CELL THEORY

In biology, cell theory is a scientific theory which describes the properties of cells. These cells
are the basic unit of structure in all organisms and also the basic unit of reproduction. With
continual improvements made to microscopes over time, magnification technology advanced
enough to discover cells in the 17th century. This discovery is largely attributed to Robert
Hooke, and began the scientific study of cells, also known as cell biology. Over a century later,
many debates about cells began amongst scientists. Most of these debates involved the nature of
cellular regeneration, and the idea of cells as a fundamental unit of life. Cell theory was
eventually formulated in 1839. This is usually credited to Matthias Schleiden and Theodor
Schwann. However, many other scientists like Rudolf Virchow contributed to the theory. Cell
theory has become the foundation of biology and is the most widely accepted explanation of the
function of cells.

The three tenets to the cell theory are as described below:

1. All living organisms are composed of one or more cells. (However, this is considered a
controversy because non-cellular life such as viruses are disputed as a life form.[1] See
Non-cellular life.)
2. The cell is the basic unit of structure and organization in organisms.
3. Cells arise from pre-existing cells.
4. Discovery of cells

Drawing of the structure of cork by Robert Hooke that appeared in Micrographia.

The cell was first discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665, which can be found to be described
in his book Micrographia. In this book, he gave 60 observations in detail of various objects
under a coarse, compound microscope.[5] One observation was from very thin slices of bottle
cork. Hooke discovered a multitude of tiny pores that he named "cells". This came from the
Latin word Cella, meaning a small room like monks lived in and also Cellulae, which
meant the six sided cell of a honeycomb. However, Hooke did not know their real structure
or function.[7] What Hooke had thought were cells, were actually empty cell walls of plant
tissues. With microscopes during this time having a low magnification, Hooke was unable to
see that there were other internal components to the cells he was observing. Therefore, he did
not think the "cellulae" were alive.[8] His cell observations gave no indication of the nucleus
and other organelles found in most living cells. In Micrographia, Hooke also observed
mould, bluish in color, found on leather. After studying it under his microscope, he was
unable to observe seeds that would have indicated how the mould was multiplying in
quantity. This led to Hooke suggesting that spontaneous generation, from either natural or
artificial heat, was the cause. Since this was an old Aristotelian theory still accepted at the
time, others did not reject it and was not disproved until Leeuwenhoek later discovers
generation is achieved otherwise.[5]

Anton van Leeuwenhoek is another scientist who saw these cells soon after Hooke did. He
made use of a microscope containing improved lenses that could magnify objects almost
300-fold, or 270x.[8] Under these microscopes, Leeuwenhoek found motile objects. In a letter
to The Royal Society on October 9, 1676, he states that motility is a quality of life therefore
these were living organisms. Over time, he wrote many more papers in which described
many specific forms of microorganisms. Leeuwenhoek named these animalcules, which
included protozoa and other unicellular organisms, like bacteria.[6] Though he did not have
much formal education, he was able to identify the first accurate description of red blood
cells and discovered bacteria after gaining interest in the sense of taste that resulted in
Leeuwenhoek to observe the tongue of an ox, then leading him to study "pepper water" in
1676. He also found for the first time the sperm cells of animals and humans. Once
discovering these types of cells, Leeuwenhoek saw that the fertilization process requires the
sperm cell to enter the egg cell. This put an end to the previous theory of spontaneous
generation. After reading letters by Leeuwenhoek, Hooke was the first to confirm his
observations that were thought to be unlikely by other contemporaries.[5]

The cells in animal tissues were observed after plants were because the tissues were so
fragile and susceptible to tearing, it was difficult for such thin slices to be prepared for
studying. Biologists believed that there was a fundamental unit to life, but were unsure what
this was. It would not be until over a hundred years later that this fundamental unit was
connected to cellular structure and existence of cells in animals or plants.[9] This conclusion
was not made until Henri Dutrochet. Besides stating the cell is the fundamental element of
organization,[10] Dutrochet also claimed that cells were not just a structural unit, but also a
physiological unit.

In 1804, Karl Rudolphi and J.H.F. Link were awarded the prize for "solving the problem of
the nature of cells", meaning they were the first to prove that cells had independent cell walls
by the Knigliche Societt der Wissenschaft (Royal Society of Science), Gttingen.[11]
Before, it had been thought that cells shared walls and the fluid passed between them this
way.
5. Cell theory

Matthias Jakob Schleiden (18041881)

Theodor Schwann (18101882)

Credit for developing cell theory is usually given to two scientists: Theodor Schwann and
Matthias Jakob Schleiden.[12] While Rudolf Virchow contributed to the theory, he is not as
credited for his attributions toward it. In 1839, Schleiden suggested that every structural part
of a plant was made up of cells or the result of cells. He also suggested that cells were made
by a crystallization process either within other cells or from the outside.[13] However, this was
not an original idea of Schleiden. He claimed this theory as his own, though Barthelemy
Dumortier had stated it years before him. This crystallization process is no longer accepted
with modern cell theory. In 1839, Theodor Schwann states that along with plants, animals are
composed of cells or the product of cells in their structures.[14] This was a major advancement
in the field of biology since little was known about animal structure up to this point
compared to plants. From these conclusions about plants and animals, two of the three tenets
of cell theory were postulated.[9]

1. All living organisms are composed of one or more cells

2. The cell is the most basic unit of life,Schleiden's theory of free cell formation through
crystallization was refuted in the 1850s by Robert Remak, Rudolf Virchow, and Albert
Kolliker.[6] In 1855, Rudolf Virchow added the third tenet to cell theory. In Latin, this tenet
states Omnis cellula e cellula.[9] This translated to:

3. All cells arise only from pre-existing cells,However, the idea that all cells come from pre-
existing cells had in fact already been proposed by Robert Remak; it has been suggested that
Virchow plagiarized Remak and did not give him credit.[15] Remak published observations in
1852 on cell division, claiming Schleiden and Schawnn were incorrect about generation
schemes. He instead said that binary fission, which was first introduced by Dumortier, was
how reproduction of new animal cells were made. Once this tenet was added, the classical
cell theory was complete.