abstract
| - Antoine van Leeuwenhook was the first person to see invidual cells through his microscope. Cells in multicellular organisms were first identified in cork in 1665 by Robert Hooke. However, it was not until the 20th century that cell metabolism first became understood. All cells contain:
* A complete copy of the organism's DNA
* Ribosomes, which together with RNA form proteins All cells are capable of:
* Absorbing sources of food energy from outside the cell
* Transforming that energy into useful work within the cell
* Creating proteins
* Excreting waste
* In most cases, making duplicates of themselves
- A cell was the functional basic unit of a living organism. The study of cells is known as cellular biology. The Human body was made up of millions of cells. (TOS: "The Immunity Syndrome" ) Cells developed an internal clock based on a 24 hour day. (TNG: "Clues" ) In 2267, Spock suggested that each individual Denevan neural parasite was a single cell that comprised a larger organism, adding that although not physically attached to each other, they nevertheless worked together as one. (TOS: "Operation -- Annihilate!" ) In 2268, every cell on Hikaru Sulu's shoulder was disrupted where the hologram of Losira touched it, "exploded from within", as Doctor Leonard McCoy described it. Sulu had "a layer of necrotic tissue a few cells thick." (TOS: "That Which Survives" ) Altarian encephalitis inserted its DNA into the host's cells. (TNG: "Future Imperfect" )
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