Introduction to Biology Handout PDF

Introduction to Biology - Handout Biology  Greek word “bios” means life, and “logos” which means to study  Also known as life science  Coined by Jean Baptiste-Lamarck  Studies living things including their structure, composition, characteristics, functions, and classification.  A...

Introduction to Biology - Handout Biology  Greek word “bios” means life, and “logos” which means to study  Also known as life science  Coined by Jean Baptiste-Lamarck  Studies living things including their structure, composition, characteristics, functions, and classification.  Aristotle - Father of Biology Branches of Biology  Anatomy - internal structures  Bacteriology - bacteria  Biotechnology - using biological processes for industrial production  Botany - study of plants  Conchology - shells  Cytology - cell  Ecology - relationship between living and non-living things  Embryology - developmental patterns of an organism from zygote to birth  Endocrinology - endocrine glands and their corresponding hormones  Entomology - insects  Ethology - animal behavior  Evolution - change over time  Genetics - heredity, genes and variations  Helminthology - parasitic worms  Histology - tissues  Ichthyology - fishes  Immunology - immune system  Malacology - mollusks  Mammalogy - mammals  Medicine - preventing, treating, or reducing disease  Microbiology - microscopic organism  Morphology - Form and shape  Mycology - fungi  Ornithology - birds  Paleontology - fossil  Parasitology - parasites  Pathology - diseases  Physiology - functions of organ and body systems  Virology - virus  Zoology - animals Life  The culmination of all organism' physiological activities. Sometimes, it is an energetic force that can express all the various domains of action Properties of Life (HOMAGRR) Homeostasis  The ability to maintain internal balance, or normal state of a body  Examples: body temperature regulation, blood sugar level regulation  Your sweat glands are signaled to produce perspiration in order to cool you off when your hypothalamus determines that you are too hot. The hypothalamus delivers messages to your muscles when it detects that you are too cold, causing you to shiver and generate heat. When there are high glucose levels in the blood, the pancreas will release hormone called insulin that facilitates glucose transport into the cells. This process lowers blood glucose levels. On the other hand, when there is low glucose levels in the blood, the pancreas will release the hormone called glucagon to stimulate the breakdown of glycogen into glucose thereby raising blood glucose levels. Organization  Made up of one or more cells with complex structures and chemical processes.  Atom- it is the building block of matter. With subatomic particles: Proton - positively charged particles Neutron - no charge particles Electron - negatively charged particles  Molecules/Compound - two or more atoms joined in chemical bonds.  Organelles - tiny organs of the cells that have specific function. They are known as little organs and they are found inside the cell.  Cells - they are the bullding blocks of life. Basic unit of life. All organism are made up of cells.  Tissue - when cells of the same structure and function combine together.  Organ - when tissues of the same structure and function combine together.  Organ System - when organs of the same structure and function combine.  Organism - individual living things.  Population - it is a group of the same species living in the same area.  Community - different populations living in the same area.  Ecosystem - it is composed of living and non-living things interacting with one another.  Biomes - it is a region that is divided into categories based on the plants and animals that call it home Scienists can identity a biome by defining the temperature range, soil type, and amounts of light and water that are peculiar to that location and create niches for various species.  Biosphere - entire planet is thought of as an ecosystem Metabolism  The sum of all chemical reactions that occur within an organism.  The process of converting and releasing energy  Processes of metabolism: Ingestion - process of taking in food substances Digestion - process by which the body breaks down food into small molecules through mechanical and chemical means  Respiration - process that delivers oxygen from the air to the body’s tissues and removes carbon dioxide. Excretion - process of removing metabolic wastes from the body, which are byproducts of metabolism.  Types of metabolism: Catabolism (Cut) - breakdown of large molecules Anabolism (Add) - synthesis of large molecules Adaptation  Organism's mechanism to be better fit and to survive the conditions of their environment.  Mimicry - resemblance between on organism and another object or species.  Types of mimicry: Batesian mimicry - harmless mimics harmful Mullerian mimicry - harmfull mimics another harmful Aggressive mimicry - predators or parasites share some of the characteristics of a harmless species  Evolution - it is a change over time. It is responsible for variation and biodiversity.  Types of evolution: Divergent evolution - occurs when two or more related species become more dissimilar over time Convergent evolution - occurs when two different organism develop similar characteristics as a results of same needs in the environment Parallel evolution - occurs when related species develop similar traits independently because they have similar ancestral traits  Evidence of evolution: Biogeography - similar species are often found in geographically close but ecologically different regions, suggesting a graphic common ancestry. Fossil Records or Paleontology - fossilized organisms are found in specific layers of rock, and the sequence of these layers reflects the chronological order of species over time. Molecular Biology - species with a more recent common ancestor tend to have more similar DNA sequences. Structures  Homologous Structures - structures with a common evolutionary origin but may have different functions  Analogous Structures - structures with similar functions but different evolutionary origins  Vestigial structures - structures that exist in organisms that have no known function which are believed to be remaining parts from ancestor Embryology - similarities in the early stages of development among different species suggest common ancestry  Mechanisms of evolution: Artificial Selection - mechanism of evolution where humans consciously select for or against particular features in organisms. Natural Selection - mechanism of evolution where individuals with heritable traits that favor survival and reproduction tend to leave more offspring  Types of Natural Selection  Stabilizing - favors the intermediate variants in a population and acts against extreme phenotypes at both ends  Disruptive - favors the extreme variants of a trait over the intermediate variants   Directional - favors one extreme variant of a trait over the other, leading to a shift in the mean of the population Genetic Drift - evolutionary mechanism where allele frequencies in a population change over generations due to chance events.  Types of Genetic Drift:  Bottleneck effect - occurs when a sudden sharp decline in the population  Founder Effect - there is a loss of genetic variation due to migration of a small subgroup in the population Mutation - random changes in an organism’s genetic makeup, resulting in new alleles and contributing to genetic variation in a population. Recombination - mechanism in evolution that introduces genetic variation into populations. This process naturally occurs during the crossing over stage in meiosis.  Speciation - the evolution of new species. Occurs via allopatric (other place) or sympatric (same place ) speciation Growth and Development  Increase in size and complexity respectively Response to Stimuli  Ability to respond to stimulus  Irritability  Stimulus - causes to organism to react.  Response - reaction. tAxis-directional movement of Animals as a response to a stimulus. troPism - directional response of Plants toward (positive) or away (negative) from an environmental stimulus  Types of Stimulus - Response of Organism Phototropism/Phototaxis Growth response to light Geotropism/Geotaxis Response to gravity Thigmotropism/Thigmotaxis Response to touch Chemotropism/Chemotaxis Response to chemical stimulus Hydrotropism/Hydrotaxis Response to water or soil moisture Cryotropism/Cryotaxis Growth response to cold Galvanotropism/Galvanotaxis Response to electricity Rheotropism/Rheotaxis Response to air or water current Chromotropism/Chromotaxis Response to color Reproduction  Process by which living organisms produce offspring  Sexual Reproduction - Involves sex cells (fertilization). Egg cell and a sperm cell combine to produce offspring. Results in genetic variation  Types of Fertilization: In vitro fertilization (IVF) - medical procedure where an egg is fertilized with sperm outside the body. (Test tube babies) In vivo fertilization - natural internal fertilization where the sperm meets and fuses with the egg inside the female’s body, typically within the fallopian tubes Internal fertilization - occurs inside the female’s body, where the male’s sperm fuses with the female’s egg  Three ways of Internal fertilization:  Oviparity: Offspring develop in eggs outside the mother’s body.  Ovoviviparity: Offspring develop in eggs that are retained within the mother’s body until they are ready to hatch.  Viviparity: Offspring develop inside the mother and gain nutrients directly from her External fertilization - happens outside the female’s body, commonly in water, where eggs and sperm are released and meet in the external environment  Asexual Reproduction - Does not utilize gametes. Only single parent. Identical to parent (clone)  Types of Asexual Reproduction: Budding - outgrowth or bud from parents (e.g. hydra) Binary Fission - living organism splits into two Fragmentation - breaking of the parent body or cell into many parts (e.g. planaria) Regeneration - ability to regrow its lost part Parthenogenesis - an egg develops into a complete individual without being fertilized (e.g. bees)