BSC Exam 1 Study Guide Chapter 1 Evolution Biology o The process of change that has transformed life on Earth from its earliest beginnings to the diversity of organisms living today o Fundamental organizing principle of biology o The scientific study of life o Living organisms and these environments are subject to basic laws of physics and chemistry 5 Unifying themes of Biology o Organization o Information o Energy and Matter o Interactions o Evolution Hierarchical Organization of Life 2 Ecosystems 1 The Biosphere 3 Communities 4 Populations consists of all the living things in a particular area along with all the the array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem consists of all of the individuals of a species living within the bounds consists of all life on Earth and all the places where life exists most regions of land most bodies of water the atmosphere to nan altitude of several kilometers and even sediments far below the ocean floor nonliving component of the environment with which life interacts such as soil water atmosphere gases and light of a specified area the body the various functional components present in cells chemical structure consisting of two or more units called atoms a group of cells that work together performing a specialized function a body part that carries out a particular function in life s fundamental unit of structure and function individual living things 5 Organisms 6 Organs and Organ Systems 7 Tissues 8 Cells 9 Organelles 10 Molecules Emergent properties o Due to the arrangement and interaction of parts within a system o Result from the arrangement and interaction of parts within a system o Example although photosynthesis occurs in an intact chloroplast it will not take place in a disorganized test tube mixture of chlorophyll and other chloroplast molecules the coordinated processes of photosynthesis require a specific organization of these molecules in the chloroplast o Characterize non biological entities o Example Bicycle parts wont transport you anywhere but if they are arranged a certain way you can pedal to your chosen destination o The reduction of complex systems to simpler components that are more o For example studying the molecular structure of DNA helps us to understand manageable to study the chemical basis of inheritance Reductionism Systems biology parts ecosystem o The exploration of a biological system by analyzing the interactions among its o Used to explore emergent properties more fully o What is considered a system A single leaf cell a frog an ant colony a desert o Enables us to pose new kinds of questions like How does a gradual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide alter ecosystems and the entire biosphere Structure and function o At each level of the biological hierarchy we find a correlation between structure o Analyzing a biological structure gives us cues about what it does and how it o Knowing the function of something provides insight into its structure and and function works organization o There is a correlation between structure and function o Example The hummingbird s anatomy allows the wings to rotate at the shoulder so hummingbirds have the ability unique among bird to fly backward or hover in place Cell o The lowest level of organization that can perform all activities required for life o The actions of organisms are all based on the functioning of cells o Every cell is enclosed by a membrane that regulates passage of materials between the cell and its surroundings o Eukaryotic cell contains membrane enclosed organelles the largest of which is usually the nucleus o Prokaryotic cell simpler and smaller than a eukaryotic cell and does not contain a nucleus or other membrane enclosed organelles DNA deoxyribonucleic acid o The genetic material inside chromosomes within cells o Each time a cell divides the DNA is first replicated or copied and each of the two cellular offspring inherits a complete set of chromosomes identical to that of the parent cell o Each chromosome contains one long DNA molecule with hundreds or thousands of genes each a section of the DNA of the chromosome o Controls the development and maintenance of organisms o Each of us began as a single cell stocked with DNA inherited from our parents o The replication of that DNA during each round of cell division transmitted copies of the DNA to what eventually became the many cells of our body o As the cells grew and divided the genetic information encoded by the DNA directed our development o Each DNA molecule is made up of two long chains arranged in a double helix o Each chain is made up of four kinds of chemical building blocks called nucleotides and nicknamed A G C and T o Transcribed into RNA which is then translated into a protein The entire library of genetic instructions that can organism inherits An organisms set of genetic instructions A typical human cell has two similar sets of chromosomes and each set has approximately 3 billion nucleotide pairs of DNA The human genome and those of many other organisms have been sequenced Genome Genes Encode information for building the molecules synthesized within the cell Units of inheritance Provide blueprints for making proteins the major players in building and maintaining the cell and carrying out its activities Control protein production indirectly using RNA as an intermediary Nuclei containing DNA sperm cell or egg cell fertilized egg with DNA from both parents embryo s cells with copies of inherited DNA offspring with traits inherited from both parents Gene expression The process of converting information from gene to cellular product Sequence of nucleotides along a gene transcribed into RNA translated into a linked series of protein building blocks called amino acids results in a specific protein with a unique shape and function mRNA translated into proteins Production of RNAs that are specified by genes By carrying the instructions for making proteins and RNAs and by replicating with each cell division DNA ensures faithful inheritance of genetic information from generation to generation DNA transcription translation chain of amino acids protein folding protein Genomics The study of sets of genes or other DNA within and between species The genomics approach depends on o High throughput technology tools that can analyze many biological samples very fast o Bioinformatics the use of computational tools to store organize and analyze a large volume of data that results from high throughput
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