Cell, in biology, the basic membrane-bound unit that contains the fundamental

molecules of life and of which all living things are composed. A single cell is
often a complete organism in itself, such as a bacterium or yeast. Other cells
acquire specialized functions as they mature. These cells cooperate with other
specialized cells and become the building blocks of large multicellular
organisms, such as humans and other animals. Although cells are much
larger than atoms, they are still very small. The smallest known cells are a
group of tiny bacteria called mycoplasmas; some of these single-celled
organisms are spheres as small as 0.2 μm in diameter (1μm = about
0.000039 inch), with a total mass of 10−14 gram—equal to that of
8,000,000,000 hydrogen atoms. Cells of humans typically have a mass
400,000 times larger than the mass of a single mycoplasma bacterium, but
even human cells are only about 20 μm across. It would require a sheet of
about 10,000 human cells to cover the head of a pin, and each human
organism is composed of more than 75,000,000,000,000 cells.


Cells are the basic units of life.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
 READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC

human disease: Abnormal growth of cells

) The growth of cells in the body is a closely controlled function, which, together

with limited and regulated expression of various…

This article discusses the cell both as an individual unit and as a contributing
part of a larger organism. As an individual unit, the cell is capable of
metabolizing its own nutrients, synthesizing many types of molecules,
providing its own energy, and replicating itself in order to produce succeeding
generations. It can be viewed as an enclosed vessel, within which
innumerable chemical reactions take place simultaneously. These reactions
are under very precise control so that they contribute to the life and
procreation of the cell. In a multicellular organism, cells become specialized to
perform different functions through the process of differentiation. In order to do
this, each cell keeps in constant communication with its neighbours. As it
receives nutrients from and expels wastes into its surroundings, it adheres to
and cooperates with other cells. Cooperative assemblies of similar cells form
tissues, and a cooperation between tissues in turn forms organs, which carry
out the functions necessary to sustain the life of an organism.
Special emphasis is given in this article to animal cells, with some discussion
of the energy-synthesizing processes and extracellular components peculiar
to plants. (For detailed discussion of the biochemistry
of plant cells, see photosynthesis. For a full treatment of the genetic events in
the cell nucleus, see heredity.)

Cell Theory is one of the basic principles of biology. Credit for the formulation of
this theory is given to German scientists Theodor Schwann, Matthias Schleiden,
and Rudolph Virchow.
The Cell Theory states:

 All living organisms are composed of cells. They may be unicellular or

multicellular.
 The cell is the basic unit of life.
 Cells arise from pre-existing cells. (They are not derived from spontaneous
generation.)

The modern version of the Cell Theory includes the ideas that:

 Energy flow occurs within cells.

 Heredity information (DNA) is passed on from cell to cell.
 All cells have the same basic chemical composition.

In addition to the cell theory, the gene theory, evolution, homeostasis, and
the laws of thermodynamics form the basic principles that are the foundation for
the study of life.

What Are Cells?

Cells are the simplest unit of matter that is living. The two primary kinds of cells
are eukaryotic cells, which have a true nucleuscontaining DNA
and prokaryotic cells, which have no true nucleus. In prokaryotic cells, the
DNA is coiled up in a region called the nucleoid.

Cell Basics
All living organisms in the kingdoms of life are composed of and depend on cells
to function normally. Not all cells, however, are alike. There are two primary
types of cells: eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Examples of eukaryotic cells
include animal cells, plant cells, and fungal cells. Prokaryotic
cells include bacteria and archaeans.

Cells contain organelles, or tiny cellular structures, that carry out specific
functions necessary for normal cellular operation. Cells also
contain DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid), the genetic
information necessary for directing cellular activities.

Cell Reproduction

Ed Reschke/Getty Images
Eukaryotic cells grow and reproduce through a complex sequence of events called
the cell cycle. At the end of the cycle, cells will divide either through the processes
of mitosis or meiosis. Somatic cells replicate through mitosis and sex
cells reproduce via meiosis. Prokaryotic cells reproduce commonly through a type
of asexual reproduction called binary fission. Higher organisms are also capable
of asexual reproduction. Plants, algae, and fungi reproduce through the
formation of reproductive cells called spores. Animal organisms can reproduce
asexually through processes such as budding, fragmentation, regeneration,
and parthenogenesis.

Cell Processes - Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis

Garry DeLong/Getty Images

Cells perform a number of important processes that are necessary for the survival
of an organism. Cells undergo the complex process of cellular respiration in order
to obtain energy stored in the nutrients consumed. Photosynthetic
organisms including plants, algae, and cyanobacteria are capable
of photosynthesis. In photosynthesis, light energy from the sun is converted to
glucose. Glucose is the energy source used by photosynthetic organisms and
other organisms that consume photosynthetic organisms.

Cell Processes - Endocytosis and Exocytosis

Frank Fox/Getty Images

Cells also perform the active transport processes of endocytosis and exocytosis.
Endocytosis is the process of internalizing and digesting substances, such as seen
with macrophages and bacteria. The digested substances are expelled through
exocytosis. These processes also allow for molecule transportation between cells.

Cell Processes - Cell Migration

Ed Reschke/Getty Images

Cell migration is a process that is vital for the development of tissues and organs.
Cell movement is also required for mitosis and cytokinesis to occur. Cell
migration is made possible by interactions between motor enzymes
and cytoskeleton microtubules.

Cell Processes - DNA Replication and Protein Synthesis

The cell process of DNA replication is an important function that is needed for
several processes including chromosome synthesis and cell division to
occur. DNA transcription and RNA translation make the process of protein
synthesis possible.

By definition, a cell is the fundamental and structural unit of all living

organisms. It is the smallest biological, structural and functional unit of
all plants and animals. Therefore, cells are called the ‘Building Blocks
of Life’ or the ‘Basic units of Life’. Organisms made up of a single cell
are ‘unicellular’ whereas organisms made up of many cells are
‘multicellular’. Cells perform many different functions within a living
organism such as digestion, respiration, reproduction, etc and keep it
alive.

For example, within the human body, a lot of cells give rise to a
tissue → multiple tissues make up an organ → many organs create an
organ system → several organs systems functioning together make up
the human body.

Discovery of the cell

Did you know that more than 330 years ago there was no knowledge of
cells? This is because they were too small for the naked eye. The
discovery of the microscope made it possible to observe cells and even
study them in detail. Although it was the scientist, Robert Hooke who
coined the term ‘cell’ after observing dead cells through his microscope,
it was Anton van Leeuwenhoek who first observed live cells! Many
years later, Robert Brown discovered the ‘nucleus’, the engine that
makes a cell function.

Read about Prokaryotic Cell here.

Cell Theory

In 1838, a German botanist, Matthias Jakob Schleiden was the first to

state that cells are the building blocks of all plants. In the following
year, another German botanist, Theodor Schwann stated that cells are
the fundamental units of animals too. These statements ended the notion
that plants and animals have fundamental differences in structure.

Their discoveries led to the formulation of the ‘Cell Theory’ which

states that cells are the basic units of all living organisms (plants and
animals). But, the cell theory failed to explain how new cells arise. In
1855, Rudolf Virchow, a German physiologist stated in German ‘Omnis
cellula e cellula’ which means that new cells come from already
existing cells.

Therefore, the three important points of the modified cell theory are as
follows:

 The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all living
organisms.
 All living organisms (plants and animals) are made up of cells.
 All cells arise from pre-existing cells.
In the following years, scientists also discovered that the body units in
charge of reproduction are also cells. Here are some fun facts for you.
The female egg (Ovum) is the largest cell in the human body. The
smallest cell, on the other hand, is the sperm.

Solved Example for You

Q: Who first saw and described a live cell?

a. Matthias Schendel
b. Theodore Schwann
c. Anton von Leeuwenhoek
d. Rudolf Virchow
Sol: The correct answer is option “c”. The cell was first discovered by
Robert Hooke. However, he saw the dead cell walls of a plant cell. The
first live cell was seen and discovered by Anton von Leeuwenhoek. He
was the first to observe, describe and sketch a free live cell.
History of Cell Biology

The cell theory, or cell doctrine, states that all organisms are composed of
similar units of organization, called cells. The concept was formally articulated
in 1839 by Schleiden & Schwann and has remained as the foundation of
modern biology. The idea predates other great paradigms of biology including
Darwin’s theory of evolution (1859), Mendel’s laws of inheritance (1865), and
the establishment of comparative biochemistry (1940).
First Cells Seen in Cork
While the invention of the telescope made the Cosmos accessible to human
observation, the microsope opened up smaller worlds, showing what living
forms were composed of. The cell was first discovered and named by Robert
Hooke in 1665. He remarked that it looked strangely similar to cellula or small
rooms which monks inhabited, thus deriving the name. However what Hooke
actually saw was the dead cell walls of plant cells (cork) as it appeared under
the microscope. Hooke’s description of these cells was published
in Micrographia. The cell walls observed by Hooke gave no indication of the
nucleus and other organelles found in most living cells. The first man to
witness a live cell under a microscope was Anton van Leeuwenhoek, who in
1674 described the algae Spirogyra. Van Leeuwenhoek probably also saw
bacteria.
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 Schwann’s 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 else’s
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).

We know today that the first two tenets are correct, but the third is clearly
wrong. The correct interpretation of cell formation by division was finally
promoted by others and formally enunciated in Rudolph Virchow’s powerful
dictum, Omnis cellula e cellula,: “All cells only arise from pre-existing cells”.
Modern Cell Theory

1. All known living things are made up of cells.

2. The cell is structural & functional unit of all living things.
3. All cells come from pre-existing cells by division. (Spontaneous
Generation does not occur).
4. Cells contains hereditary information which is passed from cell to cell
during cell division.
5. All cells are basically the same in chemical composition.
6. All energy flow (metabolism & biochemistry) of life occurs within cells.

As with the rapid growth of molecular biology in the mid-20th century, cell
biology research exploded in the 1950’s. It became possible to maintain,
grow, and manipulate cells outside of living organisms. The first continuous
cell line to be so cultured was in 1951 by George Otto Gey and coworkers,
derived from cervical cancer cells taken from Henrietta Lacks, who died from
her cancer in 1951. The cell line, which was eventually referred to as HeLa
cells, have been the watershed in studying cell biology in the way that the
structure of DNA was the significant breakthrough of molecular biology.
In an avalanche of progress in the study of cells, the coming decade included
the characterization of the minimal media requirements for cells and
development of sterile cell culture techniques. It was also aided by the prior
advances in electron microscopy, and later advances such as development of
transfection methods, discovery of green fluorescent protein in jellyfish, and
discovery of small interfering RNA (siRNA), among others.
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.