Biology%20107%20General%20Biology

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Biology 107General Biology

• Pat Akrabawi
• Michael Cullen
• Brian Ernsting

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Introduction to General Biology

• Student Objectives As a result of this lecture
  and the assigned reading, you should understand
  the following
• 1. Cells form the simplest, independent units of
  organization of living organisms. Cells arise
  from other cells.
• 2. There is a unity and a diversity of cells.
  Living cells all have a similar basic chemistry,
  yet cells may vary enormously in appearance and
  function.
• 3. Cells are broadly categorized as either
  prokaryotic or eukaryotic.

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Introduction to General Biology

• There is a hierarchy of structural levels and
  orders associated with living organisms, from
  simple molecules to complex ecosystems of the
  biosphere.
• Atoms Molecules
  (organelles) CELLS
• Organisms Organ Systems
  Organs Tissues
• Population Community
  Ecosystem Biosphere
• Life is associated with emergent properties.
  These properties are the consequence of the
  hierarchies of structure.

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Introduction to General Biology

• Living organisms are characterized by
• order
• energy utilization
• response to the environment
• reproduction
• growth and development
• homeostasis
• evolutionary adaptation
• Structures and functions are related.

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Introduction to General Biology

• Organisms interact continuously with their
  environments, and exchanges of energy and
  materials between organisms and their
  environments are essential for living matter.
• DNA is the basis of heritable information and the
  mechanism of transferring archived information
  from one generation to another of a species.  
  All species of life, whether plant, animal or
  bacterium, employ essentially the same genetic
  code.

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Introduction to General Biology

• Organisms are in a struggle to survive in an
  environment, and there are individual variations
  in organisms of a population that provide
  differential advantages for reproductive success
  in that environment. All populations of
  organisms undergo genetic changes through time,
  and this may lead to organisms better adapted to
  the environment and may in turn give rise to
  different species.