Related topics: proceedings of the national academy of sciences , cancer , cancer cells , stem cells , immune system
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.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with cells
H1N1 Virus Can Be Killed by Acidic Ozone Water
Nov 09, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (44) |
16
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have found that acidic ozone water can deactivate H1N1 viruses very effectively, offering a promising disinfectant for the millions of people trying to avoid the disease. Acidic ...
Success in 'space elevator' competition (Update 3)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 05, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (36) |
54
(AP) -- A robot powered by a ground-based laser beam climbed a long cable dangling from a helicopter on Wednesday to qualify for prize money in a $2 million competition to test the potential reality of the ...
Implant-based cancer vaccine is first to eliminate tumors in mice
Nov 25, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (31) |
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- A cancer vaccine carried into the body on a carefully engineered, fingernail-sized implant is the first to successfully eliminate tumors in mammals, scientists report this week in the journal ...
Innovation puts next-generation solar cells on the horizon
Dec 01, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (29) |
12
In a world first, a Monash University-led international research team has developed an innovative way to boost the output of the next generation of solar cells.
Mathematical model of a simple circuit in a chicken brain raises fundamental questions
Dec 01, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (26) |
17
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Web site Neuroanthropology asks visitors to complete this quote, "One of the difficulties in understanding the brain is ...". In addition to the typical facetious remarks, such as "so ...
Bigger not necessarily better, when it comes to brains
Nov 17, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (19) |
12
(PhysOrg.com) -- Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.
Tiny magnetic discs could kill cancer cells: study
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 29, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (22) |
4
Tiny magnetic discs just a millionth of a metre in diameter could be used to used to kill cancer cells, according to a study published on Sunday.
Seattle team wins $900,000 in Space Elevator Games
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 07, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (17) |
6
(AP) -- A Seattle team has collected a $900,000 prize in a NASA-backed competition to develop the concept of an elevator to space - an idea spurred by science fiction novels.
Solar Cells with LEDs Provide Inexpensive Lighting
Nov 09, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (17) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Of the 1.5 billion people in developing countries who do not have electricity, many rely on kerosene lamps for light after the sun goes down. But now, researchers from Denmark have designed ...
Argonne 'homegrown' hybrid solar cell aims for low-cost power
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (12) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have refined a technique to manufacture solar cells by creating tubes of semiconducting material and then "growing" ...
1930s drug slows tumor growth
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 06, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (10) |
1
Drugs sometimes have beneficial side effects. A glaucoma treatment causes luscious eyelashes. A blood pressure drug also aids those with a rare genetic disease. The newest surprise discovered by researchers at the Johns ...
Chocolate rich in flavanols may protect the skin from UV
Nov 06, 2009 |
5 / 5 (9) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study has discovered for the first time that dark chocolate rich in flavanols may provide significant protection from the harmful effects of ultraviolet light.
Stem cells restore mobility in neck-injured rats (w/ Video)
Nov 10, 2009 |
5 / 5 (9) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries - a finding that could expand the clinical ...
New Synthetic Molecules Trigger Immune Response to HIV and Prostate Cancer
Nov 05, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (9) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Yale University have developed synthetic molecules capable of enhancing the body’s immune response to HIV and HIV-infected cells, as well as to prostate cancer cells. Their ...
Study shows that some malignant tumors can be shut down after all
Nov 09, 2009 |
5 / 5 (8) |
1
Oncologists have had their hands tied because more than half of all human cancers have mutations that disable a protein called p53. As a critical anti-cancer watchdog, p53 masterminds several cancer-fighting operations within ...
