Cell: The Story of the Theory

Once upon a time, a man observed. From his little observation, a great discovery was born. He discovered the basic building block of all organisms, from small viruses to large rhinoceros. The discovery has indeed had a huge impact on science.


Once upon a time, a man observed. From his little observation, a great discovery was born. He discovered the basic building block of all organisms, from small viruses to large rhinoceros. The discovery has indeed had a huge impact on science.

You find yourself living before 350 years. You enter a dark, old room filled with bookshelves and tints of sunlight dancing in through the clear windows. You can see a man fully observed in an observation with a primitive microscope on a large wooden table in a particular corner. There is a book and a quill beside it. He kept writing something and goes back to his inspection. As you go closer, you can see that it is a cork he is inspecting.

With time and technology, this is how the British scientist Robert Hooke (1635 – 1703) discovered dead cell walls back in 1665. Thanks to the invention and advancements of microscopes that led to this delightful discovery that has brought such headway in humanity, a super strike in science and supreme success in the medical field.

As aforementioned, the microscope that Hooke used was refined. With the interest of being enlightened with the microworld, Hooke crafted, comprised and constructed it with his bare hands, containing only three lenses and a stage light. It enlarged the specimens and snippets between 20 – 50 times.

Hooke documented his findings with great wonder in his book, Micrographia. He noted in the book, “These pores, or cells, were indeed the first microscopical pores I ever saw, and perhaps, that were ever seen, for I had not met with any Writer or Person, that had made any mention of them before this...” showing how he named it “cells”. It is derived from the Latin word 'cellula', which means small compartment.

Shortly after ten years of Hooke’s discovery, a Dutch scientist named Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1723), who is believed to have made over 500 microscopes, discovered protozoa in 1674 and bacteria after nine years of ceaseless hard work, in 1683. He was considered to be the world’s first human to see living cells.

Furthermore, after five years of the description of the cell nucleus in orchid cells in 1833 by a Scottish Botanist, Robern Brown (1733 - 1858), the cell theory was thought up by a German physician, Theodor Schwann (1810 - 1882) and a German botanist, Matthias Schleiden (1804–1881) in 1838. According to Bitesize Bio, the two scientists discussed their studies and came to the conclusion that there are similarities between plant cells and animal cells which led to the conclusion of the cell theory. The scientist’s summarized three statements. They are:

1. Cells are the fundamental living unit.

2. The cell is the building block or the fundamental unit in organisms.

3. Cells form by free-cell formation: spontaneous generation.

With the findings and statement of Rudolf Virchow (1821 – 1902), (“omnis cellula e cellulase” which means “all cells come from cells”). Now we know that the first two are correct, but the third one is wrong, and cells come from pre-existing cells.

Finally, yet importantly, I would like to take a look at cells in a religious way and highlight that while those numerous scientists have tried to discover cells, hints of it were in the Qur’an for more than a millennium. In the following verse, “guided it aright” points to the inbuilt code in the nucleus of every living cell. The verse is, “Our Lord is He Who gave every living thing its constitution then guided it aright.” (20:50).

In addition, the scientists are consentient that living cell has retained their shape and form in all the ages after their creation in the body of Prophet Adam (A.S). Similar to the case of animal and plant cells. They could never be changed or mutated.

All in all, from DNA to artificial intelligence, the cell and its theory have become an interestingly important invention in the science field.

At the end of the day, I believe this story shows the importance of believing in yourself and never giving up even if it takes years to fulfil what you want to achieve.

References

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/history-cell-discovering-cell/12thgrade/

https://www.arabnews.com/islam-perspective/ajab-al-zanab-and-celltheory#:~:text=The%20Qur'an%20pointing%20to,to%20the%20code%20its%20cell.

https://bitesizebio.com/166/history-of-cell-biology/

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/celltheory/#:~:text=The%20classical%20cell%20theory%20was,organisms%20ar e%20made%20of%20cells

https://lisbdnet.com/5-scientists-who-contributed-to-the-cell-theory/

https://www.bemidjistate.edu/academics/departments/science/k12- science units/Celll-theoy-and-organelles-biology.pdf

https://youtu.be/4OpBylwH9DU


Author biography

Aminath Faiha Fazeel, born in 2007, is from Malé, the Maldives, and is a student and a participant of the Leaders of Tomorrow programme by Professor Ugail. She is also a Girl Guide, aspiring to be a leader in the future. Along with always believing in herself, she strives for excellence and not perfection. She finds herself absorbed in research, coding, writing, drawing, graphic designing and animating. Some of her artworks are posted on her Instagram page named @rankamana_arts. In addition, she strongly believes in the proverb 'no pain, no gain'.


Aminath Faiha Fazeel

Cite this article as:
Aminath Faiha Fazeel, CELL: The Story Of The Theory, theCircle Composition, Volume 2, (2022). https://thecirclecomposition.org/cell-the-story-of-the-theory-2/