STEM 4: General Biology 1 - Cell Theory and Discovery

Practice vocabulary flashcards based on the STEM 4: General Biology 1 lecture covering the history of microscopes, contributors to cell theory, and basic cell functions.

Lens (Roman Era)

Originated from 'Glass' invented by the Romans during the First century ($AD$) - Year $100$, defined as glass that is thin on the edges and thick in the middle used to magnify objects.

Hans and Zacharias Janssen

Eyeglass makers who in $1590$ placed multiple lenses in a tube to create the first microscope, observing that objects appeared greatly enlarged.

Galileo Galilei

Developed a compound microscope in $1609$ using a convex and a concave lens.

Giovanni Faber

The individual who in $1625$ coined the name 'microscope' for Galileo Galilei’s invention.

Robert Hooke

An English physicist who in $1665$ published Micrographia and coined the term 'cells' while describing the honeycomb structure of cork.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Built a simple microscope with one lens in $1676$ and was the first to describe living cells and bacteria, which he called animalcules.

Animalcules

The name given by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek to the first living organisms he saw under the microscope, meaning 'little animals'.

Cell Theory

A postulated and widely accepted hypothesis stating that cells comprise all organisms and represent the fundamental unit of life.

Matthias Schleiden

A German botanist who concluded that all plant tissues are composed of cells and that embryonic plants arise from single cells.

Theodor Schwann

A German botanist (as cited in the transcript) who concluded that both plants and animals are composed of cells.

Rudolf Virchow

A scientist who used the theory that all cells arise from pre-existing cells to lay the groundwork for cellular pathology.

Cellular Pathology

The study of disease at the cellular level, founded on the principle that cells arise from pre-existing cells.

Postulate 1 of Cell Theory

The cell is the fundamental unit of structure and function in living things.

Postulate 2 of Cell Theory

All organisms are made up of one or more cells.

Postulate 3 of Cell Theory

Cells came from other pre-existing cells through cellular division.

Organelles

Aggregates of macromolecules within a membrane with a specific function inside a cell.

Population

Organisms of the same species that live in the same area.

Biosphere

The parts of Earth where life exists.

Nutrition (Cell Function)

The process of taking in and processing nutrients.

Respiration (Cell Function)

The process of breaking down food to release energy ($ATP$).

Excretion (Cell Function)

The process of removing waste products from the cell.

Growth and Development (Cell Function)

The process of increasing in size and complexity.

Reproduction (Cell Function)

The producing of new cells through cell division.

Cell

The smallest living unit capable of performing all life processes, such as metabolism and biochemistry.