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Formulation of The Cell Theory

Theodor Schwann and Matthias Schleiden formulated the cell theory in 1838 after observing plant and animal cells under the microscope. They concluded that (1) the cell is the fundamental unit of structure and function in living things, (2) cells exist both individually and as parts of larger organisms, and (3) cells form through spontaneous generation, similar to the formation of crystals. This cell theory unified the understanding of biology and provided a foundation for all future studies of cells.

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329 views4 pages

Formulation of The Cell Theory

Theodor Schwann and Matthias Schleiden formulated the cell theory in 1838 after observing plant and animal cells under the microscope. They concluded that (1) the cell is the fundamental unit of structure and function in living things, (2) cells exist both individually and as parts of larger organisms, and (3) cells form through spontaneous generation, similar to the formation of crystals. This cell theory unified the understanding of biology and provided a foundation for all future studies of cells.

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Formulation of the Cell Theory

In 1838, Theodor Schwann and Matthias Schleiden were enjoying after-dinner coffee and talking
about their studies on cells. It has been suggested that when Schwann heard Schleiden describe
plant cells with nuclei, he was struck by the similarity of these plant cells to cells he had
observed in animal tissues. The two scientists went immediately to Schwanns lab to look at his
slides. Schwann published his book on animal and plant cells (Schwann 1839) the next year, a
treatise devoid of acknowledgments of anyone elses contribution, including that of Schleiden
(1838). He summarized his observations into three conclusions about cells:
1. The cell is the unit of structure, physiology, and organization in living things.
2. The cell retains a dual existence as a distinct entity and a building block in the
construction of organisms.
3. Cells form by free-cell formation, similar to the formation of crystals (spontaneous
generation).
A Timeline
1595 Jansen credited with 1st compound microscope
1655 Hooke described cells in cork.
1674 Leeuwenhoek discovered protozoa. He saw bacteria some 9 years later.
1833 Brown descibed the cell nucleus in cells of the orchid.
1838 Schleiden and Schwann proposed cell theory.
1840 Albrecht von Roelliker realized that sperm cells and egg cells are also cells.
1856 N. Pringsheim observed how a sperm cell penetrated an egg cell.
1858 Rudolf Virchow (physician, pathologist and anthropologist) expounds his famous
conclusion: omnis cellula e cellula, that is cells develop only from existing cells [cells come
from preexisting cells]
1857 Kolliker described mitochondria.
1879 Flemming described chromosome behavior during mitosis.
1883 Germ cells are haploid, chromosome theory of heredity.
1898 Golgi described the golgi apparatus.
1938 Behrens used differential centrifugation to separate nuclei from cytoplasm.
1939 Siemens produced the first commercial transmission electron microscope.
1952 Gey and coworkers established a continuous human cell line.
1955 Eagle systematically defined the nutritional needs of animal cells in culture.
1957 Meselson, Stahl and Vinograd developed density gradient centrifugation in cesium
chloride solutions for separating nucleic acids.
1965 Ham introduced a defined serum-free medium. Cambridge Instruments produced the first
commercial scanning electron microscope.
1976 Sato and colleagues publish papers showing that different cell lines require different
mixtures of hormones and growth factors in serum-free media.
1981 Transgenic mice and fruit flies are produced. Mouse embryonic stem cell line established.

1995 Tsien identifies mutant of GFP with enhanced spectral properties


1998 Mice are cloned from somatic cells.
1999 Hamilton and Baulcombe discover siRNA as part of post-transcriptional gene silencing
(PTGS) in plants
References:

Landmark Papers in Cell Biology: Selected Research Articles Celebrating Forty Years of
The American Society for Cell Biology. 2000. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Mazzarello P. A unifying concept: the history of cell theory. Nat Cell Biol. 1999.
1(1):E13-5.

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