UNSW Cell Biology

2008 ANAT3231 Lecture 01 - Introduction and History

Introduction

This lecture is an introduction to the Course and Cell Biology covering the historic origin in other related sciences and where we are today. The lecture page and textbook alone contain enough information as an introduction to the subject for this level of study. If you are interested in further reading, I have also included below links to more detailed textbooks with further information and images. Please note this additional information is not necessarily examinable, but may be useful if you have not previously studied biology.

Neutrophil chasing Staphylococcuc aureus microrganisms through red blood cells. (David Rogers, 1950's)

Page Links: Introduction | Objectives | 2008 Course | Lecture Audio | Textbooks | Exploring the Cell | History | Microscopes | Cell Sizes | Online Textbooks | Web Links | 2007 Lecture Slides | Comments

Lab: Lab 01 Methods/History Next Lecture: Lecture 02 Different Cells

Objectives

• Introduction to the Course
• Understand Historic Background of Cell Biology
• Understand how Microscopy began the Study of Cells
• Brief understanding of Biochemistry and Genetics role in Cell Biology
• Brief understanding of Cell Structure and Function

The 2008 Course

There are several changes to the current course from previous years.

Timetable

• UNSW semesters from 14 week to a 12 week structure
• current timetable means some reorganised lecture slots due to teaching clashes
• current timetable means some student have timetable clashes

Handouts

• Previous years provided a photocopied handout of lecture Powerpoint slides.
• Trial of no Powerpoint slides and content on each lecture webpage with links.
• Earlier years Powerpoint slides still available.
• Some handouts will still be provided in Lectures and Labs

Links: Current Course Outline 2008

Lecture Audio

The University has a system for automated recording of lectures called Lectopia (or iLecture).

• I will be adding the link to each iLecture Audio following the Lecture (MH - so you will need to check back to this page).
• Due to the automated recording method, most lectures begin 4-5 minutes into MP3 recordings (MH - and occasionally stop before the lecture does).
• Historic course recordings (previous years) are removed and old links on this site may not work.
• Lecture 01 Course Introduction was not recorded due to technical difficulties (MH - future recordings should be OK).

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Links: Lectopia Login Page | Cell Biology Podcast Page

Textbooks

Textbook

Essential Cell Biology

Online Textbooks

• Molecular Biology of the Cell
• Molecular Cell Biology
• The Cell- A Molecular Approach

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Exploring the Cell

This colour brochure gives a general introduction to cell biology written in an easy to understand non-technical language. This PDF file can be downloaded onto your computer and viewed throughout the current course. (MH - at the very least look at this again at the end of the course and see if you understand it differently)

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Links: ASCB - Exploring the Cell Booklet - PDF document from American Society for Cell Biology

History

Robert Hooke (1635-1703) - was the first to use the term CELL which we still Robert Brown - 1825 identified nuclei in plant cells Theodor Schwann (1810 - 1882) - together with Matthias Schleiden (plants) developed the cell theory in 1839 All organisms consist of one or more cells The cell is the basic unit of structure for all cells All cells arise only from preexisting cells	Robert Hooke's original image of bark

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Links: Robert Hooke (1635-1703) | Theodor Schwann |

Microscopes

• Cells are too small to see by the naked eye
• Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) - developed some of the earliest microscopes
• Modern Microscopes
• Bright Field, Fluorescence, Phase Contrast, Dark Field, Differential Interference, Digital Video Microscopy, Confocal, 2 photon confocal, spinning disc confocal, total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF)
• Electron Microscope (EM)
  • Transmission, scanning, scanning tunneling
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

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Links: Antony van Leeuwenhoek | Some Important Discoveries in the History of Light Microscopy | Resolving power | A light microscope | Microscopy and Cell Architecture | TIRF Microscopy- Introduction and Applications |

Cell Sizes

frog or fish egg are the largest individual cells easily visible, approx 1mm diameter human or sea urchin egg, approx 100 micron diameter typical somatic cell, approx 20 micron diameter plant cells are larger, approx 30 x 20 micron bacteria are smaller, approx 2 x 1 micron

Modern Cell Biology

Arose from 3 separate fields becoming interwoven over the last 50 years Cytology Biochemistry Genetics

Cytology Oldest branch Dependent on optical techniques 1870 invention of microtome for sectioning biological specimens Light Microscope Biochemistry 1828 Freidrich Wohler showed urea synthesis from ammonium and cyanate (organic compounds synthesized from inorganic compounds) biological chemistry (biochemistry) the same as all other chemistry 1868 Louis Pasteur shows yeast cells needed for fermentation of sugar into alcohol (living organisms for specific chemical processes) 1897 Hans Buchner shows that extract from yeast cells also works (enzymes) 1920’s-30’s Biochemical pathways (glycolysis, Krebs cycle (TCA), ATP for energy) Genetics 1866 Gregor Mendel hereditary factors (genes) and segregation (took 35 years before work recognised) 1876 Walther Flemming identified chromosomes 1900 Walter Sutton chromosome theory of inheritence 1944 Avery et al. genetic transformation in Bacteria) 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick double helix model

(More? Modern Scientific Timeline)

NLM Online Textbooks

Molecular Biology of the Cell

NCBI MBoC
Some Important Discoveries in the History of Light Microscopy
The evolution of higher animals and plants (Figure 1-38)
From Procaryotes to Eucaryotes
From Single Cells to Multicellular Organisms
Some of the different types of cells present in the vertebrate body

Molecular Cell Biology

NCBI MCB
The Dynamic Cell
The Architecture of Cells
Microscopy and Cell Architecture

The Cell- A Molecular Approach

NCBI The Cell | Publisher (Sinauer) The Cell
An Overview of Cells and Cell Research
Tools of Cell Biology

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Web Links

American Society Cell Biology | ASCB - Booklet Exploring the Cell
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Laureates
Robert Hooke (1635-1703)
Antony van Leeuwenhoek
Theodor Schwann
Museum of Microscopy
The Biology Project- Studying Cells
The WWW Virtual Library of Cell Biology- General Cell Biology
2003 Double Helix Celebrations
Genome Timeline

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2007 Lecture Slides

Below are links to previous year's lecture slides if you wish to browse or download the PDF document for later viewing/printing. (MH - note that content will not match exactly current lecture structure but has been selected as having similar content)

• Lecture Slides 1/page (viewing only) (43 pages, 1.4 Mb)
• Lecture Slides 4/page (printing) (11 pages, 868 Kb)
• Lecture Slide Outline (printing no images) (4 pages, 128 Kb)

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Links: Download Acrobat Reader 6.0

Comments

Notice that in some slides I have added annotations in brackets with my initials (MH - )