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Topic 1 Introduction to the Study of Life

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Rooted in the human spirit. Curiosity, recreation, enjoyment of nature ... Lack the kinds of membrane-enclosed organelles found ... 3. The Human Genome Project ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Topic 1 Introduction to the Study of Life


1
Topic 1Introduction to the Study of Life
  • 1.1 The Unifying Characteristics of Life
  • Biology 1001
  • September 9, 2005

2
Why Study Biology?
  • Rooted in the human spirit
  • Curiosity, recreation, enjoyment of nature
  • Our connectedness to living things
  • Conservation of biodiversity important
  • E. O. Wilsons biophilia

3
Why is Biology Important?
  • Woven into the fabric of society
  • - Health and disease
  • - Nutrition
  • - Agriculture
  • - Management of natural resources
  • Applicable in diverse disciplines
  • - Psychology, sociology, criminal science
  • - Even architecture!

4
Life Is A Myriad of Diverse Forms
5
So How Do We Recognize Life?Unifying Properties
Processes Characterize Living Things
  • Response to environment
  • Reproduction
  • Energy processing
  • Growth and development
  • Regulation and homeostasis
  • Order
  • Evolutionary adaptations
  • ? Cells as the basic unit of structure
  • ? DNA as the hereditary material
  • The study of life has both horizontal and
    vertical dimensions!

6
Figure 1.2 Some properties of life
7
Examples Order Energy Utilization
8
Examples Reproduction, Growth Development
9
A Hierarchy of Biological Organization
  • The study of life
  • Extends from the microscope scale of molecules
    and cells to the global scale of the entire
    living planet
  • The hierarchy of life
  • Extends through many levels of biological
    organization
  • The challenge is integration across dimensions!

10
Figure 1.3 Exploring Levels of Biological
Organization
1 The biosphere
11
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12
Cells
  • A diversity of cell form!

13
Cells
  • The cell
  • Is the lowest level of organization that can
    perform all activities required for life
  • All cells share certain characteristics
  • They are all enclosed by a membrane
  • They all use DNA as genetic information
  • They all contain a cellular fluid and ribosomes
  • There are two main forms of cells
  • Eukaryotic
  • Prokaryotic

14
Prokaryotic Vs. Eukaryotic Cells
  • Profirst, eutrue, karyonnucleus
  • Eukaryotic cells
  • Are subdivided by internal membranes into various
    membrane-enclosed organelles
  • Nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts
  • All other organisms
  • Prokaryotic cells
  • Lack the kinds of membrane-enclosed organelles
    found in eukaryotic cells
  • Are smaller than eukaryotic cells
  • Prokaryotes

15
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16
DNA - The Cells Heritable Information
  • Cells contain chromosomes made partly of DNA, the
    substance of genes
  • Which program the cells production of proteins
    and transmit information from parents to offspring

17
The molecular structure of DNAaccounts for its
information-rich nature
18
Feedback Regulation in Biological Systems
Feedback can be Negative or Positive
  • A supply-and-demand feature regulates some of
    the dynamics of living systems
  • The output, or product, of a process regulates
    that very process

19
In negative feedbackAn accumulation of an end
product slows the process that produces that
product
20
In positive feedbackThe end product speeds up
production
21
The Emergent Properties of Biological Systems
  • A system is a combination of components that form
    a more complex organization
  • Biological systems are much more than the sum of
    their parts
  • New properties emerge with each step upward in
    the hierarchy of biological organization

22
Examples of Emergent Properties
  • Non-Living Examples
  • Graphite vs. diamond ?
  • NaCl
  • A hammer
  • Biological Examples
  • Ecosystems
  • Feedback regulation
  • Consciousness
  • Photosynthesis
  • Enzymes other proteins ?

23
Systems Biology
  • Systems biology seeks to create models of the
    dynamic behavior of whole biological systems
  • With such models scientists will be able to
    predict how a change in one part of a system will
    affect the rest of the system
  • Is now taking hold in the study of life at the
    cellular and molecular levels
  • Includes three key research developments
    high-throughput technology, bioinformatics, and
    interdisciplinary research teams

24
Examples of Systems Biology
2. A systems map of interactions between proteins
in a cell
3. The Human Genome Project
1. The greenhouse effect
25
Correlation Between Structure and Function at All
Levels of Biological Organization
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