the external environment
Cells share the same needs: the need to get energy from their environment, the need to respond to their environment, and the need to reproduce. Cells must also be able to separate their relatively stable interior from the ever-changing external environment. They do this by coordinating many processes that are carried out within organelles, or other cellular structures. Structures that are common to many different cells indicate the common history shared by cell-based life. Examples of these common structures include the components of both the cell or plasma membrane and the cytoskeleton, and other structures shown in Figure above .