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What is life?
condition that distinguishes organisms from
inorganic objects
life forms are able to act on their own behalf to
support their own existence, and to reproduce
themselves
Every living thing is cellular
either a single-celled or a multi-cellular creature
membrane bound
contains a full set of instructions necessary for its
operation, reproduction
Viruses
Not cellular, and are therefore described as "biological
entities" rather than organisms.
The T-4
Bacteriophage
virus is about to
attack the
bacterium.
The virus
injects its
genetic
material into
the
bacterium.
Here's what an actual population of E. coli bacteria looks like as it is wiped out by T4
bacteriophage
Examples of viruses
Smallpox (Edward
Jenner in
1796)
Poliomyelitis
- (Jonas
Salk, 1955)
Hepatitis
Ebola Virus
Hanta Virus
Measles
Rabies
Chicken pox
Common
Cold
Influenza
HIV
Mumps
Biomolecules structures
arise from interaction with
water
Forms covalent and
noncovalent interactions
Biological molecules
Life on earth is carbon based: biological
molecules consist primarily of
carbon bonded to carbon
carbon bonded to other molecules
Biological macromolecules
Simplest organic molecules = Hydrocarbons;
consist of carbon, hydrogen
Covalent bonds store considerable energy.
Make good fuels
Biomolecules
Biomolecules are typically large molecules (polymers)
constructed from smaller subunits (monomers)
Biomolecules built up, broken down via water
interactions
Biomolecules
Biochemistry requires understanding the
structure, function of cellular components of
biomolecules
Proteins
Carbohydrates
Lipids
nucleic acids
Functional groups
Specific groups of atoms attached to carbon
backbones
Have definite chemical properties
Found in the various biomolecules
Proteins amines, carboxylic acid
Nucleic acids phosphoric esters, hydroxyl groups
Lipids alkanes, carboxylic acid
Carbohydrates alcohols, aldehydes, ketones
Proteins
contain an amino group (-NH2), a carboxyl group (COOH) and an H atom, all bonded to a central carbon
atom
Formed from 20 different monomers (amino acids)
most abundant, functionally versatile biomolecule
Enzyme activity
Enzymes
Nucleic Acids
Responsible for
storage, transfer of
genetic information
2 types:
1. Deoxyribonucleic
Acid (DNA)
Encodes information
used to assemble
proteins
2. Ribonucleic Acid
(RNA)
Reads DNA-encoded
information to direct
protein synthesis
Carbohydrates
Functions of carbohydrates
energy stores, fuels, and metabolic intermediates
structural framework of RNA and DNA
Classification of carbohydrates
Monosaccharides
e.g., glucose, fructose
Oligosaccharides
Di, tri, tetra, penta, up to 9 or 10 monosacchs
e.g., lactose, sucrose
Polysaccharides or glycans
Homopolysaccharides-starch, glycogen, cellulose
Heteropolysaccharides
Complex carbohydrates
Starch = nutritional
reservoir in plants; makes
up >50% of carbohydrates
ingested by humans
These chains are broken
down into individual
glucose molecules and
used to generate energy
Consumption of excess
carbohydrates leads to
conversion into glycogen
or fats for future use.
Effect of decreased
blood glucose
Structural carbohydrates
Cellulose found in plants
Lipids
biomolecules that are insoluble
in H2O but soluble in organic
solvents
Examples of lipids:
Fats (triglycerides)
Phospholipids
Steroids
Lipids
Triglycerides
store twice as much energy as carbohydrates
May be saturated or unsaturated
Saturated fats - all internal carbon atoms are bonded to at
least two hydrogen atoms; maximum # of H
Fatty acids/Triglycerides
animal fats are usually saturated fats
solid at room temperature
Phospholipids
Main component of biological membranes
Membranes usually exist as lipid bilayer
Polar head groups in contact with H2O
Nonpolar tail lies in interior
Phospholipids
Steroid hormones
are derived from
cholesterol
or divine
origin
2. Extraterrestrial origin
(panspermia)
e.g., comets
3. Spontaneous origin
life originated from
inanimate materials
Abiotic evolution
Geophysical Stage
Chemical Stage
Biological Stage
Reasonably
well
understood
Poorly
understood
Origin of life
Life began~ 3.5 bya
Stage 1: Abiotic synthesis of organic
molecules such as proteins, amino acids and
nucleotides
Origin of life
Stage 2: joining of small molecules
(monomers) into large molecules
Origin of life
Stage 3: origin of self-replicating molecules
that eventually made inheritance possible
Proteins
Nucleic acids
easier to
polymerize
proteins than
nucleotides
special conditions
in the soup enabled
replication without
proteins?
Both?
Endosymbiont theory
The oldest fossils of multicellular organisms are ~1.2 billion years old
Mission to Mars
..\..\youtube downloads\NASA Mars Rover Landing_ Curiosity
Lands, Beams Back Pictures of Mars Surface.mp4
Mission to Mars
Curiosity was designed to assess whether Mars
ever had an environment able to support small
life forms, e.g., bacteria
In other words, to determine the planet's
"habitability
The landing site of the Mars rover Curiosity was once covered with
fast-moving and possibly waist-high water that could have possibly
supported life, NASA scientists announced Thursday.
Star Tribune Sept 28, 2012
..\1st sem 2014 - 2015\Curiosity Rover Report (6_24_2014)_
Curiosity Completes Its First Martian Year.mp4
The Mars One project aims to establish a human colony on the red
planet by 2025
~20,000 applied to be part of the team (including several Filipinos!)
However, has been recently reported as poorly planned, doomed
to failure and could endanger the future of science