Bio 130 Themes of Biology

• Biology is the scientific study of life, which is restricted because it has to use the scientific method.
• Properties of life include organization, expression/transmission of genetic information, energy use, maintenance of internal constancy, reproduction, growth & development, and evolution.
• Evolution is genetic change in a population over time.
• Organisms are not put together randomly, larger structures are made up of smaller structures that are made up of even smaller structures, forming a hierarchy: Atoms - > Molecules - > Cells - > Tissues - > Organs - > Organ Systems - > Multicellular organisms - > Population - > Community - > Ecosystems - > Biosphere.
• Atoms are the basic unit of biology.
• Evolution in simplest definition: genetic change in a population or species over time
• Hypotheses remain open to tests, revisions and tentative acceptance or rejection, meaning they can be changed if new data is found that doesn’t support it.
• Theory of Evolution: a broad, comprehensive explanation of a large body of information, supported by the accumulation of a wide range of different kinds of evidence, and subject to extensive experimental testing.
• Hypotheses might never be tested and over again and not find data that doesn’t support it, and if so then…
• Hypotheses are specific to what you are testing and are limited.
• Important Biological Molecules include proteins, lipids, carbs, and nucleic acids.
• Cells are the lowest level capable of performing all activities/properties of life.
• All cells are surrounded by a membrane that separates the cell from its environment and regulates what materials can enter/exit the cell.
• Inside all cells have cytosol which is a semifluid jelly like substance in which subcellular components are suspended.
• Structural differences of ribosomes depend on the organisms, bacteria has different structures than animal cells.
• All cells have genetic information.
• Some cells (not all) have cell walls that are outside of the cell membrane, it is rigid and can keep the cell from bursting.
• Types of Cells include Prokaryotic Cells (Bacteria and Archaea) and Eukaryotic Cells (Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists).
• Prokaryotic Cells have a singular, circular chromosome, lack a nucleus, and lack organelles.
• Eukaryotic Cells have multiple, linear chromosomes, have a nucleus, and have organelles.
• Reproduction is the passing of DNA from parent to offspring, which can be asexual or sexual.
• DNA contains instructions for assembling a living organism from simpler molecules and must be followed to a tee or else it doesn’t come out correctly.
• Organisms can be grouped by how they obtain energy, with producers/autotrophs being self-feeders that can sustain themselves without anything derived from other living beings, and consumers/heterotrophs being organisms that obtain organic food molecules by eating other organisms or substances derived from them.
• Life requires energy for building new structures, repairing old ones, growing and reproducing, and for movement.
• Ecosystems depend on a system of energy from an outside source like the sun.
• DNA, or Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is the information molecule that instructs an organism to build itself and is the unit of inheritance that transmits information from parent to offspring, a form of reproduction.
• Homeostasis is the ability to maintain internal consistency despite changes in external environments, allowing organisms to function properly and sense and react to stimuli if necessary.
• Development is the events involved in an organism’s changing from a simple to a more complex/specialized form, resulting from reproduction.
• Asexual reproduction produces offspring that is genetically identical to a single parent, but lacks genetic diversity, while sexual reproduction involves the mixing of genetic information from two parents into one or more offspring, resulting in new combinations of inherited traits and genetic diversity.
• DNA is translated to ribosomes.
• Energy is a one-way flow while nutrients can be recycled.
• Life needs to maintain internal consistency to function correctly, with cells needing to maintain a certain composition.
• Energy flows through organisms as they use chemical energy to perform work, with some energy lost as heat each time due to the laws of thermodynamics.
• Organisms are more than a collection of parts, it’s the interaction between parts both physically and chemically.
• Emergent Properties are new, complex functions resulting from the interaction of parts, these properties “emerge” in a new level, meaning that they were not present in the level before.
• Ecology


  The study of interactions between organisms and between organisms and their enviroment
• Areas of ecological study

  Organismal, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Global(Biosphere)
• Organismal Ecology


  how an organisms morphology, physiology and behavior meet the challenges posed by its environment (studies adaptations)
• Morphology

  Form and structure
• Physiology

  How their arts carry out chemical or physical functions