History of cell study and the cell theory
The cell was discovered after the microscope was invented: in 1665 the English scientist R. Hooke saw tiny chambers in a thin slice of cork tissue and called them “cellulae” (small chambers). In the 1670s A. Leeuwenhoek observed living microorganisms, bacteria and red blood cells; in 1831 R. Brown identified the nucleus in the cell. In 1838–1839 M. Schleiden and T. Schwann, building on this knowledge, created the cell theory, stating that plants and animals are made of cells; later R. Virchow stressed that a new cell arises only from an existing cell, and K. Baer discovered the mammalian egg cell and showed that a multicellular organism develops from a single zygote. According to the modern cell theory: all organisms are made of cells; the cell is the unit of structure and function of living organisms; new cells arise only by division of previous cells; cellular structure points to the common origin of living things. Viruses are an exception to this rule because they are non-cellular.
“Chain of scientists”. Place 6 cards (Hooke, Leeuwenhoek, Brown, Schleiden and Schwann, Virchow, Baer) along a line. Each student states their scientist’s discovery in one sentence and finds their place by year.