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.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with cells
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.
Switchable Nanostructures Made with DNA
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 21, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (9) |
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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 ...
Researchers link calorie intake to cell lifespan, cancer development (w/ Video)
Dec 17, 2009 |
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Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have discovered that restricting consumption of glucose, the most common dietary sugar, can extend the life of healthy human-lung cells and speed ...
Scientists isolate new antifreeze molecule in Alaska beetle
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Scientists have identified a novel antifreeze molecule in a freeze-tolerant Alaska beetle able to survive temperatures below minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike all previously described biological antifreezes that contain ...
Scientists use nanosensors for first time to measure cancer biomarkers in blood
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 13, 2009 |
5 / 5 (13) |
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A team led by Yale University researchers has used nanosensors to measure cancer biomarkers in whole blood for the first time. Their findings, which appear December 13 in the advanced online publication of ...
Elusive 'hot' electrons captured in ultra-thin solar cells
Dec 11, 2009 |
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Boston College researchers have observed the "hot electron" effect in a solar cell for the first time and successfully harvested the elusive charges using ultra-thin solar cells, opening a potential avenue to improved solar ...
Mechanism discovered by which body's cells encourage tuberculosis infection
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Scientists have discovered a signaling pathway that tuberculosis bacteria use to coerce disease-fighting cells to switch allegiance and work on their behalf. Epithelial cells line the airways and other surfaces ...
Researchers demonstrate that stem cells can be engineered to kill HIV
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- UCLA AIDS Institute researchers have for the first time demonstrated that human blood stem cells can be engineered to target and kill HIV-infected cells.
Researchers show brain waves can 'write' on a computer in early tests
Dec 07, 2009 |
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Neuroscientists at the Mayo Clinic campus in Jacksonville, Fla., have demonstrated how brain waves can be used to type alphanumerical characters on a computer screen. By merely focusing on the "q" in a matrix of letters, ...
Scientists use virus to kill cancer cells while leaving normal cells intact
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A virus that in nature infects only rabbits could become a cancer-fighting tool for humans. Myxoma virus kills cancerous blood-precursor cells in human bone marrow while sparing normal blood stem cells, a ...
Mathematical model of a simple circuit in a chicken brain raises fundamental questions
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(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 ...
Innovation puts next-generation solar cells on the horizon
Dec 01, 2009 |
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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.
Tumor-attacking virus strikes with 'one-two punch'
Dec 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (6) |
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Ohio State University cancer researchers have developed a tumor-attacking virus that both kills brain-tumor cells and blocks the growth of new tumor blood vessels.
Study shows new brain connections form rapidly during motor learning
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 29, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New connections begin to form between brain cells almost immediately as animals learn a new task, according to a study published this week in Nature. Led by researchers at the University of Cal ...
