Related topics: proceedings of the national academy of sciences , cancer , protein , stem cells , cancer cells
Cell (biology)
hideThe cell is the structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building block of life. Some organisms, such as most bacteria, are unicellular (consist of a single cell). Other organisms, such as humans, are multicellular. (Humans have an estimated 100 trillion or 1014 cells; a typical cell size is 10 µm; a typical cell mass is 1 nanogram.) The largest known cell is an unfertilized ostrich egg cell.
In 1835 before the final cell theory was developed, a Czech Jan Evangelista Purkyně observed small "granules" while looking at the plant tissue through a microscope. The cell theory, first developed in 1839 by Matthias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, states that all organisms are composed of one or more cells. All cells come from preexisting cells. Vital functions of an organism occur within cells, and all cells contain the hereditary information necessary for regulating cell functions and for transmitting information to the next generation of cells.
The word cell comes from the Latin cellula, meaning, a small room. The descriptive name for the smallest living biological structure was chosen by Robert Hooke in a book he published in 1665 when he compared the cork cells he saw through his microscope to the small rooms monks lived in.
For more information about Cell (biology), read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with cells
Disinfectants may promote growth of superbugs
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Using disinfectants could cause bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics as well as the disinfectant itself, according to research published in the January issue of Microbiology. The findings could have important implic ...
Panasonic develops direct methanol fuel cell system with high power output and durability
Dec 26, 2009 |
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Panasonic Corporation announced it has developed a direct methanol fuel cell system which can produce an average power output of 20 W by increasing the output per cubic centimeter twice that of its previous prototype. Using ...
Splitting fluorescent protein helps image clusters in live cells
Dec 26, 2009 |
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Half a protein is better than none, and in this case, it's way better than a whole one. A Rice University lab has discovered that dividing a particular fluorescent protein and using it as a tag is handy for analyzing the ...
Citrus surprise: Vitamin C boosts the reprogramming of adult cells into stem cells
Dec 24, 2009 |
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Famous for its antioxidant properties and role in tissue repair, vitamin C is touted as beneficial for illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer and perhaps even for slowing the aging process. Now, ...
Glitter-sized solar photovoltaics produce competitive results
Dec 22, 2009 |
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Sandia National Laboratories scientists have developed tiny glitter-sized photovoltaic cells that could revolutionize the way solar energy is collected and used.
Scientists improve chip memory by stacking cells
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Arizona State University have developed an elegant method for significantly improving the memory capacity of electronic chips.
'Self-seeding' of cancer cells may play a critical role in tumor progression
Dec 24, 2009 |
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Cancer progression is commonly thought of as a process involving the growth of a primary tumor followed by metastasis, in which cancer cells leave the primary tumor and spread to distant organs. A new study by researchers ...
Switchable Nanostructures Made with DNA
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have found a new way to use a synthetic form of DNA to control the assembly of nanoparticles — this time resulting ...
Scientists discover 2 genes that drive aggressive brain cancers
Dec 23, 2009 |
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A team of Columbia scientists have discovered two genes that, when simultaneously activated, are responsible for the most aggressive forms of human brain cancer.
Study shows a key protein helps control blood pressure
Dec 23, 2009 |
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University of Iowa researchers have shown that a protein channel helps nerve sensors in blood vessels keep blood pressure in check. Without the protein channel, known as ASIC2, the sensors are unable to send the brain the ...
Research yields new agent for some drug-resistant non-small cell lung cancers
Dec 23, 2009 |
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The ability to make, test, and map the atomic structure of new anti-cancer agents has enabled a team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists to discover a compound capable of halting a common type of drug-resistant ...
First adhere, then detach and glide forward
Dec 23, 2009 |
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How do one-celled parasites move from the salivary gland of a mosquito through a person's skin into red blood cells? What molecular mechanisms form the basis for this very important movement of the protozoa? ...
Up a little on the left... now, over to the right... Scientists find a source of nonallergic itch
Dec 22, 2009 |
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Scratching below the surface of a troublesome sensation that's equal parts tingle-tickle-prickle, sensory scientists from Johns Hopkins have discovered in mice a molecular basis for nonallergic itch.
New human reproductive hormone could lead to novel contraceptives
Dec 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Nearly 10 years after the discovery that birds make a hormone that suppresses reproduction, University of California, Berkeley, neuroscientists have established that humans make it too, opening ...
Protein inhibits cancer cell growth
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto and Goethe University in Germany have discovered a protein that can inhibit the growth of cancer cells, providing crucial clues for the future development of new drugs ...
