Cell biology

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Cell biology, cellular biology, or cytology, is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. [1] [2] All organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and functioning of an organism. [3] Cell biology encompasses both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, with subtopics including the study of cell metabolism, cell communication, cell cycle, biochemistry, and cell composition.

Contents

The study of cells is performed using microscopy techniques, cell culture, and cell fractionation. These are used for research into how cells function, which ultimately gives insight into larger organisms. Knowing the components of cells and how cells work is fundamental to all biological sciences and is essential for research in biomedical fields such as cancer, and other diseases. Research in cell biology is interconnected to other fields such as genetics, molecular genetics, molecular biology, medical microbiology, immunology, and cytochemistry.

History

Cells were first seen in 17th-century Europe with the invention of the compound microscope. In 1665, Robert Hooke referred to the building blocks of all living organisms as "cells" (published in Micrographia ) after looking at a piece of cork and observing a structure reminiscent of monastic cells; [4] [5] however, the cells were dead. They gave no indication to the actual overall components of a cell. A few years later, in 1674, Anton Van Leeuwenhoek was the first to analyze live cells in his examination of algae. Many years later, in 1831, Robert Brown discovered the nucleus. All of this preceded the cell theory which states that all living things are made up of cells and that cells are organisms' functional and structural units. This was ultimately concluded by plant scientist Matthias Schleiden [5] and animal scientist Theodor Schwann in 1838, who viewed live cells in plant and animal tissue, respectively. [3] 19 years later, Rudolf Virchow further contributed to the cell theory, adding that all cells come from the division of pre-existing cells. [3] Viruses are not considered in cell biology – they lack the characteristics of a living cell and instead are studied in the microbiology subclass of virology. [6]

Techniques

Cell biology research looks at different ways to culture and manipulate cells outside of a living body to further research in human anatomy and physiology, and to derive medications. The techniques by which cells are studied have evolved. Due to advancements in microscopy, techniques and technology have allowed scientists to hold a better understanding of the structure and function of cells. Many techniques commonly used to study cell biology are listed below: [7]

Pathology

The scientific branch that studies and diagnoses diseases on the cellular level is called cytopathology. Cytopathology is generally used on samples of free cells or tissue fragments, in contrast to the pathology branch of histopathology, which studies whole tissues. Cytopathology is commonly used to investigate diseases involving a wide range of body sites, often to aid in the diagnosis of cancer but also in the diagnosis of some infectious diseases and other inflammatory conditions. For example, a common application of cytopathology is the Pap smear, a screening test used to detect cervical cancer, and precancerous cervical lesions that may lead to cervical cancer. [10]

Cell biologists

17th century

Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek, pioneer of cell microscopy Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723). Natuurkundige te Delft Rijksmuseum SK-A-957.jpeg
Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek, pioneer of cell microscopy

19th century


Modern

Yoshinori Ohsumi, Nobel Prize winner for work on autophagy Nobel Laureates 1042 (30647248184).jpg
Yoshinori Ohsumi, Nobel Prize winner for work on autophagy

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Alberts, Bruce; Johnson, Alexander D.; Morgan, David; Raff, Martin; Roberts, Keith; Walter, Peter (2015). "Cells and genomes". Molecular Biology of the Cell (6th ed.). New York, NY: Garland Science. pp. 1–42. ISBN   978-0815344322.
  2. ↑ Bisceglia, Nick. "Cell Biology". Scitable. www.nature.com.
  3. 1 2 3 Gupta, P. (1 December 2005). Cell and Molecular Biology. Rastogi Publications. p. 11. ISBN   978-8171338177.
  4. ↑ Hooke, Robert (September 1665). Micrographia.
  5. 1 2 Chubb, Gilbert Charles (1911). "Cytology"  . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 710.
  6. ↑ Paez-Espino D, Eloe-Fadrosh EA, Pavlopoulos GA, Thomas AD, Huntemann M, Mikhailova N, Rubin E, Ivanova NN, Kyrpides NC (August 2016). "Uncovering Earth's virome". Nature. 536 (7617): 425–30. Bibcode:2016Natur.536..425P. doi:10.1038/nature19094. PMID   27533034. S2CID   4466854.
  7. ↑ Lavanya, P. (1 December 2005). Cell and Molecular Biology. Rastogi Publications. p. 11. ISBN   978-8171338177.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cooper, Geoffrey M. (2000). "Tools of Cell Biology". The Cell: A Molecular Approach. 2nd Edition.
  9. ↑ McKinnon, Katherine M. (21 February 2018). "Flow Cytometry: An Overview". Current Protocols in Immunology. 120 (1): 5.1.1–5.1.11. doi:10.1002/cpim.40. ISSN   1934-3671. PMC   5939936 . PMID   29512141.
  10. ↑ "What is Pathology?". News-Medical.net. 13 May 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "Research - IIMCB". www.iimcb.gov.pl.

References

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