Coventina's History Thread: Discovery of Cell Nuclei

Here's a quick scientific refresher: The fundamental unit of any living organism is the cell. Some organisms, such as bacteria and algae have only one cell. Others - people for instance - have trillions of cells. Humans, plants, animals, bugs, and some single-celled organisms all have one thing in common, though: Each one of our cells has a nucleus. Robert Brown, a Scottish botanist, was the first to make this discovery.

Born in 1773, Brown studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Shortly after his graduation, he worked for five years as an army surgeon. Best known for traveling to distant lands and discovering hundreds of new plant species, Brown rose to prominence as a leading expert in botanic research. In 1831, while studying how herbs and orchids become fertilized, he noticed that each plant cell he studied had a structure in common. Brown decided to call this the nucleus of the cell, after the Latin word meaning "kernel," or "little nut."

Brown wasn't the first to see the nucleus of a cell. That credit went to the guy who perfected the microscope, Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. Brown, however, was the first to recognize the nucleus' significance as the regulator of cellular activity. Brown's observations, research, and theories brought him much notoriety and fortune.



Robert Brown, photographed in 1855