General Biology Reviewer (First Quarter)

 Virus is an infectious microbe consisting of a segment of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA)
surrounded by a protein coat. A virus cannot replicate alone; instead, it must infect cells and use
components of the host cell to make copies of itself. They depend on the cell for them to survive.

 Virus is a disease-causing agent that is too tiny to be seen by ordinary microscope.

 Glycoprotein helps the virus to enter bodily cells (for movement).

What is Ebola Virus Disease?

- Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) or Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever is a rare and deadly disease in people
and nonhuman primates. It was discovered in 1976, and since then the majority of the outbreaks
have appeared in parts of Africa (The first case was in Africa). At least 12,800 deaths have
occurred globally since 1976.

- Ebola is more feared for the internal and external bleeding it can cause in victims owing to damage
done to blood vessels.

Symptoms of Ebola Virus:

- Fever
- Sore throat
- Severe headache
- Muscle pain
- Intense weakness
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Impaired liver and kidney function
- Internal and external bleeding

Targets in the Body:

- Functional cells of the liver

- Lining blood vessels
- Blood cells absorb foreign particles

Transmission of Ebola Virus:

- People can get EVD through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids
of an infected animal (fruit bats or nonhuman primate like monkeys, gorillas, chimpanzee) or a sick
or dead person infected with Ebola virus.

- Consumption of wild animal meat

- Touching objects that have come in contact with the virus

Damage:
- Incubation period: 2 to 21 days
- Death is often caused by multiple organ failure and tissue death.

What happens to your body when you are infected by Ebola Virus?
 - It damages the immune system and organs. It causes levels of platelets to drop.

A complex network of cells, It serves as the soldier of the

tissues, organs, and the body and help form blood clots
substances they make to slow or stop bleeding and to
that helps the body fight help wounds heal.
infections and other
diseases.

- It leads to severe, uncontrollable bleeding. The disease was known as Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
but is now referred to as Ebola virus.

Hemorrhage - bleeding
or the abnormal flow of
blood.

- It attacks the spleen (found in left rib cage that also filters blood and kills cells that produce blood
clot) and kidneys (filters blood), where it kills cells that help the body to regulate its fluid and
chemical balance and that make proteins that help the blood to clot.

What is Phitovirus? – found in the book

- Pithos - large container of wine and water

 Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period
due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse
gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.

Greenhouse Gases:
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Methane (CH4)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O)
- Industrial gases: Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3)

Some Effects of Global Warming:

- paglakas ng bagyo
- drought
- forest fire

Definition of Terms:

 Biology is a branch of science that deals with the structures, functions of living things, and their
relationship with the environment. It studies the molecular, cellular, organismal, population,
community and ecosystems. (Study of life)

 Cellular division is associated with growth and development

 Multicellular is made up of more than one cell

  Reproduction is a process by which genetic information is passed on from one generation to
another as organisms produce offspring

 Heredity are processes in which characteristics are passes from parents to off springs

 Cell membrane is the semipermeable layer of the cell

Who is John Craig Venter?

- He is one of the most influential scientists of the 21st Century.

- The first to transect a cell with a synthetic genetic material coming up with a synthetic cell –
“synthia” (Mycoplasma Laboratorium - where they do experiments)

- He developed a method used to identify human genes – Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) from
mRNA (messenger RNA)

- He developed clean biofuels.

- He established the company Synthetic Genomics with Exxonmobil to develop biochemicals and
biofuels.

 Marseillevirus - were isolated primarily from the environmental water, it has been recovered from
humans.

 Marsi Virus – virus in amoeba (from clean water)

 Senegalvirus is a close Marseillevirus relative. It was isolated from a healthy human’s feces.

 Metagenomics identified it from a blood of a healthy donors

Test confirmation:
- PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)
- Fluorescence in Situ HYBRIDIZATION (FISH)
- Serologic Testing (ELISA)

 Human Genome Project (1990 – 2003) was a landmark global scientific effort whose signature goal
was to generate the first sequence of the human genome. It aims to sequence 3 billion DNA bases
in the human cell. It marked the current century as the “Century of Biology”.

Branches of Biology – found in the book

Branches of Biology – found in the book

Major Branches (Examples):

1. Microbiology - viruses, bacteria, algae, fungi, slime molds, and protozoa (by studying their sizes,
characteristics, etc.)

2. Botany – parts of plants: roots, stems, and leaves

3. Zoology – habitat of animals (whales live in the ocean)

Traditional Branches (Examples):

1. Taxonomy – Phylum: Mollusca – soft-bodied animals like octopus and squid (it helps us categorize
organisms so we can more easily communicate biological information.)

2. Cytology – diagnosing or screening cancer (cancer cell)

3. Embryology - formation, growth, and development of embryo; from formation of gametes,

fertilization, formation of zygote, development of embryo and fetus to the birth of a new individual.

4. Anatomy – parts of the brain (frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, cerebellum,
spinal cord)

5. Physiology – digestive system (made up of many organs, including the stomach and intestines that
break down food that you eat into nutrients your body can use)

6. Biochem - photosynthesis (plants convert sunlight into food)and chlorophyll (a pigment that gives
plants their green color, and it helps plants create their own food through photosynthesis)

- During photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) from the air and soil.
Within the plant cell, the water is oxidized, meaning it loses electrons, while the carbon dioxide is
reduced, meaning it gains electrons. This transforms the water into oxygen and the carbon dioxide
into glucose. The plant then releases the oxygen back into the air, and stores energy within the
glucose molecules.

7. Genetics - genes are why one child has blonde hair like their mother, while their sibling has brown
hair like their father

8. Evolution – evolution of humans

9. Ecology – parasitism (a relationship between the two living species in which one organism is
benefitted at the expense of the other) - fleas on dogs

Modern Branches (Examples):