Cells

History of the Cell Theory

Cells, the make-up of all living things. Some cell are complete

organisms, such as unicellular bacteria and protozoa. Other types of cells are

called multicellular, such as nerve cells and muscle cells. Withen the cell is

genetic material, Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) containing coded instructions for

the behavior and reproduction of the cell. The cell was first discovered by the

1665 English scientist Robert Hooke, who studied the dead cells of cork with a

crude microscope. Robert Hooke was born on the isle of Whight and educated at

the University of Oxford. Hooke could not have discovered the cell without the

microscope which was developed by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek a 1674 Dutch maker of

microscopes. Leeuwenhoek born in Delft, Holland and had little or no scientific

education. Leeuwenhoek also confirmed the discovery of capillary systems.

Theodor Schwann a German physiologist born in Neuss and educated at the

universities of Bonn, Wurzburg, and Berlin, Schwann was involved in the study of

the structure of plant and animal tissues. Along with Matthias Jakob Schleiden

a German botanist, Schwann proposed the cell theory.

The cell theory has three parts:

1. All organisms are composed of cells.

2. Cells are the basic units of structure and function in organisms

3. All cells come from preexisting cells.

The impact on science was very great due to the discovery of cells and

the cell theory. Many or all things were effected by the discovery of cells,

everything was looked upon in a different way. Some people still did not

believe that all living organisms were made of tiny microscopic chambers called