What Are We Made Of?
Have you ever wondered what you are made of? What makes up your skin, blood, bones, nerves? Well scientists have finally discovered the answer. Cells. Millions and millions of microscopic cells living and reproducing in your body. It might sound really strange that there are microscopic things living inside of you, however, scientists Robert Hooke, Matthias Schleiden, and Theodore Schwann have proof (Tavassoli). After creating his phenomenal microscope, Hooke discovered cells on thin slices of bottle cork (Tavassoli). In 1839, Schleiden and Schwann articulated the Cell Theory (Mallery). This theory simply states that every living thing on the face of the Earth contains one or more cells. However, not every organism has the same amount of cells. There are two different types of organisms. Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic. A prokaryotic organism contains only a singular cell such as bacteria. During cell division, it reproduces. Eukaryotic organisms contain multiple cells such as humans or animals. These grow and develop during cell division. It was also discovered that cells have parts inside of them called organelles. Organelles all have different functions. For example, the nucleus is like the brain of the cell. Some organelles are only in animal cells or only in plant cells. For example, the centriole is only in the animal cell, and the central vacuole is only in the plant cell. The Cell Theory is an amazing discovery. It has successfully changed the lives of many and especially effected how scientists view an organism's body.