Cell theory
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In biology, cell theory is a scientific theory first formulated in the mid-nineteenth century, that living organisms are made up of cells, that they are the basic structural/organizational unit of all
Human cancer cells with nuclei (specifically the DNA) stained blue. The central and rightmost cell are in interphase, so the entire nuclei are labeled. The cell on the left is going through mitosis and its DNA has condensed.
Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1804–1881)
Theodor Schwann (1810–1882)
Tree of life by Haeckel
Matthias Jakob Schleiden
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Matthias Jakob Schleiden was a German botanist and co-founder of cell theory, along with Theodor Schwann and Rudolf Virchow. He published some poems and non-scientific work under the pseudonym Ernst.
Cell theory
…under the scope, he was able to see pores. This was shocking at the time as it was believed no one else had seen these. To further support his theory, Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann both also studied cells of both animal and plants. What they discovered were significant differences between the two types of cells…
Die Entwickelung der Meduse ("The Development of the Medusæ"), in Schleiden's Das Meer
Alter des Menschengeschlechts, die Entstehung der Arten und die Stellung des Menschen in der Natur, 1863