The cell's journey: from metaphorical to literal factory

The concept of the cell has been based on metaphor since its inception, and the history of cell theory has continued to rely on metaphor and analogy. In the nineteenth century, cells were most popularly conceived either as building stones or elementary autonomous organisms from which larger organisms are composed. With advances in physiology and the rise of modern biochemistry in the early twentieth century, the chemical factory or laboratory became the dominant metaphor for this biological unit. Today in the twenty-first century, the metaphorical imagery has become a reality, with cells acting as chemical factories for the synthesis of commercially valuable bio-products. The history of the cell shows how metaphors act as conceptual tools, with particular strengths for facilitating different sorts of questions and experimental techniques.