Chapter 1:Ten Themes in the Study of Life

 
A. What is life?

To biologists, life reflects its ancient molecular origins and its

degree of organization.

B. Life's major themes:

1. Each level of biological organization has emergent properties.

2. Cells are the basic unit for both structure and function.

3. DNA is the genetic material and is the heritable information.

4. Structure and Function are related at all levels of organization.

5. Open systems: A way of sensing and responding to specific

changes in the environment.

6. A way of capturing and using energy and materials (regulation

of biochemical reactions)

7. Unity and Diversity.

8. Evolution is the central theme of biology.

9. Science is a process of inquiry (the scientific method).

10. Science and technology are functions of society,

I. Energy and Life’s Organization

A. Levels of Biological Organization

1. The cell, composed of "biological molecules," is the basic unit

of life.
2. Multicelled organisms have increasingly complex levels of
organization that result in tissues >>> organs >>> organ systems
>>> organisms >>> populations >>> communities >>>
ecosystems >>> biosphere.

B. Interdependencies Among Organisms

1. Energy flows from the sun.

a. Plants (producers) trap this energy by photosynthesis.

b. Animals (consumers) feed on the stored energy in plants, using
aerobic respiration.
c. Bacteria and fungi (decomposers) break down the biological
molecules of other organisms in order to recycle raw materials.
2. All organisms are part of webs that depend on one another for
energy and raw materials.
II. DNA, Energy, and Life
A. Nothing Lives Without DNA

l. Living and nonliving matter are composed of the same particles,

operating according to laws governing energy.

a. Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the special molecule that sets

the living world apart from the nonliving.
b. DNA carries the hereditary instructions for assembly of proteins.
2. Each organism is part of a reproductive continuum that extends
back through countless generations.
a. Each organism arises through reproduction in which DNA
instructions are transmitted from parents to offspring.
b. DNA also guides development of a fertilized egg into a
multicelled organism.
B. Nothing Lives Without Energy
1. Energy, the capacity to do work, is transferred throughout the
universe.
2. Metabolism refers to the cell's capacity to extract and convert
energy from its surroundings and use energy to maintain itself,
grow, and reproduce.
a. Plants acquire energy from sunlight and transfer some of the
energy into ATP are energy transfers.
3. Organisms can sense changes in the environment and make
controlled responses to them.

a. Receptors detect specific information about the environment.

b. Special cells receive stimuli and make appropriate responses.
c. Homeostasis is the maintenance of a tolerable internal
environment.
III. If So Much Unity, Why So Many Species?
A. All organisms are made of the same materials and function
according to the same laws of energy.

B. Yet there is much diversity, a fact that has led humans to

develop classification schemes

1. All organisms can be identified by a genus and species name;

example: Quercus alba (white oak).
2. Groupings from least inclusive to most inclusive are: genera
>>> family >>> order >>> class >>> phylum >>> kingdom.
3. Six kingdoms are presently recognized:
a. Archaebacteria&endash;the most ancient of bacteria, many
anaerobic.
b. Eubacteria&endash;more recently evolved bacteria.
c. Protista&endash;one-celled organisms; producers or consumers.
d. Fungi&endash;molds, mushrooms; mostly decomposers.
e. Plantae&endash;familiar multicellular plants; mostly producers.
f. Animalia&endash;multicellular animals from sponges to
humans; consumers.
4. Bacteria and Archaea are prokaryotic (lacking a nucleus); all
other kingdoms are in Eukarya and are eukaryotic (having a true
nucleus).
IV. An Evolutionary View of Diversity
A. Mutation&endash;Original Source of Variation

1. Hereditary instructions are encoded in molecules of DNA.

2. Variations in hereditary instructions arise through mutations.

a. Mutations are changes in the kind, structure, sequence, or

number of parts of DNA.
b. Many mutations are harmful.
c. Some may be harmless or even beneficial.
3. An adaptive trait is any trait that helps an organism survive and
reproduce under a given set of environmental conditions.
B. Evolution

1. The frequencies of genes and the effects they cause can change
over time.

2. Evolution is the change that characterizes populations through

successive generations.
C. Natural Selection

1. Charles Darwin reasoned that the practice of artificial selection

used by pigeon breeders could serve as a model for his theory of
natural selection.
2. The main points of his theory are these:
a. Members vary in form and behavior; much of the variation is
heritable.
b. Some varieties of heritable traits will improve survival and
reproductive chances; i.e., they are more adaptive.
c. Those with improved chances will be more likely to reproduce
(differential reproduction) and pass the adaptive traits on with
greater frequency in future generations (natural selection).
d. Any population evolves when some forms of traits increase in
frequency and others decrease or disappear over generations.
e. Evolutionary processes help explain life’s diversity.
 
 V. The Nature of Biological Inquiry
A. Observations, Hypotheses, and Tests

1. Biology is an ongoing record of discoveries arising from

methodical inquiries into the natural world.
2. Explanations are sought using the following approach:

a. Ask a question.
b. Develop hypotheses (educated guesses) using all known
information.
c. Make a prediction of what the outcome would be if the
hypothesis is valid (deductive, "if-then" reasoning).
d. Test the predictions by experiments, models, and observations.
e. Repeat the tests for consistency.
f. Report objectively on the tests and conclusions.
B. About the Word "Theory"
1. A theory is a related set of hypotheses that form an explanation
about some aspect of the natural world.
a. A theory has broader application than a hypothesis.
b. A theory is not "absolute truth"; scientists are "relatively" certain
it is (or is not) correct.
2. The fact that an idea, or even a theory, might be subject to
change is a strength of science, not a weakness.

VI. The Limits of Science

A. Science is limited to questions that can be tested.

B. The external world must be the testing ground for science.