A brief history about the discovery of cells

CELL BIOLOGY

A cell is a structural and functional unit of all living organisms. It is microscopic and capable of independent existence. All living things are made up of cells. The outward differences among the various biological forms may bewilder us. But underlying these differences is a powerful uniformity. That is all biological systems are composed of same types of molecules and they all employ similar principles of organization at the cellular level. We shall see for example, that all living organisms employ the same genetic code and a similar machinery for protein synthesis.

Organisms contain organs, organs composed of tissues, tissues are made up of cells; and cells are formed of organelles and organelles are made up of molecules. However, in all living organisms, the cell is the functional unit.All of biology revolves around the activity of the cell. Loewy and Siekevitz defined cell as a unit of an organism delimited by a plasma membrane in animal cells and cell wall and plasma membrane in plant cells. Thus cell forms the basic unit of life.

A brief history about the discovery of cells

The study of cell is impossible without microscope. Anton van Leewenhoek (1632-1723) studied the structure of bacteria, protozoa spermatozoa, red blood cells under the simple microscope which he examined under a simple microscope that was designed by him. The word cell was first coined by Robert Hooke in 1665 to designate the empty honey-comb like structures viewed in a thin section of bottle cork which he examined.

In 1838, the German botanist Schleiden proposed that all plants are made up of plant cells. Then in 1839 his colleague, the anatomist Theodore Schwann studied and concluded that all animals are also composed of cells. Even at that time the real nature of a cell was a big question. Cell theory was again rewritten by Rudolf Virchow in 1858.

Robert Brown in 1831 discovered the presence of nucleus in the cells of orchid roots. This was an important discovery. Purkinje coined the term protoplasm for the slimy substance that is found inside the cells. In the 20^th century, Various modern micro techniques have been employed in cytological investigation. With the invention of electron microscope in the year 1932 more and more information

about the cell and various organellses of the cells become available to us. On the basis of the structure, the cells are classified into prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

Eukaryotic cells vary very much in shape and size. The smallest cells are found among bacteria (0.2 to 50 microns). The largest plant cell is the ovule of Cycas. The shape of the cells also varies considerably. It may be spherical, polygonal, oval, rectangular, cylindrical, ellipsoidal etc.,

Dynamic nature of cell

A cell in an adult organism can be viewed as a steady - state system. The DNA is constantly read out into a particular set of mRNA (transcription) which specify a particular set of proteins (translation). As these proteins function they are being degraded and replaced by new ones and the system is so balanced that the cell neither grows, shrinks, nor changes its function. Considering this static view of the cell, however, one should not miss the all-important dynamic aspect of cellular life.

The dynamics of a cell can be best understood by examining the course of a cell's life. A new cell is formed when one cell divides or when two cells, (a sperm and an egg) fuse. Both these events start a cell-replication programme. This usually involves a period of cell growth, during which proteins are made and DNA replicated, followed by cell division when a cell divides into two daughter cells. Whether a given cell will grow and divide is a highly regulated decision of the body, ensuring that adult organism replaces worn out cells or makes new cells in response to a new need. The best example for the latter is the growth of muscle in response to exercise or damage. However, in one major and devastating disease namely cancer, the cells multiply even though there is no need in the body. the understand how

cells become cancerous, biologists have intensely studied the mechanism that controls the growth and division of cells.

Cell Cycle

The cell cycle follows a regular timing mechanism. Most eukaryotic cells live according to an internal clock, that is they proceed through a sequence of phases, called cell cycle. In the cell cycle DNA is Duplicated during synthesis (S) Phase and the copies are distributed to daughter cells during mitotic (M) phase.

Most growing plant and animal cells take 10-20 hours to double in number and some duplicate at a much slower rate.

The most complicated example of cellular dynamics occurs during differentiation i.e when a cell changes to carry out a specialized function. This process often involves changes in the morphology of a cell based on the function it is to perform. This highlights the biological principle that 'form follows function'

Unchecked cell growth and multiplication produce a mass of cells, a tumor. Programmed Cell Death (PCD) plays a very important role by balancing cell growth and multiplication. In addition, cell death also eliminates unecessary cells.