cell: References & Edit History
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Additional Reading
History of cell theory
Classical microscopy and the revelation of the chromosome are discussed in Edmund B. Wilson, The Cell in Development and Heredity, 3rd rev. ed. (1925). Max Verworn, General Physiology: An Outline of the Science of Life (1899; originally published in German, 2nd ed., 1897), recounts the outlook on the cell at the turn of the 19th century. Sir William Maddock Bayliss, Principles of General Physiology, 4th ed. (1924); and Lewis Victor Heilbrunn, An Outline of General Physiology, 3rd ed. (1952), are important historical texts tracing the development of the study of cell function in the 20th century.
Nature and function of cells
Comprehensive works touching upon many aspects of the fields of cell biology include Bruce Alberts, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th ed. (2002), a clear and thorough introduction to the subject; and Harvey F. Lodish, Molecular Cell Biology, 5th ed. (2004).
Special functions of cells
Bertil Hille, Ion Channels of Excitable Membranes, 3rd ed. (2002); Thomas Zeuthen and Wilfred D. Stein, Molecular Mechanisms of Water Transport Across Biological Membranes (2002); David G. Nicholls and S.J. Ferguson, Bioenergetics 3, 3rd ed. (2002), an exploration of mitochondrial and chloroplastic function; Jean-Paul Thiery (ed.), Molecular Mechanisms of Transcellular Signaling: From Membrane Receptors to Transcription Factors (1999); Barbara Young, Wheater’s Functional Histology: A Text and Colour Atlas (2006), a well-illustrated account of the histology of the human body; and J.M.W. Slack, From Egg to Embryo: Determinative Events in Early Development, 2nd ed. (1990).
Structure of Cells
Studies of the form and structure of cells include Peter Lenz, Cell Motility (2007); and J. Richard McIntosh, Cellular Electron Microscopy (2007).
Plant cells
The biology of plant cells is treated in Peter H. Raven, Ray F. Evert, and Susan E. Eichhorn, Biology of Plants, 6th ed. (1999), a general work; and Keith Roberts, Handbook of Plant Science (2007).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
-
John A. Cooper
Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
- Ronald A. Laskey
- L. Andrew Staehelin
-
Christopher Chow
Writer on biology.
-
Michael Cuffe
Writer on biology.
- Wilfred D. Stein
- Harvey F. Lodish
- Bruce M. Alberts
- Jonathan M.W. Slack
-
Merton R. Bernfield
Clement A. Smith Professor of Pediatrics; Director, Joint Program in Neonatology, Harvard University.
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified title of Web site: PNAS - On the evolution of cells. | Jul 30, 2026 | ||
| Replaced photograph. | Jun 18, 2026 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 17, 2026 | ||
| Updated media. | Mar 16, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: Science Learning Hub - Cells. | Jan 16, 2026 | ||
| Added media. | Dec 10, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Healthline - How Many Cells Are in the Human Body? Fast Facts. | Nov 24, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cell Press - Cell - What is a cell type and how to define it? | Sep 26, 2025 | ||
| Cross-references added. | Jul 24, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: PNAS - On the evolution of cells. | Jun 20, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Feb 13, 2025 | ||
| Cross-references added. | Jan 06, 2025 | ||
| Media added. | Aug 23, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Studying Cells - Cell Theory. | Aug 02, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Roger Williams University Open Publishing - Introduction to Molecular and Cell Biology - Introduction to Cells. | Apr 19, 2024 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 28, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: MSD Manual - Consumer Version - Cells. | Feb 12, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Minnesota Libraries - The Science of Plants - Plant Cells and Tissues. | Sep 05, 2023 | ||
| Added cross-references. | Mar 30, 2023 | ||
| Added cross-references to prophase and metaphase. | Mar 20, 2023 | ||
| Added a cross-reference to nucleolus. | Mar 14, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - The Origin and Evolution of Cells. | Oct 18, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Chemistry LibreTexts - Cell Tutorial. | Aug 13, 2022 | ||
| Removed media. | Feb 25, 2022 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Mar 09, 2021 | ||
| New media added. | Mar 05, 2021 | ||
| Changed date of invention of microscope from “17th century” to “16th century.” | Jul 14, 2020 | ||
| Changed the suspected origin of eukaryotic cell evolution from “1.5 billion years ago” to “between 2.1 and 1.5 billion years ago.” | Feb 19, 2020 | ||
| Added a video about organelles of animal and plant cells. | Jan 27, 2020 | ||
| Changed estimated number of cells that make up the human body from 75 trillion to 30 trillion. | Sep 12, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: LiveScience - Cells By the Number: Facts About the Building Blocks of Life. | Feb 06, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: BBC Bitesize - What are cells? | Feb 06, 2019 | ||
| Media added. | Jan 22, 2019 | ||
| Media added. | Oct 01, 2018 | ||
| Changed smallest mycoplasma cell size to 0.2 micrometres in diameter. | Sep 28, 2018 | ||
| Add new Web site: British Society for Cell Biology - What is a cell? | May 10, 2018 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Dec 28, 2017 | ||
| Added cross-references throughout article. | Oct 17, 2017 | ||
| Replaced photograph. | May 18, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: KidsBiology.com - Cells - What is a Cell Wall? | Dec 26, 2016 | ||
| Added a movie showing long-range calcium signaling in an embryo of an African clawed frog. | Aug 08, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Quatr.us - Cell. | Feb 25, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Cell Biology. | Dec 02, 2013 | ||
| Deleted video. | May 06, 2013 | ||
| Replaced video. | Mar 26, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: FreeBookCentre.net - Cell Biology Books. | Oct 09, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - How Cells Work. | May 07, 2012 | ||
| Added a video showing cell division in a developing embryo and in mature cells. | Jan 12, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - Cell. | Nov 15, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: NeoK12 - Educational Videos and Games for School Kids - Cell Structure. | Nov 03, 2011 | ||
| Added art showing the reaction of photosynthesis. | Aug 02, 2011 | ||
| Added information on the average thickness of the cell membrane. | Mar 07, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - How Cells Work. | Jan 04, 2011 | ||
| An errant -e removed from the spelling of Theodor Schwann's first name. | Nov 13, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Window To The Universe - Cells. | Apr 23, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - Cell. | Feb 06, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - How Cells Work. | Feb 05, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Molecular Expressions - Introduction to Cell and Virus Structure. | Sep 24, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Wisegeek - What is a Cell? | Sep 24, 2008 | ||
| Media added. | Sep 16, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: RCN Corporation - Excitable Cells. | May 22, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jan 14, 2008 | ||
| Bibliography revised and updated. | Jan 14, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Franklin Institute Science Museum - The Giant Cell. | Apr 25, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Excell at Cells. | Aug 29, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: CELLS Alive - Animal Cell Model. | Jul 24, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: None. | Jul 10, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: MicroAngela's Electron Microscope Image Gallery. | Jun 20, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: MicroAngela's Electron Microscope Image Gallery. | Jun 20, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Virtual Cell. | Jun 13, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: None. | Jun 13, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: None. | Jun 13, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Mar 28, 2003 | ||
| Article revised. | May 29, 2002 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 26, 1999 |