nucleus, in biology, a specialized structure occurring in most cells (except bacteria and blue-green algae) and separated from the rest of the cell by a double layer, the nuclear membrane. This membrane seems to be continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum (a membranous network) of the cell and has pores, which probably permit the entrance of large molecules. The nucleus controls and regulates the activities of the cell (e.g., growth and metabolism) and carries the genes, structures that contain the hereditary information
