Biology, Solomon 8Th Edition Chapter 1

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* Three basic themes of biology:

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1. Evolution
2. Transfer of Information
3. Energy for life

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evolution

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Any cumulative genetic changes in a population from generation to generation. Evolution leads to differences in populations and explains the origin of all the organisms that exist today or have ever existed.

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transfer of information

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Information must be transmitted within organisms and among organisms. The survival and function of every cell and every organism depend on the orderly transmission of information. Evolution depends on the transmission of genetic information from one generation to another.

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energy for life

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Energy from the sun flows through living systems from producers to consumers. All life processes, including the thousands of chemical transactions that maintain life's organization, require a continuous input of energy.

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* Features that characterize living organisms:

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1. Precise kind of organization.
2. Growth and development.
3. Self-regulated metabolism.
4. The ability to respond to stimuli
5. Reproduction
6. Adaptation to environmental change.

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cells

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The basic structural and functional unit of life, which consists of living material enclosed by a membrane.

New cells are only formed by the division of previously existing cells (cell theory)

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unicellular organisms

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Some of the simplest life forms. Each consists of a single cell.
(e.g. protozoa)

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complex multicellular organisms

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Made up of billions of cells--life processes depend on the coordinated functions of component cells that may be organized to form tissues, organs, and organ systems.

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plasma membrane

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Protects every cell from the surrounding external environment. The plasma membrane regulates passage of materials between cell and environment.

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DNA

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(Deoxyribonucleic acid)
Cells have these specialized molecules: double-stranded nucleic acid; contains genetic information coded in specific sequences of its constituent nucleotides.

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* Three basic themes of biology:

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1. Evolution
2. Transfer of Information
3. Energy for life

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evolution

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Any cumulative genetic changes in a population from generation to generation. Evolution leads to differences in populations and explains the origin of all the organisms that exist today or have ever existed.

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transfer of information

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Information must be transmitted within organisms and among organisms. The survival and function of every cell and every organism depend on the orderly transmission of information. Evolution depends on the transmission of genetic information from one generation to another.

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energy for life

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Energy from the sun flows through living systems from producers to consumers. All life processes, including the thousands of chemical transactions that maintain life's organization, require a continuous input of energy.

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* Features that characterize living organisms:

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1. Precise kind of organization.
2. Growth and development.
3. Self-regulated metabolism.
4. The ability to respond to stimuli
5. Reproduction
6. Adaptation to environmental change.

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metabolism

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The sum of all the chemical processes that occur within a cell or organism; the transformations by which energy and matter are made available for use by the organism.

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homeostasis

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The balanced internal environment of the body; the automatic tendency of an organism to maintain such a steady state.

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* homeostatic mechanisms

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Self regulating control systems that are remarkably sensitive and efficient. When enough of a cell product has been made--its manufacture must be decreased or turned off. When a particular substance is required, cell processes that produce it must be turned on.

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cilia

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Tiny, hairlike extensions of the cell - by which organisms move.

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* Organisms respond to stimuli

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Stimuli: physical and chemical changes in their internal or external environment. Responding to stimuli involves movement, though not always locomotion (moving from one place to another).

(e.g. of stimuli - changes in the color, intensity or direction of light; changes in temperature, pressure, or sound; and changes in chemical composition of the surrounding soil, air, or water.

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flagella

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Longer structures (than cilia) of the cell - by which organisms move by beating, or rotating) these flagella.

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sessile

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Non-moving from place to place. Instead they beat cilia or flagella.
(e.g. sponges, corals, and oysters)

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* Organisms Reproduce

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Organisms arise only from previously existing organisms, either by asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction.

Not spontaneously (like some people think) like the false idea that maggots are created from decaying meat.

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asexual reproduction

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reproduction in which there is no fusion of gametes (sperm or egg) and in which the genetic makeup of parent and offspring is usually identical (unless by a genetic mutation).
(e.g. of asexual reproduction: simple organisms such as amoebas)

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sexual reproduction

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carried out by the fusion of an egg and sperm (gametes) to produce the offspring, which has a combination og the traits of both parents.
(e.g. most plants and animals)

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adaptations

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Inherited characteristics that enhance an organisms ability to survive in a particular environment. They may be structural, physiological, biochemical, behaviorial, or a combination of all four.
Every biologically successful organism is a complex collection of coordinated adaptations produced through evolutionary processes.

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* Levels of biological organization

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Whether we study a single organism or the world of life as a whole, we can identify a hierarchy of biological organization.

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reductionism

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Learning about a structure by studying its parts

(however, the whole is more than the sum of its parts).

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emergent properties

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Characteristics of an object, process, or behavior that could not be predicted from its component parts. Can be identified at each level as we move up the hierarchy of biological organizations.

(the whole, or structure, is more than the sum of its parts)

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* Organisms have several levels of organization.


The hierarchy of biological organization:

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Chemical Level - atoms & molecules

Cellular Level - cells (atoms and molecules form organelles, such as the nucleus and mitochondria

Tissue - tissue (cells associate to form tissues--e.g. bone tissue)

Organ - organ (such as heart, stomach, roots, leaves - in plants)

Organ System - organ system (tissues and organs make up organ systems. e.g. skeletal systems)

Organism - organism (organ systems work together in a functional organism (animal, human, plant)

Population - a population consists of organisms of the same species

Community - the populations of different species that populate the same area make up a community.

Ecosystem - A community together with the nonliving environment forms an ecosystem.

Biosphere - Earth and all of its communities constitute the biosphere.

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population

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all the members of one species living in the same geographic area at the same time.

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community

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the populations of various types of organisms that inhabit a particular area and interact with one another.

A community can consist of hundreds of different types of organisms. As populations within a community evolve, the community changes.

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ecosystem

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a community together with its non-living environment.

An ecosystem can be as small as a pond/puddle or as vast as the Great Plains of No. America.

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biosphere

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All of Earth's ecosystems together, including all of Earth that is inhabited by living organisms--the atmosphere, the hydrosphere (water in any living form), and the lithosphere (the Earth's crust).

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ecology

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The study of how organisms relate to one another and to their physical environment.

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* Process of Information Transfer

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1. Organisms transmit information chemically, electrically and behaviorally.
2. DNA, which makes up the genes, is the hereditary material. Info. encoded in DNA is transmitted from one generation to the next. DNA contains the instructions for the development of an organism and for carrying out life processes. DNA codes for proteins, which are important in determining the structure and function of cells and tissues.
3. Hormones, chemical messengers that transmit messages from one part of an organism to another, are an important type of cell signaling.
4. Many organisms use electrical signals to transmit information; most animals have nervous systems that transmit electrical impulses and release neurotransmitters.

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gene

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segment of DNA that serves as a unit of hereditary information; includes a transcribable DNA sequence (plus associated sequences regulating its transcription) that yields a protein or RNA product with a specific function.
--Genes control the development and functioning of every organism

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proteins

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Large molecules important in determining the structure and function of cells and tissues.

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hormones

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Chemical compounds that signal other cells. Hormones and other chemical messengers can signal cells in distant organs to secrete a particular required substance.
Chemical signals helps to regulate growth, development, and metabolic processes.

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cell signaling

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Mechanisms of communication between cells. Cells signal one another with secreted signaling molecules, or a signaling molecule on one cell combines with a receptor on another cell.

Learning to manipulate cell signaling may lead to new methods of delivering drugs into cells and new treatments for cancer and other diseases.

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neurotransmitter

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A chemical signal used by neurons to transmit impulses across a synapse.

Most animals have nervous systems that transmit information by way of both electrical impulses and chemical compounds known as neurotransmitters.

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species

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(The most narrow category of classification)

A group or organisms with similar structure, function, and behavior. A species consists of one or more populations whose members are capable of breeding with one another; in nature, they do not breed with members of another species. Members of a species have a common gene pool and share a common ancestry.

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* Biologists use a binomial system for naming organisms

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To study life, we need a system for organizing, naming and classifying its myriad forms.

Biologists use a binomial system of nomenclature in which the name of each species includes a genus name and a specific epithet.

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* Taxonomic classification is hierarchical

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It includes species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, and domain. Each grouping is referred to as a taxon.

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systematics

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The field of biology that studies the diversity of organisms and their evolutionary relationships.

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taxonomy

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A sub-specialty of systematics, is the science of naming and classifying organisms.

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genus

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A taxonomic category made up of related species.

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binomial system of nomenclature

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Linnaean system of naming species.
Each species is assigned a two-part name. The first part of the name is the genus, and second part, the specific epithet, designates a particular species belonging to that genus.

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specific epithet

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Designates a particular species belonging to that genus. It is often a descriptive word expressing some quality of the organism.
It is always used together with the full or abbreviated generic name preceding it. The generic name is always capitalized; the specific epithet is generally not capitalized. Both names are always italicized or underlined

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family

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A taxonomic category made up of related genera (plural--genus)

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order

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A taxonomic category made up of related families.

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classes

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A taxonomic category made up of related orders.

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phyla

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A taxonomic category made up of related classes.
(singular--phylum)

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order

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A taxonomic category made up of related families.

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classes

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A taxonomic category made up of related orders.

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phyla

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A taxonomic category made up of related classes.
(singular--phylum)

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* Biologists group phyla into kingdoms

*Kingdoms are assigned to domains

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* Each formal grouping at any given level is a taxon
* Each taxon is more inclusive than the taxon below it

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* Three Domains

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1. Bacteria
2. Archae
3. Eukarya

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* Six Kingdoms

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1. Bacteria - (under domain: Bactera)
Includes: Bacilus antracis, the bacteria causing antrax
2. Archae - (under domain: Archae)
Members of this kingdom produce methane
3. Protista - (under domain: Eukarya)
Includes: protozoa, algae, water molds, slime molds
4. Plantae - (under domain: Eukarya)
Includes nonvascular plants (mosses) and vascular plants (ferns, conifers, flowering plants)
5. Animalia - (under domain: Eukarya
6. Fungi - (under domain: Eukarya)
Includes: yeasts, molds, mildew, mushrooms

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* The two domains:
Bacteria and Archae, have prokaryotic cells

(unicellular- lacks nucleus, organelles)

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* The domain:
Eukarya, has eukaryotic cells

(has nuclei, organells)

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mutations

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Chemical or physical changes in DNA that persist and can be inherited. Mutations modify genes and by this process provide the raw material for evolution.

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gene pool

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All the alleles of all the gene present in a freely interbreeding population.

All the genes present in a population make up a gene pool.

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metabolism

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All the energy transformations and chemical processes that occur within an organism.

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natural selection

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The major mechanism by which evolution proceeds, favors individuals with traits that enable them to cope with environmental changes. These individuals are most likely to survive and to produce offspring.

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* Darwin based his theory of natural selection on four observations

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1. Individual members of a species show some variation from one another.
2. Organisms produce many more offspring than will survive to reproduce.
3. Organisms compete for necessary resources (food, sunlight, space). Individuals with characteristics that enable them to obtain/use resources are more likely to survive to reproductive maturity and produce offspring
4. The survivors that reproduce pass their adaptations for survival on to their offspring. The best adapted individuals of a population leave, on average, more offspring than do other individuals.
Adaption involves changes in populations rather than in individual organisms.
The source of variation in a population is random mutation.

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* A self-sufficient ecosystem contains three types of organisms:

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1. Producers
2. Consumers
3. Decomposers

--and includes a physical environment in which they can survive.

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producers, or autotrophs

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Organisms (plants, algae and certain bacteria) that produce their own food from simple raw materials. Most of these organisms use sunlight as an energy source and carry out photosynthesis.

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photosynthesis

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The process in which producers synthesize complex modules from carbon dioxide and water.
The light energy is transformed into chemical energy, which is stored within the chemical bonds of the food molecules produced.

Oxygen which is required by plant cells and the cells of most other organisms, is produced as a

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* The flow of energy through ecosystems:

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Activities of living cells require energy; life depends on continuous energy input from the sun. During photosynthesis, plants, algae, and certain bacteria use the energy of sunlight to synthesize complex molecules from carbon dioxide and water.
Virtually all cells carry on cellular respiration, a biochemical process in which they capture the energy stored in nutrients by producers. Some of that energy is then used to synthesize required materials or to carry out other cell activities.

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consumers or heterotrophs

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Organisms (animals, humans) that depend on producers for food, energy and oxygen. Consumers (heterotrophs) obtain energy by breaking down sugars and other food molecules originally produced during photosynthesis.

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decomposers or heterotrophs

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Organisms that obtain nutrients by breaking down nonliving organic material such as wastes, dead leaves and branches and the bodies of dead organisms.
In their process of obtaining energy, decomposers make the components of these materials available for reuse.

If decomposers did not exist, nutrients would remain locked up in wastes and dead bodies, and the supply of elements required by living systems would soon be exhausted.

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cellular respiration

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A biochemical process in which cells capture the energy stored in nutrients by producers. Some of that energy is then used to synthesize required materials or to carry out other cell activities.

Virtually all cells carry on cellular respiration.

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process of science

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A dynamic approach to investigation.

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scientific method

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A general framework that scientists use in their work; it includes observing, recognizing a problem or starting a critical question, developing a hypothesis, making a prediction that can be tested, making further observations and/or performing experiments, interpreting results, and drawing conclusions that support or falsify the hypothesis.

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hypothesis

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A tentative explanation for observations or phenomena. A hypothesis can be tested. If no evidence is found to support it, the hypothesis is rejected.

Hypotheses can be posed as "if"... "then"... statements. Models are important in developing and testing hypothesis.
Hypothesis is an abstract idea.

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theory

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An integrated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that is based on a number of hypotheses, each supported by consistent results from many observations or experiments. A theory relates data that previously appeared unrelated.

A good theory grows, building on additional facts as they become known. It predicts new facts and suggests new relationships among phenomena.
It may even suggest practical applications.

A theory is supported by tested hypotheses.

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* Scientists use two types of systematic thought processes:

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1. Deduction
2. Induction

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deductive reasoning

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Begins with supplied information, called premises, and draws conclusions on the basis of that information. Deduction proceeds from general principles to specific conclusions.
Deduction helps us discover relationships among known facts.

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inductive reasoning

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The opposite of deductive reasoning. We begin with specific observations and draw a conclusion or discover a general principle. One can use the inductive method to organize raw data into manageable categories by answering the question: What do all these facts have in common?

A weakness of inductive reasoning is when we formulate the general principle, we go from many observed examples to all possible examples (known as "inductive leap"). Without it, we could not arrive at generalizations. However, we must be sensitive to exceptions and to the possibility that the conclusion is not valid.

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* A well-designed scientific experiment typically includes:

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Both a control group and an experimental group--and must be as free as possible from bias.

The control group should be as closely matched to the experimental group as possible. Ideally, the experimental group differs from the control group only with respect to the variable being studied.

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control group

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In a scientific experiment, a group in which the experimental variable is kept constant. The control provides a standard of comparison used to verify the results of the experiment.

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experimental group

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Differs from a control group only with respect to the variable being studied.

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* Compare the reductionist and systems approaches to biological processes:

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Using reductionism, researchers study the simplest components of biological processes, for example, molecules or cells.

Systems biology uses knowledge provided by reductionism. Systems biologists integrate data from various levels of complexity with the goal of understanding how biological systems function.

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* Science has ethical dimensions:

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Scientific investigation depends on a commitment to practical ideals--truthfulness and obligation to communicate results.

The opposite of which can lead to loss in money and be dangerous in medical investigations.

Scientists must be ethically responsible and must help educate people about their work including its benefits relative to its risks.