Biology

What is Biology?
● Study of life ( Bios = life , Logos = study )
● Encompasses contemporary life & ancestral forms (stretching 4B Y past)

Examples:
● Moss
● Virus - does not have internal structure for metabolic processes
● Lactobacillus shirota

Characteristics of Life
1. Organisms are composed of cells
● New cells are formed only by the division of preexisting cells
● Cell theory
● Unicellular and multicellular organisms
● Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic
2. Organisms grow and develop
● Growth: increase in mass and size
● Development: specified state of growth of advancement
● Living organisms : intussusception
- Assimilation of new substances into existing components of living
tissue (ingestion, digestion, absorption)
● Non-living: accretion
- Adherence of parts that are normally separate (addition)
3. Organisms Reproduce
● Natural process among organisms by which new individuals are
generated and the species perpetuated
Sexual Reproduction Asexual Reproduction

Single individual is the sole parent Two parents give rise to offspring

Single parent passes on all its Each person passes half of its
genes to its offspring genes to its offspring

Offspring are genetically identical Offspring have a unique

to the parent combination of the genes
inherited from both parents

Results in a clone, or genetically Results in genetic variation,

 identical individual. Rarely, offspring vary genetically from
genetic differences occur as a their siblings to parents
result of mutation, a change in
DNA
4. Organisms must be carefully regulated to homeostasis
● Liver and blood sugar example
5. Organisms become adapted to the environment
● Populations evolve and become adapted to the environment
● A heritable trait that helps an organism, such as a plant, survive and
reproduce in its environment
● Adjustment of organism to their environment in order to improve their
chances at survival in that environment
● Examples: Sea Horse (Phycodurus eques), Gray’s leaf insect (Phyllium
bioculactum), Common/Northern walkingstick (Diapheromera fermorata)
6. Organisms evolve
● A very gradual mechanism of change within populations, and postulated
that new species could be the product of this very same process but over
longer periods of time by natural selection