Discovery of Cell Nuclei

Here’s a quick scientific refresher: The funamental unit of any living organism is the cell. Some organismss, such as bacteria and algae have only one cell. Others—people, for instance—have billions 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 graduating, he worked for five years as an army surgeon. Best known for traveling lands and discovering hundreds of plant species, Brown rose to rominence 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.” (no diddy)

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, hower, was the first to recognize the nucleus’s signficance as the regulator of cellular activity. Brown’s observations, research, and theories brought him much notoriety and fortune.

WHEN HUMANS GOT ROLLING

The wheel is such a simple tool it's hard to imagine a world without it. It's much harder to determine when and where it was invented. Many accounts assert that it was invented in Asia around approximately 8500 B.C.E to 8000 B.C.E but fail to elaborate.

The most solid evidence we have of the wheel comes from the excavations at the Sumerian city of Ur (present-day Iraq) and date to about 3500 B.C.E. We haven't a clue who invented Sumer's wheel, but we know its function: pottery. One key to civilization is the production of agricultural excess that can be bartered for other goods and servers. Without good storage for that excess, varmints will infest it.

The Bronocice Pot, found in Polish dis from the Funnel/Beaker culture, also dates to 3500 B.C. Could the Funnel/Beaker people have caught wind of the wheel from Sumer or vice verse? Doubtful. As the bird flies, it's about 1,200 miles from South Poland to Mesopotamia. Each developed the wheel separately.