Cell biology

Cell biology studies cells: their structures, functions, interactions, and life processes. It connects molecular mechanisms inside cells with the behavior of tissues and organisms.

Cell theory: The principle that living organisms consist of cells and that cells arise from existing cells. It establishes the central premise that makes cells the basic units of biological study.
Cellular respiration: The set of reactions by which cells extract usable energy from molecules such as glucose. It supplies much of the ATP that powers cellular work.
Cell culture: The growth of cells under controlled conditions outside their original organism. Cultured cells let researchers observe and manipulate cellular processes experimentally.
Robert Hooke: An English scientist who introduced the term “cell” after observing cork under a microscope in 1665. His naming of the cork compartments helped establish cells as objects of study.
Single-cell sequencing: Methods that measure genetic or molecular features in individual cells rather than pooled populations. It exposes cell-to-cell differences that bulk measurements conceal.
Cell membrane: A selectively permeable boundary that separates a cell’s interior from its surroundings. Its selective boundary shapes transport, signaling, and the cell’s relationship with its environment.
Protein synthesis: The production of proteins through transcription of genes and translation of messenger RNA. It turns genetic instructions into the molecules that perform many cellular functions.
Flow cytometry: A method that measures properties of individual cells as they pass through a laser beam. It quantifies cell populations by features such as size, granularity, and molecular markers.
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek: A Dutch microscopist who made early detailed observations of living microorganisms using single-lens microscopes. His observations showed that living cells and microorganisms could be seen directly.
Organoid: A three-dimensional, self-organizing cell culture that models selected features of an organ. Organoids test how cells assemble into tissue-like structures outside the body.

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