Transcript The Ultra Fascinating History of Cellular Thought

The Ultra Fascinating
History of Cellular Thought
Aristotle

300 BC
 Greek Philosopher
 Developed theory of
Spontaneous
Generation
Spontaneous Generation
 Life
can suddenly arise out of non-living
matter
 Not true – but theory was accepted for
nearly 2000 years
 Why? Because there was evidence….
A sack of grain became mice
Meat left out became maggots
Salamanders came from fire
“You’ll catch your DEATH!!!”
From a 1951 Disney movie
Robert Hooke
 Early
1660’s
 English scientist
 Invented a crude
microscope
 Looked at cork
 Named “cells”
Hooke’s Microscope
Hooke’s Drawing of Cork
Early 1660’s
% of Believers
SG Belief-O-Meter
Year
Francesco Redi
Late 1660’s
 Italian Physician
 Set out to disprove
S.G.
 Meat in jars
experiment

Redi’s Experiment
Late 1660’s
% of Believers
SG Belief-O-Meter
Year
Anton van Leeuwenhoek

1675
 Dutch Inventor
 Improved Hooke’s
microscope
 Looked at
“animalcules”
Anton van Leewenhoek’s
Microscope
1675
% of Believers
SG Belief-O-Meter
Year
John Needham

1748
 Scottish scientist
 Set up Redi-like
experiment
 Tried to
prove/disprove SG
once and for all
1748
% of Believers
SG Belief-O-Meter
Year
Lazzaro Spallanzani
(Coolest name EVER)

1790
 Italian Scientist
 Questioned
Needham’s
experiment
 Tried to improve it
Spallanzani’s Experiment
1790
% of Believers
SG Belief-O-Meter
Year
Louis Pasteur

1864
 French Chemist
 Invented “Swannecked flask”
 Disproved S.G. once
and for all
Pasteur’s Swan-Necked Flask
Pasteur’s Experiment
Results
 Pasteur’s
flasks kept bacteria out of the
broth until …….
TODAY
1864
% of Believers
SG Belief-O-Meter
Year
2010
% of Believers
SG Belief-O-Meter
Year
Rudolph Virchow

1858
 Russian Pathologist
 Stated “All cells arise
from other cells.”
Matthias Schleiden and Theodor
Schwann

1838
 Schlieden – German
Botonist
 Stated – “All plants
are made of cells.”
Matthias Schleiden and Theodor
Schwann

1838
 Schwann – German
Zoologist
 Stated – “All animals
are made of cells.”
Schleiden and Schwann
stated –
“All LIFE is composed of
cells”
Together
The Cell Theory
 All
life is composed of cells (Schleiden and
Schwann)
 All cells come from other cells (Virchow
and Pasteur)
 Cells contain the hereditary information
that is passed from parent to offspring
(DNA)
The Germ Theory
 Diseases




Bacteria
Viruses
Fungi
Protists
are caused by microorganisms
Are we creating Super-Germs?