History of Cell Biology

Vocabulary flashcards capturing key terms, historical timelines, figures, and technical breakthroughs in cell biology as detailed in Lecture 1.

Cell Theory

The foundational biological principle stating that all living things share the basic organizational unit of the cell, predating Darwin's theory of evolution and Mendel's law of inheritance.

Schleiden & Schwann

The scientists who provided the formal articulation of Cell Theory, which remains the foundation of modern biology.

Prokaryotic Cells

Simpler structured cells (such as Bacteria and Archaea) with no intracellular membranes and DNA located in the cytoplasm.

Eukaryotic Cells

More complex structured cells (such as Plant and Animal cells) containing membrane-bound organelles and DNA stored within a nucleus.

Jansen (1595)

Created the 1st compound microscope in 1595.

Robert Hooke (1665)

Observed "cells" in cork using a microscope in 1665.

Leeuwenhoek (1674)

Became the first person to witness a live cell under a microscope in 1674.

Schwann's Dual Existence Conclusion

The conclusion that the cell is both a distinct entity and a building block in the construction of organisms.

Free Cell Formation

Schwann's incorrect conclusion that cells form spontaneously (spontaneous generation).

Virchow

Disproved spontaneous cell formation by stating, "All cells only arise from pre-existing cells."

Modern Cell Theory Principles

States that all living things are made of cells, cells come from pre-existing cells by division, cells contain hereditary info passed cell-to-cell, all cells have basically the same chemical composition, and all energy flow occurs within cells.

HeLa Revolution (1951)

In 1951, Gey established the 1st continuous cell line from cervical cancer cells, enabling scientists to grow and manipulate cells outside living organisms.

Cell Biology Explosion Advantages

Key advances including minimal media requirements for culture nutritional needs, electron microscopy for visualizing cellular structures, and sterile techniques for long-term cell growth.

Robert Brown (1833)

Described the cell nucleus in cells of the orchid in 1833.

Albrecht von Roelliker (1840)

Realized that sperm cells and egg cells are also cells in 1840.

Pringsheim (1856)

Observed how a sperm cell penetrated an egg cell in 1856.

Kölliker (1857)

Described mitochondria in 1857.

Flemming (1879)

Described chromosome behavior during mitosis in 1879.

Haploid Germ Cells Discovery (1883)

In 1883, scientists discovered that germ cells are haploid, leading to the chromosome theory of heredity.

Golgi (1898)

Described the Golgi apparatus in 1898.

Behrens (1938)

Used differential centrifugation to separate nuclei from cytoplasm in 1938.

Siemens (1939)

Produced the first commercial transmission electron microscope in 1939.

Eagle (1955)

Systematically defined the nutritional needs of animal cells in culture in 1955.

Meselson, Stahl, and Vinograd (1957)

Developed density gradient centrifugation for separating nucleic acids in 1957.

Ham (1965)

Introduced a defined serum-free medium in 1965.

Cambridge Instruments (1965)

Produced the first commercial scanning electron microscope in 1965.

Sato and colleagues (1976)

Showed that different cell lines require different mixtures of hormones and growth factors in serum-free media in 1976.

1981 Stem Cell & Transgenic Breakthroughs

Transgenic mice and fruit flies were produced, and a mouse embryonic stem cell line was established in 1981.

Enhanced GFP (1995)

Tsien identified a mutant of Green Fluorescent Protein in 1995, revolutionizing cell imaging.

Cloning (1998)

Mice were successfully cloned from somatic cells in 1998, demonstrating cell manipulation.

siRNA Discovery (1999)

Hamilton & Baulcombe discovered small interfering RNA (siRNA) as post-transcriptional gene silencing in 1999.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (2006)

Breakthrough in 2006 that allowed stem cells to be created from differentiated cells.

Single-Cell Signaling (2009)

Technique introduced in 2009 allowing insight into transcriptomics at the resolution of individual cells.

CRISPR Gene Editing (2012)

Breakthrough in 2012 allowing precise RNA-targeted genome engineering.

Organoids Technology

3-D tissue cultures derived from stem cells that can be grown to resemble miniature organs, providing researchers with more accurate models of human tissue.