Partha P Majumder

In a recent quiz competition held in Kolkata, the quiz master asked approximately how many cells are in the human body.  None of the five competing teams could answer correctly. As a matter of fact, the answers provided by the teams were not even close to the actual number. There are about 37 trillion cells in the human body. That is 37, followed by twelve zeroes. The quiz master then asked how many types of cells are in the human body. The five answers provided by the teams were 7, 12, 20, 200 and 411.  The audience was astounded by the diversity of numbers that the teams provided. The quiz master said, “Actually, scientists are not sure of the number of cell types. Therefore, I will score all the answers as correct.”

Indeed, scientists are not sure of the number of cell types. A cell type performs a specific function. For example, the red blood cell type carries oxygen to different parts of the human body. The white blood cell type helps the body fight infection. The beta cell type of the pancreas secretes insulin; the red and white blood cells do not. Different cell types not only differ in function but also vastly in their structure. Also, some cell types are common and found abundantly in the body, while some are rare.  Further, not all cell types are found in the same organ. The abundance of different cell types is also variable among…read more on NOPR