1858
In 1858, after using microscopes much better than Hookes first microscope, Rudolf Virchow developed the hypothesis that cells only come from other cells. For example, bacteria, which are single-celled organisms, divide in half after they grow some to make new bacteria. In the same way, your body makes new cells by dividing the cells you already have. In all cases, cells only come from cells that have existed before. This idea led to the development of one of the most important theories in biology, the cell theory .