The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life.
All living organisms made up of various cells.
Robert Hooke in 1665 discovered the cell for the first time.
He examined a thin slice of cork under the microscope. He observed that cork resembled the structure of a Honey Comb consisting of many hexagonal compartments and called these boxes cells.
The smallest cell is Mycoplasma gallisepticum.
The longest cell in the human body is Neuron.
The biggest cell is the egg of Ostrich.
The cell is called the structural and functional unit of life because the body of all organisms is made up of cells. Cells are arranged in a proper and systematic order to form a body of living organisms. Thus cells serve as basic building structural units for more complex organisms.
The cell is also a functional unit of life because all the metabolic activities of life take place at cell level.
Respiration, digestion, excretion, and reproduction occur at the cell level. Cells contain genetic material which regulates cell functions and passes on all information to the next generation.