WHAT IS LIFE

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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. - ? B. -
? C. - ? D. - ? E. - ? F. - ?
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A.
Metabolism - catabolism break down food -
anabolism build new material
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A.
Metabolism - catabolism break down food -
anabolism build new material - coupled
reactions
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A.
Metabolism - catabolism break down food -
anabolism build new material - coupled
reactions - constrained by Laws of
Thermodynamics
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A.
Metabolism - catabolism break down food -
anabolism build new material - coupled
reactions - constrained by Laws of
Thermodynamics 1st Law Conservation of
energy/matter Energy or matter is neither
created nor destroyed by chemical processes, it
is merely transformed
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A.
Metabolism - catabolism break down food -
anabolism build new material - coupled
reactions - constrained by Laws of
Thermodynamics 1st Law Conservation of
energy/matter 2nd Law Entropy in a closed
system increases No energy/matter transformation
is 100 efficient some energy is always lost
(usually as heat).
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - ? D. - ? E. -
? F. - ?
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. Growth - rate of mass storage
exceeds rate of mass loss
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. Growth - rate of mass storage
exceeds rate of mass loss - cell growth -
increase size of cells - organismal growth
increase cell number and size
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
? E. - ? F. - ?
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction -
Cell Division double material, then divide
evenly
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction -
Cell Division double material, then divide
evenly - Organismal Asexual division,
budding, fragmentation (Cloning no new
genetic combos)
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction -
Cell Division double material, then divide
evenly - Organismal Asexual division,
budding, fragmentation (Cloning no new
genetic combos) Sexual combining genes from
parents, creating new genetic combinations.
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
Response E. - ? F. - ?
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
Response physiologically behaviorally evolut
ionarily (genetically)
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
Response E. -Evolutionary History - passing of
DNA from parent to offspring creates patterns of
genetic relationship within and among families,
populations, and species.
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
Response E. -Evolutionary History - passing of
DNA from parent to offspring creates patterns of
genetic relationship within and among families,
populations, and species. - we can test
hypothetical patterns by examining these DNA
similarities and reconstructing phylogenies.
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
Response E. - Evolutionary History F. Life is
Cellular
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
Response E. - Evolutionary History F. Life is
Cellular Why cells?
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
Response E. - Evolutionary History F. Life is
Cellular Why cells? Boundary allows
separation of life processes from the environment
regulate differences.
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
Response E. - Evolutionary History F. Life is
Cellular Why cells? Why are cells small?
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
Response E. - Evolutionary History F. Life is
Cellular why are cells small? SA/V smaller
cells are more efficient supply through SA
can meet metabolic demand of the volume.
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics A. -
Metabolism B. - Growth C. - Reproduction D. -
Response E. - Evolutionary History F. Life is
Cellular 1. SA/V smaller cells are more
efficient 2. Chemical interactions occur on a
small scale easier to increase reactant
concentrations in small space
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics II. Scales of
Biological Organization A. Spatial Scales of
Biological Systems 1. Biosphere Earth is 1.27 x
107 m in diameter (10,000,000 m)
4 x 107 m in circumference
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics II. Scales of
Biological Organization A. Spatial Scales of
Biological Systems 2. Individual E.
coli Bacterium 2 x 10-6 (1/10th of a liver
cell) Smallest Mammal Pygmy Shrew 2 inches (5 x
10-2m) Largest Animal Ever - Blue Whale 100
feet (30 m). Longest Dinosaur - Seismosaurus - 28
m (estimated) Human - 6 ft... 2 m (2 x 100)
---Earth 107 m Seven orders of magnitude
greater than a human
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics II. Scales of
Biological Organization A. Spatial Scales of
Biological Systems 3. Cells variable smallest
units of life Liver Cell 2 x 10-5 m (2/100ths
of a mm) E. coli Bacterium 2 x 10-6 (1/10th of
a liver cell) Virus 2.5 x 10-8 (1/100th of a
bacterium) - living?
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics II. Scales of
Biological Organization A. Spatial Scales of
Biological Systems 4. Organelles Ribosome
1.8 x 10-8 m Mitochondrion 2.5 x 10-6 m
(about bacteria sized) 5. Molecules Hemoglo
bin (protein) 6.8 x 10-9 m (1/1000th of a
bact.) Phospholipid 3.5 x 10-9 m Glucose
7.0 x 10-10 m Amino Acid 5.0 x 10-10 m
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics II. Scales of
Biological Organization A. Spatial Scales of
Biological Systems 6. Atoms Carbon 1 x
10-10 m (a ten billionth of a meter) (a ten
millionth of a millimeter) (a ten thousandth
the length of a liver cell) 7. Nucleus 2 x 10-15
m. So, the nucleus is only 1/50,000th the width
of the atom (5 x 104). Atoms are mostly space.
In fact, a cubic centimeter of nuclear matter (no
space) would weigh 230 million tons (Physics by
J. Orear, 1979).
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics II. Scales of
Biological Organization A. Spatial Scales of
Biological Systems 7. Nucleus Analogy If
a basketball 1 ft. in diameter represents the
nucleus of an atom, the edge of the electron
cloud would be about 25,000 ft away (5 miles) in
either direction the atom would be 10 miles
wide. That's a lot of volume. Analogy You and
the Earth are separated by 7 orders of linear
magnitude. A millimeter, about the size of a
bold-faced period and a carbon atom are separated
by 7 orders of linear magnitude. Like Earth and
humans. So, to a carbon atom, the period is as
big as Earth is to us.... mind blowing...
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics II. Scales of
Biological Organization A. Spatial Scales of
Biological Systems B. Temporal Scales of
Biological Systems 1. Age of Earth 4.5 x 109
years 2. History of Life on Earth 3.5 x 109
years (3.5 billion) 3. Oldest Eukaryotic
(nucleated) Cells 1.8 x 109 years 4. Oldest
Multicellular Animals 6.1 x 108 (600 million) 5.
Oldest Vertebrates 5.0 x 108 (500 million) 6.
Oldest Land Vertebrates 3.6 x 108 (360
million)
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics II. Scales of
Biological Organization A. Spatial Scales of
Biological Systems B. Temporal Scales of
Biological Systems 7. Age of Dinosaurs -
Mesozoic 240-65 million 8. Oldest Primates
2.5 x 107 (25 million) 9. Oldest Hominids 4.0
x 106 (4 million) 10. Oldest Homo sapiens 2.0
x 105 (200,000) (1/60,000th of lifes
history) 11. Oldest Art (30,000) 12. Oldest
Agriculture 10,000
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics II. Scales of
Biological Organization A. Spatial Scales of
Biological Systems B. Temporal Scales of
Biological Systems 13. Oldest Organism
Bristlecone pines 5000 years 14. Human cell
variable - brain/muscle 70 years 15. Supply of
ATP in cell - 2 seconds 16. rates of chemical
reactions - milliseconds (3.1 x 1010
milliseconds/year 30 billion
milliseconds/year). The history of life, spanning
billions of years, is dependent on reactions that
occur at a temporal scale separated by 19 orders
of temporal magnitude.
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WHAT IS LIFE? I. Characteristics II. Scales of
Biological Organization III. The Living Planet