Life is Cellular

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Cell Noun

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[sel]

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Cell

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The basic structural, functional, and biological unit of all known organisms; it is the smallest unit of life.

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Example: This diagram shows a cross-section of an animal cell, labeling its main parts, called organelles, which work together to keep the cell alive.

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Cell Theory Noun

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[sel thee-uh-ree]

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Cell Theory

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The fundamental concept that all living things are composed of cells, which are the basic units of life.

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Example: This image compares the basic structures of an animal cell and a plant cell, which are the fundamental units of life for these organisms.

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Robert Hooke Noun

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[rob-ert hook]

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Robert Hooke

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An English scientist who first observed cells in cork through a microscope and coined the term 'cell' in 1665.

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Example: This is Robert Hooke's original 1665 drawing of cork under a microscope, where he first observed and named the box-like structures 'cells'.

Front

Anton van Leeuwenhoek Noun

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[an-ton van ley-vuhn-hook]

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Anton van Leeuwenhoek

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A Dutch scientist who was the first person to observe and describe living microorganisms using a single-lens microscope.

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Example: This image shows that a simple drop of pond water contains a hidden world of diverse microscopic organisms, which Anton van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe.

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Rudolf Virchow Noun

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[roo-dolf vir-koh]

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Rudolf Virchow

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A German physician who proposed that all new cells can only arise from the division of pre-existing cells.

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Example: This image shows Rudolf Virchow, a key scientist in cell theory, in a 19th-century lecture setting with microscopes, highlighting his role as a teacher and pathologist.

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Compound Light Microscope Noun

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[kom-pound lyt my-kruh-skohp]

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Compound Light Microscope

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A microscope that uses visible light and a system of lenses to magnify images of small, thin specimens.

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Example: This diagram shows the key parts of a compound light microscope, the tool used to magnify and observe tiny objects like cells.

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Resolution Noun

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[rez-uh-loo-shuhn]

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Resolution

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The shortest distance between two points on a specimen that can still be distinguished as separate entities in an image.

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Example: This image shows two points of light that are so close together they are almost blurry into one, illustrating how a microscope's resolution is its ability to show two tiny objects as separate.

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Fluorescence Noun

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[floo-res-uhns]

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Fluorescence

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The property of absorbing light of a short wavelength and emitting light of a longer wavelength, used for labeling molecules.

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Example: This diagram shows how fluorescence works in a microscope. A specific color of light hits a specimen, causing it to glow and release a different color of light, which is then seen by a detector.

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Electron Microscope Noun

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[ih-lek-tron my-kruh-skohp]

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Electron Microscope

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A powerful microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination to create high-resolution images.

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Example: This diagram shows how an electron microscope works by firing a beam of electrons from a gun, focusing it with magnetic lenses onto a specimen.

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Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) Noun

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[trans-mish-uhn ih-lek-tron my-kruh-skohp]

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Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)

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A microscope that forms an image by transmitting a beam of electrons through an ultra-thin specimen to show internal structures.

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Example: A beam of electrons is fired from an electron gun, focused by lenses, and transmitted through a thin specimen to create a magnified image.