2.6 What the Cell? An introduction to the cell theory & discovery

Cells! Who wants some?! Not that type, but this kind… Cells have a lot of variety and some exists as living, mobile entities

But first, a brief history of the cell… Robert Hooke, an Englishman, was looking at cork through a basic microscope and saw tiny chambers which he called “cells”. This occurred in Close to the same time, a Netherlander, named Leeuwenhoek (LEE-van-hook) used a microscope to observe living, one-celled creatures in drinking water. Yum.

Cell Theory and Discovery Cell Discovery Many scientists contributed to the discovery of cells and the cell theory.

Cells … cork1665 2) ‘animalcules’ 1) Improved lens ) Discovered bacteria

Plants made of cells 1838 Animals made of cells Cells come from cells

And hence the Cell Theory was born………………. 1) The cell is the basic unit of structure and function of organisms 2) All living things are composed of one or more cells 3) All cells come from cells

certain characteristics All cells share certain characteristics microscopic » All cells tend to be microscopic membrane » All cells are enclosed by a membrane cytoplasm » All cells are filled with cytoplasm