Nature of Science

• Branches of Biology

  • Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
  • Microbiology
  • Neurobiology/Neuroscience
  • Genetics
  • Paleontology
  • Zoology
  • Botany
  • Mycology
• Scientists believe that life arose for over 4 billion years ago and the first living organisms were single-celled prokaryotes existed in the ocean. These organisms changed over time through evolution where new organisms formed. At present, there are millions of identified species but more still are left unidentified. They inhabit in almost every region of the Earth today.
• Basic Properties of Life

  • Chemical Uniqueness
  • Complexity and Hierarchical Organization
  • Reproduction
  • Metabolism
  • Development
  • Genetic Program
  • Environmental Interaction
  • Movement
• Reproduction


  Organisms can reproduce or make a copy of themselves either by sexual or asexual way
• Steps of the Scientific Method

  • Make an observation
  • Ask a question
  • Form a hypothesis that answers the question
  • Make a prediction based on the hypothesis
  • Do an experiment to test the prediction
  • Analyze the results
  • If hypothesis is SUPPORTED, report the results
  • If hypothesis is NOT SUPPORTED, try again Step 3, then report the results
• Science does not claim to "prove" anything because scientific understandings are always subject to modification with further information. Meaning, in science, what is true today may not be true tomorrow.
• Diversity of Life

  the existence of several branches and sub-disciplines signifies how diverse life on earth is. The source of diversity is evolution, the process of gradual change during which new species arise from older species. The evolution of various life forms on earth can be summarized in a phylogenetic tree.
• Lipids


  2nd secondary energy source
• The basic structure of life

  DNA, RNA, and proteins
• Photosynthesis


  the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and CO2 to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar.
• Fermentation


  prolonging the lifespan of a particular food.
• Metamorphosis


  the change in form that occur as an animal approaches adulthood.
• Organism or species is the term used for living things in biology.
• DNA is the blueprint of life.
• Molecular biology and Biochemistry


  study of biological processes at the molecular and chemical level such as interactions and regulations of DNA, RNA, and proteins
• Microbiology


  study of microorganisms
• Neurobiology/Neuroscience


  study of nervous system
• Genetics


  study of heredity transmission and variations of traits
• Paleontology


  study of fossils to determine life's history
• Zoology


  study of animals
• Botany


  study of plants
• Mycology


  study of fungi
• Ecology


  study of how living organisms interact with each other and their environment
• budding


  produces a bud that breaks away to live on its own.
• fragmentation


  can cut itself to several pieces
• fission


  can divide themselves to several pieces
• regeneration


  regrowing of the missing part
• parthenogenesis


  a female can produce an embryo without fertilizing an egg with sperm
• anabolic metabolism


  produces complex materials from simpler ones (constructive)
• catabolism


  produces simple substances from complex ones (destructive)
• Biology


  science of life or the study of living things
• Biology


  a broad science since living things comes from vast forms and shapes
• metabolism


  organisms maintain themselves by acquiring nutrients through the environments.
• metabolism


  the sum total of all chemical reactions
• chemical uniqueness


  organisms demonstrate a unique and complex molecular organization.
• Father of Taxonomy/Systematics

  Carolous Linnaeus
• Biology

  body of science
• Science

  a form of knowledge which covers the general truths, or the operation of general laws acquired and tested by the scientific method
• phylogenetic tree

  it is based on the similarities and differences in genetics or physical traits
• all living organisms exhibits "fit" to their environment

  adoptation