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Hooke's Cell Theory
Robert Hooke was the first to discover the cell. He looked at a cork slice under a primitive compound microscope and saw small honey-comb shaped sections. What he was seeing was the cell walls and he began to call his discovery the “cell” because of the compartment-like structure. Because he was the first to discover these cells, he disproved the before idea of spontaneous generation, which is an idea that states living things came or developed from nonliving matter. -
Leeuwenhoek's Cell Theory
Leeuwenhoek created a single lens microscope and used it to study pond scum. In this pond scum he found tiny little animals he began to call “animalcules.” These small things he was looking at were actually bacteria and single celled organisms. Leeuwenhoek proved that cells were living by studying the moving bacteria in the pond scum. -
Brown's Cell Theory
While studying the structures of plants within the Orchidaceae family, he noticed small figures within the cells of the orchids. He named this center structure the “nucleus.” He disproved the previous theory by showing that these cells had multiple parts and weren’t just simple moving organisms. -
Schwann's Cell Theory
While Schwann was studying the digestive system, he came across a substance that made the digestion process take place and called it “pepsin.” This was the first enzyme prepared from animal tissue. Schwann added to Schleiden’s previous discovery that plants were comprised of cells and proved that animals were also comprised of cells. -
Schleiden's Cell Theory
Schleiden began to look at plants under a microscope while studying under a professor. He soon discovered that plants were made up of cells also, adding to the belief that the cells were in bacteria and scum-type substances. He also studied the plant cells close enough to realize the importance of the nucleus earlier discovered by Brown. -
Virchow's Cell Theory
Virchow began to hear theories of cells’ origins. He dug deeper into the subject and discovered that cells derive from preexisting cells. Although this was not a completely original idea because of the popular study going around, Virchow is often given credit due to his communication with medical practitioners. His “discovery” changed the idea of where cells were coming from. People then knew that the cells were being created by each other instead of an organism just maintaining the same cells. -
Citations
"Cell Theory Timeline." Cell Theory Timeline. SoftSchools, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. Mosullivan10. "Biology Chapter 4." Flashcards. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. Beccamb. "Scientists Who Contributed To The Cell Theory." Flashcards. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. "Robert Brown." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. -
Citations
"Matthias Jacob Schleiden." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. "Theodor Schwann." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. "Browns+cell - Google Search." Browns+cell - Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. "CYTOLOGY (ADVANCED BIOLOGY)." MyElimu. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. -
Citations
"Rudolf Virchow." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. "Virchow+cell+theory - Google Search." Virchow+cell+theory - Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. "Go to Bing Homepage." Hooke+cell+theory. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016. "Leeuwenhoek+animalcules - Google Search." Leeuwenhoek+animalcules - Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
