INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY

Cell biology is the study of cellular form, function, and behavior. The
cell's definition in biology is the study of most basic living unit.

Cells consist of gel-like cytoplasm surrounded by a cell membrane.

They make up all living creatures, including plants, animals, fungi, and
protists.

Living beings range from single-celled organisms to massive, complex

structures such as blue whales.

Complex creatures have many types of specialized cells. Cell biology is

also known as cellular biology and cytology.

This scientific field has grown since the 1600s as technology made
more advanced work possible.
 HISTORY

The first time the word cell was used to refer to these tiny units of
life was in 1665 by a British scientist Robert Hooke.

Hooke was one of the earliest scientists to study living cells under a
microscope.

The microscopes of his day were not very strong, but Hooke was still
able to make an important discovery.

When he looked at a thin slice of cork under his microscope, he was

surprised to see what looked like a honeycomb.

Hooke detailed his observations of this tiny and previously unseen

world in his book, "Micrographia."

Hooke made the drawing in the figure below to show what he saw.

The cork was made up of many tiny units, which Hooke called cells.
Dutch scientist Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, in 1674 detected other
hidden, minuscule organisms, bacteria, and protozoa.

In 1674, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observed for the first time red
blood cells and protozoa

in 1676, he discovered bacteria, and spermatozoa from the testes

of an animal.

In these pioneering studies, he used his custom-made

microscopes, equipped with his own lenses with a magnification
up to 500-fold

Van Leuwenhoek saw bacteria in the plaques of his own teeth but
he called these tiny creatures "animalcules."
Using the light microscopes that were developed, Robert Brown in 1833 described the cell nucleus in cells of
the orchid

In 1838, Theodor Schwann and Matthias Jakob Schleiden were enjoying after-dinner coffee and talking about
their studies on cells.

When Schwann heard Matthias Schleiden describe plant cells with nuclei, he was struck by the similarity of
these plant cells to animal cells he had observed in tissues. The two scientists went immediately to Schwann’s
lab to look at his slides.

Their observations were evident in the form of cell theory.

With the advancements in microscopes, more discoveries were made about cells.

In the 1950s, an electron microscope microscope was invented. it used a beam of electrons instead of light to
observe extremely small objects.

With an electron microscope, scientists could finally see the tiny structures inside cells. In fact, they could even
see individual molecules and atoms.

The electron microscope had a huge impact on biology. It allowed scientists to study organisms at the level of
their molecules and led to the emergence of the field of cell biology.

With the electron microscope, many more cell discoveries were made.
The discovery of the cell continued to impact science 100 years later, with the discovery of stem cells, the
undifferentiated cells that have yet to develop into more specialized cells.

The stem cells were discovered by Martin Evans and Matt Kauffman. They identified, isolated, and cultured the
embryonic stem cells from a mouse blastocyst in 1981.

In 1988 James Thomson and his subordinates isolated the embryonic stem cells from a human blastocyst.

This helped scientists to generate the building blocks of the human body in unlimited amounts. The discovery
made it possible to have cell types for therapeutic purposes and new transplantation methods that were
impossible in earlier times.

It was later discovered that adult tissues, usually skin, could be reprogrammed into stem cells and then form
other cell types.

These cells are known as induced pluripotent stem cells.

Stem cells are now used to treat many conditions, such as Alzheimer's and heart disease. The discovery of
the cell has had a far greater impact on science than Hooke could have ever dreamed in 1665.
In addition to giving us a fundamental understanding of the building blocks of all living organisms, the discovery of
the cell has led to advances in medical technology and treatment.

Today, scientists are working on personalized medicine, which would allow us to grow stem cells from our very
own cells and then use them to understand disease processes.
Cell Organelles
The cellular components are called cell organelles. These cell organelles include both membrane and non-
membrane-bound organelles present within the cells and are distinct in their structures and functions.

They coordinate and function efficiently for the normal functioning of the cell.

A few of them function by providing shape and support, whereas some are involved in the locomotion and
reproduction of a cell.

Although cells are diverse, all cells have certain organelles in common. They include a plasma membrane,
cytoplasm, ribosomes, and DNA.

The plasma membrane (also called the cell membrane) is a thin coat of phospholipids that surrounds a cell. It forms
the physical boundary between the cell and its environment.

Cytoplasm refers to all of the cellular material inside the plasma membrane. The Cytoplasm is made up of a watery
substance called cytosol and contains other cell structures, such as ribosomes.

Ribosomes are structures in the cytoplasm where proteins are made.

DNA is a nucleic acid found in cells. It contains the genetic instructions that cells need to make proteins.

These parts are common to all cells, from organisms as different as bacteria and human beings. How did all known organisms
come to have such similar cells? The similarities show that all life on Earth has a common evolutionary history.