Cell Division and Mitosis
Overview
Cell theory, the cornerstone of biology, states in modern form that (1) living matter is composed of cells; (2) chemical reaction takes place within cells; (3) cells arise from other cells; and (4) cells have information that is passed from parent to daughter cells. In the nineteenth century three scientists advanced the knowledge of cell division and mitosis. German botanist Hugo von Mohl (1805-1872), using improved microscopic techniques, studied cell division in algae and determined that cells divide. German biologist Walther Flemming (1843-1905) applied aniline dyes to observe the processes of cell division inthe nucleus and how chromosomes behave. Belgian zoologist Edouard van Beneden (1846-1910) first described the process of fertilization and stages of embryonic division.
Background
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, scientists knew nothing about the existence of cells. When they looked at a whole cat or bird or human being, they thought they were looking at the basic unit. Some proposed that body parts were made of strings and tubes that grew like crystals and enlarged until the person attained adult proportions. The internal organs were pots or pipes of different shapes.
The general orderliness of living things had led to a system of thought called "vitalism." Because organs were basically structured in the same way, vitalists contended that the breath of life that God gave Adam was the "vital force of life." Absence of the vital force was death—when the force or spirit or ghost is given up.
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