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Robert Hooke discovers the cell.
Hooke built a compound microscope and observed a cork. He noticed the pores of the cork and named them "cells" after where the monks lived. This was the first discovery of the cell. -
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek discovers bacteria.
Leeuwenhoek improved the magnification of the microscope. He observed pond water and first discovered protists. He discovered saliva and first discover bacteria. The introduction of single-celled organisms opened many new opportunities for the biological community. -
Henri Dutrochet discovered and named osmosis.
Dutrochet aimed his studies toward the physiology of plants and animals. He observed the mechanics of respiration, light sensitivity, and geotropism and came to discover osmosis in plants. -
Matthais Schleiden showed that all plants are made of cells.
Scheleiden said that, instead of forms of plants and dried specimens, botany should be based on plant cells. He urged botanists to observed live plants under microscopes. -
Theodor Schwann concluded that animals are also made up of cells.
Schwann was inspired by Matthais Schleiden who discovered the plant cell. He opposed the popular belief that a mysterious force created living things and said that all cells come from cells. -
Rudolf Virchow proposed that disease is caused by the malfunction of cells.
Virchow observed diseased cells under microscopes and found that the cell is the basic unit of human life. He also proposed that diseased cells come from healthy cells.
