Questions that we will answer

● Do all cells divide?

● Why and when do cells divide? What are stem cells?

● What does the life of a cell look like?

● How does a cell divide?

● What are the differences between mitosis and meiosis?

● What is diversity? What are stem cells?

● Why is understanding the cell cycle important to fight cancer?

LESSON #1
What is so extraordinary about the organization of
living organisms?
Levels of biological
organization
Before the 1800s
How were cells discovered?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OpBylwH9DU
Duration - 6:11
How were cells discovered?
Discovering the principles of the microscope

❑ In 1590, Zacharias
Janssen, a Dutch
eyeglass maker.

❑ 2 overlapped lenses
increase magnification
 Robert Hooke (1635-1703)

◻ Scientist
◻ He made one of the first

microscopes.
◻ First used the word “cell” to indicate

what living beings are made of. (1665)

 What Hooke saw…
Describing what he saw in a piece of cork under a microscope, he used the word cell.

Cells
 Anton Van Leewenhoek (1632-1723)

◻ Father of microbiology
◻ First to observe living
organisms smaller than what
the human eye can see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbDLGp1RC7Y
 A pause
◻ In the following years
these discoveries didn’t
have much influence in
science.
◻ S. XVII y XVIII Scientists

were focused on
classifying new species
discovered by explorers.
In the early 19th Century they had a revolutionary idea in Germany.

Living things are

made of living
units

They started studying plants and animals at a microscopic level again.

1838 1839

Mathias Schleiden Theodor Schwann

Botanic zoologist

Proved that all fragments Proved that all

of plants have the cells fragments of animals
described by Hooke. also have cells.

Both came up with a theory that said that all organisms come from a cell
and develop from there by the formation of new cells. CELL THEORY.
 The Cell Theory
Late 19th C.

❑ All living things are formed by one or more cells

❑ A cell is the smallest and simplest living thing.
❑ All cells come from other pre-existing cells.
❑ All cells can function independently, although they work together
in a coordinated way when part of an organism.
➢ One cell can perform all living functions : nutrition,
reproduction and interaction
How were cells discovered?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OpBylwH9DU
Duration - 6:11