Chapter 1 – IntroductionOrder: highly order structure characterizes lifeEvolutionary adaptation: adaptations that evolve over many generations by the reproductive success of those individuals with heritable traits that re best suited to their environments (ex: camouflage) Response to the environment: a venus flytrap closing its trap in response to the environmental stimulus of a fly landing on itReproductionRegulation: regulation of blood flow through blood vessels Energy processing: hummingbirds obtain fuel in the form of nectar from flowers, thebird will use the chemical energy stored in its food to workGrowth and development: inherited information carried by genes controls the pattern of growth and development of organismsEmergent properties:- novel properties emerge at each step, properties that are not present at the preceding level- emergent properties form due to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases- ex: photosynthesis wont occur in a disorganized test-tube mixture of chlorophyll and other chloroplast molecules. It needs a specific organizationsof these molecules in the chloroplast. The Power and Limitations of Reductionism- because of emergent properties, we cannot fully explain a higher level of order by breaking it down into its parts (ex: a dissected animal no longer functions)- reductionism- the approach of reducing complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to studySystems biology: an approach that attempts to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s partExploring levels of biological organization: Biosphere ecosystemscommunitiespopulationsorganismsorgans and organ systemstissuescellorganellesatomsmoleculesEukaryotic cell: subdivided by internal membranes into various membrane-enclosed organelles; largest organelle is the nucleus which contains the cell’s DNAProkaryotic cell: much simpler, DNA is not separated from the rest of the cell by enclosure in a membrane-bounded nucleus, also lack many other membrane enclosed organellesDNA- structure accounts for its ability to store information- each molecule is made up of two long strands, arranged in double helix- each chain is made up of four kinds of nucleotides (A,T,C,G) - sequence of nucleotides along a gene is transcribed into RNA, which is then translated into a specific protein - this process is called gene expressionGenomics: investigating whole sets of genes of a species rather than a single gene at a timeNegative feedback: accumulation of an end product of a process slows that processPositive feedback: an end product speeds up its own production (having to pee)Three domains of life:- bacteria (prokaryotic)- archaea (prokaryotic- eukarya (eukaryotic)kingdom plantae: land plants that carry out photosynthesis kingdom fungi: absorb nutrients from outside their bodieskingdom animalia: multicellular eukaryotes that ingest other organismsProtists: mostly unicellular eukaryotes and some simple multicellular
View Full Document
Unlocking...