Section 7-1 The History of the Cell Theory and Microscopes
Historical View of the Cell Theory As science improves, so do improvements in scientific instruments, and improved scientific instruments lead to new discoveries.
1670’s Anton Van Leeuwenhoek Made improvements to microscope. 270x magnification Saw bacteria, protozoa, body cells, red blood cells and yeast cells Open the door to new discoveries in biology.
1665 – Robert Hooke Produced a compound microscope Saw hollow boxes and named them “cells”
1665 – Robert Hooke
1831 – Robert Brown Saw central structure in plant cells, called this structure a nucleus
1838 – Theodore Schwann German zoologist Concluded that all animals are made of cells
1838 – Matthias Schleiden German botanist Concluded that all plants are made of cells
1858 – Rudolf Virchow German scientist Concluded that “ cells come only from previously existing cells”
The Cell Theory 1.All living things are composed of cells 2.Cells are the basic units of structure and function 3.New cells are produced from existing cells