A cell is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing. The discovery of cells eventually led to the discovery of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses, the invention of antibiotics to help fight disease, and ultimately founded the basis for what people know as medicine (“Hierarchy,” 2011). Robert Hooke, the man who suffered from smallpox at a young age and was not expected to live more than a few years, later grew up to attend the prestigious University of Oxford where he studied alongside famous scientists. Hooke made several important discoveries in the fields of science and medicine, including the invention of the microscope and the discovery of cells. As a result of Hooke’s discoveries, doctors today can understand how the body works on the smallest scale in order to treat diseases more efficiently.
Ever since he was a child, Hooke always found a way to exceed everyone’s expectations. Hooke was born on July 18, 1635, on the western end of Isle of Wright in England. In the article “Robert Hooke Biography,” Hooke was described as “a sickly child who was stricken with smallpox at an early age and was not expected to survive more than a few years” (2011). Due to his poor health, Hooke was allowed to spend his free time studying things that interested him like science and mechanics. Since he was forced to stay indoors for most of his childhood due to illness, Hooke found a source of enjoyment in disassembling and reassembling mechanical devices. Hooke possessed the ability to recreate mechanical toys on his own like working clocks and toy ships with fully functioning miniature guns (Farrell, 2006). Hooke not only had an interest in mechanics but also had a great amount of talent in that area as well.
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...pot, the universal joint which is still used in cars today, and the balance spring which is a main component in the watches we wear (2009). Most of Hooke’s major inventions are still around and used in every day life.
By 1665 Hooke was appointed professor of geometry at Gresham College. The standard policy at Gresham was to never marry, so Hooke remained single and lived in his Gresham apartment for the rest of his life. Hooke’s mental and physical health began to decline rapidly with the death of his niece, Grace, whom he lived with and was very fond of. After Grace passed, Hooke began to isolate himself and began writing bitterly (Farrell, 2006). Hooke finally passed away on March 3, 1703.
Hooke’s invention of the microscope and the discovery of cells ultimately laid down the basic building blocks for further discoveries in medicine and the study of disease.
The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher by Lewis Thomas consists of short, insightful essays that offer the reader a different perspective on the world and on ourselves.
‘The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks’ is about a black woman who died in 1951. Her cancerous cervix cells, taken without her knowledge by a doctor at John Hopkins Hospital, were the first ‘immortal cells’, meaning they could be cultured in a lab. Her cell line, named HeLa (after Henrietta Lacks), then became one of the most important tools in medicine. However, this book not only focusses on the scientific story of HeLa cells, but also on the story of the woman behind the cells. It consists of three storylines, which will all be described below.
All fields of science affects the lives of many people, but the inventors are left out. Inventors make many lives more comfortable and convenient. George Edward Alcorn, Jr. was a not so well-known inventor, but he...
Henrietta’s cells were being inaugurated with space travel, infused into rat cells, and even being used to make infertile hens fertile again. However, these are only a few of the many accomplishments that Henrietta’s immortal cells made possible: “The National Cancer Institute was using various cells, including HeLa, to screen more than thirty thousand chemicals and plant extracts, which would yield several of today’s most widely used and effective chemotherapy drugs, including Vincristine and Taxol,”(pg.139). This example of logos from the text again shows just how important these Henrietta’s cells were to the future developments in
In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, multiple cell research studies involving Henrietta’s cells are described. Author Rebecca Skloot writes about Henrietta Lacks’ journey through her cervical cancer and how her cells changed the lives of millions long after her death. Skloot relates the history of cell research, including those studies which were successful and those that were not so successful. It is necessary for the author to include the achievements and disturbing practices of scientists throughout this history to inform readers and focus on the way Henrietta’s cells were used. Truth always matters to readers and Henrietta’s family deserves the truth.
It is also interesting to know just how many medical breakthroughs came about by accident. It allows people to realize that, although it should be handled with the utmost care, cut of the edge research is not always cut and dry. This book teaches that it takes true intellect to take what seems like a failure or an accident and instead of abandoning it, reflecting on what has truly happened. Students as well as current researchers should read, study, and take inspiration from this book. It has a lot to teach other than simply the surface of the history of the discoveries it
Hans Spemann was the next person to make an important discovery in 1902. He attempted to split apart a two-celled embryo of a salamander. He accomplished this task by using a baby’s hair to split th...
Lewis Thomas, in his book The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher, criticizes how society exists within a paradoxical
John Deere was born in Rutland, Vermont, on February 7, 1804 “John”. The 19th century was an era of growth and exploration, and financial despair (Dalhstrom 5). Change came quickly in John’s life. At the age of four John lost his father at sea, leaving his mother, Sarah Deere, to raise John and his five brothers and sisters “John”. Before John’s father, William, left the port he wrote his children this letter:
In 1835, a New York physician known as David Ireland in Europe Howe developed and developed the first truly realistic device for mass-producing strong head directly hooks. In a relatively brief time frame, directly hooks were being marketed by the half lb for the precise objective of momentarily attaching documents together.
2). As a result, this scientific experiment changed the relationship of humankind and nature by foreseeing the modification of DNA of bacteria, yeast, plants, and animals to discover new medicines and to provide solutions for inherited diseases (Le Vine, 1999, p. 2).
"The discovery of the structure by Crick and Watson, with all its biological implications, has been one of the major scientific events of this century." (Bragg, The Double Helix, p1) In the story of The Double Helix, James Watson tells of the road that led to the discovery of life's basic building block-DNA. This autobiography gives insight into science and the workings within a professional research laboratory that few members of society will ever be able to experience. It also gives the reader an idea of the reality of life for one scientist and how he struggled with the problem of DNA. However, the author's style is marked by his lack of objectivity and inclusion of many biased opinions and personal prejudices.
Discoveries in DNA, cell biology, evolution, and biotechnology have been among the major achievements in biology over the past 200 years with accelerated discoveries and insight’s over the last 50 years. Consider the progress we have made in these areas of human knowledge. Present at least three of the discoveries you find to be the most important and describe their significance to society, heath, and the culture of modern life.
At a fundamental level, all life begins on a microscopic scale. Cells, of which there are three possible typings, Prokaryotic, Eukaryotic, and Archea, are oft referred to as the quintessential building blocks of life. The Cell theory, as posited by Theodor Schwann, Matthias Schleiden, and Rudolph Virchow, is one of the key principles of biology. It states that all living organisms are composed of cells. A secondary concept of the theory is that “Cells arise from pre-existing cells.” This is an important trait to note because it serves as a brief allusion to the various forms of cellular reproduction such as binary fission and mitosis. The last posited claim of the theory and probably the most important assertion of the Cell Theory is that the cell functions as the basic unit of life. This assertion has so far only been corroborated by the research of scientists and thus serves as a rule of biology that is met with an universal consensus. Over the years a few more the modern version of ...
Aristotelian science has the two stages for which it aims, the physical and immediate description, and the more distant description of something’s natural essence. Modern science only seems to target the first of these principles and has completely forgone the second. In aiming for the first stage however, modern biology has extended Aristotle’s principle of exploring the observable aspects of an organism and delved beyond that into the imperceptible strata of cells, proteins, and DNA. But in going so far it has forced itself to be specific and blind to the general nature of an organism, instead reducing “to microversions of themselves and ultimately to chemistry and physics.” Modern biology acts as if each individual process when combined is what makes the organism, that the whole is made up of the constituent parts, and that is why it breaks it down to the molecular level because if it can fully explain how all the smaller processes work it can explain the organism as a whole. This is the final depth of the departure from Aristotelian scientific method because in going so far beyond the observable and whole organism, modern biology fails to realize the essential nature of the whole organism itself. The roots of modern biologic method can be seen in Aristotle’s system of observation and new knowledge stemming from previously described and known information, however beyond that, it seems as if modern biology has lost the more holistic view of the organism and its essential nature that Aristotelian biology aimed for in its