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this time hadbeen around for a generation or so； but what set hooke鈥檚 apart were their technicalsupremacy。 they achieved magnifications of thirty times； making them the last word inseventeenth…century optical technology。
so it came as something of a shock when just a decade later hooke and the other membersof london鈥檚 royal society began to receive drawings and reports from an unlettered linendraper in holland employing magnifications of up to 275 times。 the draper鈥檚 name wasantoni van leeuwenhoek。 though he had little formal education and no background inscience； he was a perceptive and dedicated observer and a technical genius。
to this day it is not known how he got such magnificent magnifications from simplehandheld devices； which were little more than modest wooden dowels with a tiny bubble ofglass embedded in them； far more like magnifying glasses than what most of us think of asmicroscopes； but really not much like either。 leeuwenhoek made a new instrument for everyexperiment he performed and was extremely secretive about his techniques； though he didsometimes offer tips to the british on how they might improve their resolutions。
2over a period of fifty years鈥攂eginning； remarkably enough； when he was already pastforty鈥攈e made almost two hundred reports to the royal society； all written in low dutch；the only tongue of which he was master。 leeuwenhoek offered no interpretations； but simplythe facts of what he had found； acpanied by exquisite drawings。 he sent reports on almosteverything that could be usefully examined鈥攂read mold； a bee鈥檚 stinger； blood cells； teeth；hair； his own saliva； excrement； and semen （these last with fretful apologies for their unsavorynature）鈥攏early all of which had never been seen microscopically before。
after he reported finding 鈥渁nimalcules鈥潯n a sample of pepper water in 1676； the membersof the royal society spent a year with the best devices english technology could producesearching for the 鈥渓ittle animals鈥潯efore finally getting the magnification right。 whatleeuwenhoek had found were protozoa。 he calculated that there were 8；280；000 of these tinybeings in a single drop of water鈥攎ore than the number of people in holland。 the worldteemed with life in ways and numbers that no one had previously suspected。
inspired by leeuwenhoek鈥檚 fantastic findings； others began to peer into microscopes withsuch keenness that they sometimes found things that weren鈥檛 in fact there。 one respecteddutch observer； nicolaus hartsoecker； was convinced he saw 鈥渢iny preformed men鈥潯n spermcells。 he called the little beings 鈥渉omunculi鈥潯nd for some time many people believed that allhumans鈥攊ndeed； all creatures鈥攚ere simply vastly inflated versions of tiny but pleteprecursor beings。 leeuwenhoek himself occasionally got carried away with his enthusiasms。
in one of his least successful experiments he tried to study the explosive properties ofgunpowder by observing a small blast at close range； he nearly blinded himself in the process。
2leeuwenhoek was close friends with another delft notable； the artist jan vermeer。 in the mid…1660s； vermeer；who previously had been a petent but not outstanding artist； suddenly developed the mastery of light andperspective for which he has been celebrated ever since。 though it has never been proved； it has long beensuspected that he used a camera obscura； a device for projecting images onto a flat surface through a lens。 nosuch device was listed among vermeers personal effects after his death； but it happens that the executor ofvermeers estate was none other than antoni van leeuwenhoek； the most secretive lens…maker of his day。
in 1683 leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria； but that was about as far as progress could getfor the next century and a half because of the limitations of microscope technology。 not until1831 would anyone first see the nucleus of a cell鈥攊t was found by the scottish botanistrobert brown； that frequent but always shadowy visitor to the history of science。 brown； wholived from 1773 to 1858； called it nucleus from the latin nucula； meaning little nut or kernel。
not until 1839； however； did anyone realize that all living matter is cellular。 it was theodorschwann； a german； who had this insight； and it was not only paratively late； as scientificinsights go； but not widely embraced at first。 it wasn鈥檛 until the 1860s； and some landmarkwork by louis pasteur in france； that it was shown conclusively that life cannot arisespontaneously but must e from preexisting cells。 the belief became known as the 鈥渃elltheory；鈥潯nd it is the basis of all modern biology。
the cell has been pared to many things； from 鈥渁 plex chemical refinery鈥潯。╞y thephysicist james trefil） to 鈥渁 vast； teeming metropolis鈥潯。╰he biochemist guy brown）。 a cell isboth of those things and neither。 it is like a refinery in that it is devoted to chemical activityon a grand scale； and like a metropolis in that it is crowded and busy and filled withinteractions that seem confused and random but clearly have some system to them。 but it is amuch more nightmarish place than any city or factory that you have ever seen。 to begin withthere is no up or down inside the cell （gravity doesn鈥檛 meaningfully apply at the cellularscale）； and not an atom鈥檚 width of space is unused。 there is activity every where and aceaseless thrum of electrical energy。 you may not feel terribly electrical； but you are。 thefood we eat and the oxygen we breathe are bined in the cells into electricity。 the reasonwe don鈥檛 give each other massive shocks or scorch the sofa when we sit is that it is allhappening on a tiny scale： a mere 0。1 volts traveling distances measured in nanometers。
however； scale that up and it would translate as a jolt of twenty million volts per meter； aboutthe same as the charge carried by the main body of a thunderstorm。
whatever their size or shape； nearly all your cells are built to fundamentally the same plan：
they have an outer casing or membrane； a nucleus wherein resides the necessary geneticinformation to keep you going； and a busy space between the two called the cytoplasm。 themembrane is not； as most of us imagine it； a durable； rubbery casing； something that youwould need a sharp pin to prick。 rather； it is made up of a type of fatty material known as alipid； which has the approximate consistency 鈥渙f a light grade of machine oil；鈥潯o quotesherwin b。 nuland。 if that seems surprisingly insubstantial； bear in mind that at themicroscopic level things behave differently。 to anything on a molecular scale water beesa kind of heavy…duty gel； and a lipid is like iron。
if you could visit a cell； you wouldn鈥檛 like it。 blown up to a scale at which atoms wereabout the size of peas； a cell itself would be a sphere roughly half a mile across； and supportedby a plex framework of girders called the cytoskeleton。 within it； millions upon millionsof objects鈥攕ome the size of basketballs； others the size of cars鈥攚ould whiz about likebullets。 there wouldn鈥檛 be a place you could stand without being pummeled and rippedthousands of times every second from every direction。 even for its full…time occupants theinside of a cell is a hazardous place。 each strand of dna is on average attacked or damagedonce every 8。4 seconds鈥攖en thousand times in a day鈥攂y chemicals and other agents thatwhack into or carelessly slice through it； and each of these wounds must be swiftly stitched upif the cell is not to perish。
the proteins are especially lively； spinning； pulsating； and flying into each other up to abillion times a second。 enzymes； themselves a type of protein； dash everywhere； performingup to a thousand tasks a second。 like greatly speeded up worker ants； they busily build and rebuild molecules； hauling a piece off this one； adding a piece to that one。 some monitorpassing proteins and mark with a chemical those that are irreparably damaged or flawed。 onceso selected； the doomed proteins proceed to a structure called a proteasome； where they arestripped down and their ponents used to build new proteins。 some types of protein existfor less than half an hour； others survive for weeks。 but all lead existences that areinconceivably frenzied。 as de duve notes； 鈥渢he molecular world must necessarily remainentirely beyond the powers of our imagination owing to the incredible speed with whichthings happen in it。鈥�
but slow things down； to a speed at which the interactions can be observed； and thingsdon鈥檛 seem quite so unnerving。 you can see that a cell is just millions of objects鈥攍ysosomes；endosomes； ribosomes； ligands； peroxisomes； proteins of every size and shape鈥攂umping intomillions of other objects and performing mundane tasks： extracting energy from nutrients；assembling structures； getting rid of waste； warding off intruders； sending and receivingmessages； making repairs。 typically a cell will contain some 20；000 different types of protein；and of these about 2；000 types will each be represented by at least 50；000 molecules。 鈥渢hismeans；鈥潯ays nuland； 鈥渢hat even if we count only those molecules present in amounts of morethan 50；000 each； the total is still a very minimum of 100 million protein molecules in eachcell。 such a staggering fi