Cell theory is the basic foundation on which our understanding of cells is built.
The discovery of cell theory over time
Robert Hooke - 1665
- cork cells
- ”tiny boxes”
Anton van Leeuwenhoek - 1673
- ”Animacules”, later called bacteria
Robert Brown - 1833
- Discovered the nucleus in plant cells
Matthias Schleiden - 1838
- Every plant is made of cells
Theodor Schwann - 1839
- Every animal is made of cells
Albrecht von Roelliker - 1840
- Sperm + Egg are cells - life comes from cells.
Carl Heinrich Braun - 1845
- Reworks theory, names cells “the basic unit of life”
Rudolf Virchow - 1855
- Cells come from other cells
Modern cell theory
- The cell contains hereditary information (DNA) which is passed on from cell to cell during division.
- All cells are basically the same in terms of chemical composition and metabolic activities.
- All basic chemical and physiological functions are carried out inside cells. (Movement, digestion etc)
- Cell activity depends on the activities of sub-cellular structures within the cell (organelles, nucleus, plasma membrane etc etc)