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17 Cards in this Set
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thermophile |
an organism — a type of extremophile — that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between 41 and 122 °C. Many thermophiles are archaea. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earliest bacteria |
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bioprospecting |
the process of discovery and commercialization of new products based on biological resources. Despite indigenous knowledge being intuitively helpful, bioprospecting has only recently begun to incorporate such knowledge in focusing screening efforts for bioactive compounds. |
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nanobes |
a tiny filamental structure first found in some rocks and sediments. Some scientists hypothesize that nanobes are the smallest form of life, 1/10 the size of the smallest known bacteria. |
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proto-cells |
a self-organized, endogenously ordered, spherical collection of lipids proposed as a stepping-stone to the origin of life |
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big bang |
the rapid expansion of matter from a state of extremely high density and temperature that according to current cosmological theories marked the origin of the universe. |
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self-replicating systems |
any behavior of a dynamicalsystem that yields construction of an identical copy of itself. Biological cells, given suitable environments, reproduce by cell division. During cell division, DNA is replicated and can be transmitted to offspring during reproduction |
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RNA world |
refers to the self-replicating ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules that were precursors to all current life on Earth. It is generally accepted that current life on Earth descends from an RNA world, although RNA-based life may not have been the first life to exist. |
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stromatolites |
a calcareous mound built up of layers of lime-secreting cyanobacteria and trapped sediment, found in Precambrian rocks as the earliest known fossils, and still being formed in lagoons in Australasia. |
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chemoautotrophs |
organisms that obtain energy by the oxidation of electron donors in their environments. These molecules can be organic or inorganic. The chemotroph designation is in contrast to phototrophs, which utilize solar energy. |
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cyanobacteria |
a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" comes from the color of the bacteria. They are often called blue-green algae |
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prokaryotic cells |
lack a distinct cell nucleus and their DNA is not organized into chromosomes. They also lack the internal structures bound by membranes called organelles, such as mitochondria. |
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eukaryotic cells |
any organism whose cells contain a nucleus and other organelles enclosed within membranes |
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Rodinia |
the name of a hypothesized supercontinent, a continent which contained most or all of Earth's landmass |
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heterotrophs |
an organism that cannot fix carbon and uses organic carbon for growth |
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autotrophs |
an organism that produces complex organic compounds from simple substances present in its surroundings, generally using energy from light or inorganic chemical reactions |
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endosymbiosis |
symbiosis in which one of the symbiotic organisms lives inside the other |
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glaucophytes |
small group of rare freshwater microscopic algae. Together with the red algae and green algae plus land plants, they form the Archaeplastida |
