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Big Idea
Robert Hooke January 01, 1653
He discovered cells, building blocks for all living things. -
Link 1
Step 1: 1838, German scientist Matthias Schleiden stated that all plant material was made up of cells. -
Link 2
Step 2: 1839 The following year, Theodor Schwann came to the same conclusion about animals. He found similar structures of cells in the notochord (found in embryos of the chordate fish) -
Current Thinking
Current thinking
The cell theory states that all living organisms have a basic unit of structure and function, which is the cell. other scientists observed other samples of plant material and discovered that they were also made up of cells. As more and more material was examined, scientists began to recognize a pattern. It wasn't until 1838, however, that German scientist Matthias Schleiden stated that all plant material was made up of cells. The following year, Theodor Schwann came to the sa