell. As part of a larger organism, their function is often to move fluids along mucous membranes.
There are three types of flagella: [eukaryote|eukaryotic], [archaeal] and [bacteria|bacterial].
The internal structure of eukaryotic flagella is made up of nine microtubule doublets linked by proteins, which form a cylinder around a central pair of microtubules. There are usually only one or two flagella on a eukaryotic cell, and they move in a lashing motion like a whip. One example of this is the [sperm] cell.
Bacterial flagella have threads in a helix pattern, that rotate rather like a screw to move the organism.
Archaeal flagella appear similar to bacterial flagella, but are different in many details and considered to be an example of [convergent evolution].
==The flagellum and the argument for Intelligent Design==
==The flagellum and the argument for Intelligent Design==