Video Transcript
Regarding cell theory, which of the following scientists recognized that the building
blocks of different animal tissues are fundamentally the same? (A) Hooke, (B) Virchow, (C) Schleiden, (D) Schwann.
This question asks us about a scientist who contributed to cell theory. Cell theory is made up of three principles, or postulates. The first is that all living things are made up of at least one cell. The second is that the cell is the basic unit of life. And the third principle of cell theory is that all cells come from preexisting
cells. Let’s review the timeline and some of the scientists who contributed to cell theory
in order to answer this question correctly.
The discoveries relating to cell theory were only made possible after microscopes
were invented in the late 1500s. The first scientist to coin the word “cell” was Robert Hooke, who lived in the
1600s. He named these after observing cork under the microscope. Also in the 1600s, a scientist named Antonie van Leeuwenhoek made many important
observations in microscopic pond life using his simple microscopes. Because of his contributions, he’s sometimes called the father of microbiology.
Following this, in the 1800s, Matthias Schleiden used microscopes to observe plants
and discovered that plants are made of cells. Schleiden collaborated with another scientist named Theodor Schwann, who made the
same observations in animal cells. He recognized that the building units of animal tissues were the same and were
cells. Together, they concluded that all living things are made of cells. Later, in the 1800s, Rudolph Virchow proposed that all cells come from preexisting
cells.
After reviewing the different discoveries that led to cell theory and the scientists
involved, we should be able to answer our question correctly. The scientist that recognized that the building units of different animal tissues are
fundamentally the same is given by answer choice (D), Schwann.
