Gen Bio

Biology

A natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms.

Glass

Invention of Romans in the 1st century.

Eye glass

Invention of Romans in the 13th century.

Compound microscope

Invention of Zacharias and Hans Jansen in the 16th century.

1665

Year when Robert Hooke discovered the cell.

High specs single lens microscope

Invention of Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek in 1932.

Lentil

Lens is derived from the Latin word for this.

Robert Hooke

Discovered small compartments of cellula.

Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek

Discovered egg cells, sperm cells, and cell fertilization.

Matthias Jakob Schleiden

Botanist who concluded that the cell is the basic unit of life.

Theodore Schwann

Zoologist who concluded that the cell is the basic unit of life.

Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow

Noticed organ and tissue diseases come from affected cells and stated that cells arise from pre-existing cells.

Robert Remak

Jewish scientist in 1855 who proved the idea of cell division by hardening a cell membrane.

The spontaneous generation theory

Archaic theory stating that living organisms develop from non-living matter.

Francesco Redi

Experimented on 3 jars, disproving the spontaneous generation theory.

John Needham

Boiled chicken broth, believed the spontaneous generation theory is real.

Lazzaro Spallanzani

Disproved John Needham's findings.

Louis Pasteur

Experimented with an S-shaped flask.

The Cell

Basic unit of life.

Cell membrane

Also called plasma membrane, responsible for regulating in and outside of the cell.

Cytoplasm

Gelatinous substance that holds materials within the cell.

Centrioles

Barrel-like structures located in the cytoplasm, acting as a support structure.

Nucleus

Control center of the cell.

Nucleolus

Largest structure in the nucleus, site of ribosome production.

Ribosomes

Sites of protein synthesis.

Endoplasmic Reticulum

Protein folding and transportation system within the cell.

Golgi Bodies

Packages proteins before transportation.

Lysosomes

Organelles that break down proteins.

Mitochondria

Powerhouse of the cell and source of chemical energy.

Cell wall

Structural layer outside the cell.

Flagella

Tail-like structures that provide motility.

Cilia

Hair-like structures, absent in bacteria and archaea.

Chitin

Substance that forms exoskeletons, providing protection to fragile bodies.

Root Hair

Structures that absorb nutrients from the environment.

Chloroplast

Converts sunlight to energy and contains chlorophyll.

Vacuole

Maintains water balance in plants and stores waste products in animal cells.

Prokaryote

Simple organisms, mostly unicellular, lacking a true nucleus.

Prokaryotic Cells

Developed approximately 3.5 billion years ago.

Eukaryote

Larger and more complex organisms, uni- or multicellular, containing membrane-bound organelles.

Unicellular

Organisms that reproduce asexually and utilize phagocytosis for nutrition.

Multicellular

Organisms such as plants and animals that undergo cell division and are capable of nutrition and digestion.