Presentation Biology in a nutshell 1

BIOLOGY
Biology, a beautiful field of study where division and multiplication are the
same thing, and to tackle such a huge topic we’ll only discuss it at a surface
level so you can have an idea to what you might encounter on your journey
if you decide to dabble further in this realm.

Biology stands on four pillars:

The foundation of biology stands on four big pillars:

Cell theory:
which Implies that all living things are composed of cells and that all cells arise
through cell division, these little building blocks are able to grow, produce proteins,
divide, multiply and other cool stuff thanks to metabolism1. One of the cell’s main
functions is to store data of the organism they are part of, here comes the second
pillar Genetics.

Genetics:
This data is stored in a special molecule called DNA2, the unit of memory in a DNA is
the gene3 which is far better than the bits of a hard drive, in a single gram of DNA you
could store 215 petabytes or 215 million gigabytes of information, that information is
used as instructions for assembling new proteins and dictating how an organism will
look like and function.

Evolution:
After cell division, the DNA is copied in the new cell, but there’s a small chance that
replication will not go as planned and some genes will be altered, in this case, we
have a mutation, which’s able to change some characteristics of the organism and it’s
offspring. These new traits could be favorable and make the organisms more likely to
survive and thus produce more offspring, while specimens with unfavorable mutations
go extinct, this principal is called natural selection. And it constitutes the key
mechanism of evolution.

Homeostasis:
The ability of maintaining a certain equilibrium of physiological processes and living
systems for an optimal function of organs and cellular processes, this balance is
possible due to many regulatory mechanisms, which perceive perturbations from
outside and react accordingly.

1
The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain its life.
2
Deoxyribonucleic acid (abbreviated DNA) is the molecule that carries genetic information for the
development and functioning of an organism.
3
A gene is a region of DNA that encodes function.

By : me
2 Biology

The five kingdoms:

These four pillars in addition to other factors (such as life cycles, the ability to
reproduce, ...) represent a separator between what consider alive and what not,
what considered alive is classified in five kingdoms:

Bacteria:
Bacteria are single-celled organisms with a simple internal structure that lack a
nucleus, with their DNA freely roaming inside. they were one of the first forms of life
to appear on earth and thus evolved to live in water, soil, acidic hot springs and
inside other organisms. and while some of them are helpful, certain species of
bacteria are responsible for diseases like Tuberculosis, or the Bubonic plague. Their
size varies between one and five micrometers in length, with some exceptions like
Thiomargarita namibiensis.

Protista:
Protists is a very wide term for every unicellular organism that have nucleus and
cannot form tissues, they form colonies helping each other survive like algae.
Eventually, some Protists to which were able to produce energy from sunlight evolved
into plants, multicellular organisms that are able to photosynthesize4.

Plants:
For this kingdom, plants are quite simple, so I’ll just list their classification:
- Ferns
- Mosses
- Conifers
- Flowering plants

Fungi:
Fungi are a weird mix between the plant and the animal kingdom, they tend to have
similar properties to plants, but do not have the ability to photosynthesize, which
means they have to get energy through organic carbon from other sources, like plant
or animal matter, instead of producing it from inorganic carbon molecules. other
thing that makes fungi different is the presence of chitin in their cell walls. This
kingdom consists of yeasts, molds and mushrooms.

Animals:
Animals are by far the most complex life form on earth, having the ability to develop
specialized tissue and organs which allows the formation of advanced systems like the
digesting system, the nerves system and other more. Animals can’t produce energy
from inorganic sources, as they rely on other’s organic material to get the nutrients
they need.

4
photosynthesize is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into
chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's
activities.

Presentation
3 Biology

- All these kingdoms are further divided into phylum, classes, orders, families,
genera and species. For more in depth studying and organizing.

NOTE: Besides the aforementioned types, there are also viruses, viroids, prions and AI
(artificial intelligence), which are not considered life forms mostly because of their inability to
reproduce.

The study of biology:

As an area of science, biology branches into multiple sub-disciplines like:
- Cytology (cell-study)
Studying the structure and fiction od the cell
- Biochemistry (life-chemistry)
The study of chemical processes within and related to living organisms.
- Anatomy
The study of structure of organisms and their parts.
- Genetics
The study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.
- Paleontology
The study of life that existed prior to the start of the Holocene Epoch.
- Ecology
The study of interactions among organisms and their habitat.
- Botany, Mycology, Zoology
The study of plants, fungi and animals respectively.
The are even cooler subjects to look for if this field sparks your interest like
Astrobiology, Bioinformatics, Quantum biology and much more.

Contents
Biology stands on four pillars:..............................................................................1
Cell theory:..................................................................................................1
Genetics:....................................................................................................1
Evolution:....................................................................................................1
Homeostasis:................................................................................................1
The five kingdoms:............................................................................................2
Bacteria:.....................................................................................................2
Protista:......................................................................................................2
Plants:........................................................................................................2
Fungi:.........................................................................................................2
Animals:......................................................................................................2
The study of biology:.........................................................................................3

Presentation
4 Biology

Presentation