SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES

PRE-MEDICAL BIOLOGY (PMBI 130)

Lect. 1.1: Introduction to Biology

Introduction
The concept of ‘life’ is a phenomenon that has been known for a long time by humans in
various parts of the world. For instance, in the Christian world, the idea of ‘life’ has been
documented in the first Chapter of the Bible called the ‘Genesis’. In this Chapter God is said
to have stated as follows:

“Let the Earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing, and
beast of the Earth after his kind, and it was so”

Apparently, religious information derived from the Bible does not specify the diversity of
‘the living creatures’ that God created on Planet Earth. Science has actually revealed that life
forms found on Earth are mainly in the form of the cellular organisms and the non-cellular
organisms. The cellular organisms have been broadly divided into prokaryotes and
eukaryotes. The prokaryotic organisms include bacteria, blue-green algae and archaea;
whereas the eukaryotic organisms include such life forms as the animals, plants, fungi and
protists.

The modern classification of cellular organisms is based on the existence of three major
categories of life forms identified under the Domain Bacteria, which includes the bacteria
and blue-green algae; the Domain Eukaria which includes such organismic groups as the
animals, plants, fungi and protists; and the Domain Archaea which embraces the recently
discovered forms of prokaryotes known as the methanogens which produce methane, the
thermophilic prokaryotes which live in extremely hot and acidic environments (hot springs)
and the halophilic prokaryotes which occur in environments with high concentrations of salt.

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On the other hand, the non-cellular life forms exist as the viruses – a group of life forms that
are not linked to the above-named domains.

The existence of a diversity of living creatures such as the insects, earthworms, snails,
millipedes, fish, amphibians (frogs), reptiles (lizards, snakes, crocodiles), birds and animals,
is a concept of life which is defined as an organismic state characterised by the capacity to
exhibit metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli and processes of reproduction. In
philosophical terms, the crucial difference between life and non-life is that life uses energy
for physical and conscious development. In biological terms, life is known as a characteristic
of a living organisms that is distinct from a non-living things. Thus, a living organism has the
following attributes that are associated with life:
a) the capacity to grow;
b) the capacity to metabolise;
c) the capacity to respond to stimuli;
d) the capacity to reproduce.

The development of molecular biology has introduced a new definition for ‘life’. This new
definition has been based on the function and reproduction of the existing genes and the
creation of new genes. A gene is a unit of heredity composed of DNA and which is a nucleic
acid found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Incidentally, DNA is a nucleic acid
found in some species of viruses classified as the DNA-viruses.

Another phenomenon that relates to life is the aspect of ‘death’. In science death is known as
the permanent termination of all biological processes that are known to sustain an organism.
Death is also referred to as ‘the end of life’. Organisms that have been phased out of Planet
Earth are said to have undergone a process of extinction. Thus the evidence for extinction is
presented in the form of fossils which occur as the preserved remains or traces of organisms
that lived in the past geological times. The study of life is covered in the field of science
called ‘biology’.

The Science of Biology

Biology is a special discipline of science which is concerned with the study of life and all the
living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, distribution, evolution and
taxonomy. The term ‘biology’ originates from the Greek word ‘bios’ meaning ‘life’ and the
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suffix ‘logia’ meaning ‘study of’. In 1736 the Latin version of the word ‘biology’ was
expressed as “biologi” by the Swedish scientist known as Carl Linnaeus in his book titled
‘Bibliotheca Botanica’. Furthermore, in 1771 the Germans translated the Latin term ‘biologi’
from the work of Linnaeus and formulated the German term ‘biologie’.

Branches of Biology
The science of biology has been split into many branches defined as follows:

Aerobiology: This is a branch of biology which involves the study of airborne

organic particles such as clouds of pollen grains in the atmosphere that
are released by flowering plants and gymnosperms (pines).
Agriculture: This is a branch of applied biology which involves a study of crop
production and the raising of livestock (cattle, goats, chickens).
Anatomy: This is an aspect of biology that involves the study of the internal
structure of animals (including humans), fungi and plants.
Biochemistry: This is a study of the chemical reactions occurring at cellular
levels in a diversity of organisms.
Biogeography: This is a facet of biology that involves the study of the
geographical distribution of biological species. For example, the natural
distribution of kangaroos has been documented in Australia; the natural
home for pandas is in southern China; tigers occur in Asia – particularly
in India; the home for the lions is the tropical and subtropical parts of
Africa.
Bioinformatics: This is the use of information technology for the study,
collection and storage of genomic and other biological data.
Biotechnology: This is a branch of biology which involves the manipulation of
living matter, including the genetic modification and synthetic biology.
Botany: This is a science which involves the study of plants.
Cell biology: This is a branch of biology that involves the study of cells,
including the molecular and chemical reactions that occur within the
living cells.
Conservation biology: This is a branch of biology involving the preservation,
protection or restoration of natural environments, natural ecosystems,
vegetation and wildlife in general.
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Cytology: This is a form of study which deals with the structure and function
of cells; and this kind of study includes changes in cell structure as well
as embracing the aspects of cell division.
Developmental biology: This is a branch of biology that involves the study of
the processes through which an organism undergoes transformation from
the zygote up to full maturity level.
Embryology: This is a study relating to the development of an embryo from
the stage of fecundation up to the stage of birth.
Ecology: – This is a branch of biology which involves the study relating to the
interrelationship between organisms and their respective environments;
and this field also entails some aspects of interactions between species
of organisms (animals plants or fungi) in a given community. Some aspects of
ecology include the following elements (components):

(a) Synecology - the study of plant, animal or fungal considered at community level.
(b) Autoecology – the study of any given single species of an organism in relation to its
natural environment.
(c) Ecosystem: This is a holistic assemblage of the biotic (living) and the abiotic (non-
living) components of the environment.
(d) Ecophysiology: This is a study of the physiological adaptation of organisms to a
particular habitat or environment.
(e) Habitat is the locality, site or a particular type of environment occupied by an organism.
Environmental biology: This is a field of biology that involves a study of the natural world,
especially that aspect affected by human activity.
Evolutionary biology: This is a study relating to the origin and descent of species over a
given time.
Genetics: This is a study of the genes and heredity.
Haematology (Hematology): This is a branch of biology that involves the study of blood
and the blood-forming organs.
Medical biology: This is a field of biology that has practical applications in medicine, health
care and laboratory diagnostics. Medicine is the applied science of diagnosis, treatment and
prevention of diseases.

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Microbiology: This is a study of microscopic organisms (referred to as micro-organisms (or
microbes) – such as bacteria, fungi and viruses - and their interactions with other living
things.
Molecular biology: This is a study of biology and biological functions at the molecular level.
It is a discipline that is closely related to biochemistry.
Parasitology: This is a study of parasites and diverse forms of parasitism.
Pathology: This is a study of diseases, their causes, processes and nature of disease
development.
Physiology This is a discipline that involves the study of biological processes and functions
that take place within the plants, animals and fungi. Some physiological phenomena include:
the assimilation of CO2 by plants in the process of photosynthesis; the oxidation of sugar to
release CO2 is a process called respiration; the person’s condition in a state of anger or fear
of the snake.
Phytochemistry: This is the study of chemical compounds synthesized by plants, and these
include the alkaloids, anthocyanins, carbohydrates, essential oils, lipids, proteins.
Virology: This is the study of viruses. A virus is a non-cellular living particle consisting of a
nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) which is surrounded by a protein coat.
Zoology: This is a branch of biology that deals with the study of animals. In this case,
entomology is an offshoot of Zoology which is involved in the study of insects a
group of arthropods typified by the possession of three pairs of legs. Note that spiders so
commonly seen in homes, are not insects but these are a class of arthropods that are members
of the phylum Arachnida characterised by their possession of four pairs of legs. Other
members of the phylum Arachnida includes mites, scorpions and ticks.

Salient Features of Microscopes

The cells are so minute that they can only be studied under the microscope. The microscope
is a scientific instrument designed for forming a magnified image of a small (minute or
microscopic) object. A simple microscope consists of a biconvex magnifying glass or
comprised of a system of lenses. The compound microscope uses two systems of lenses that
are usually mounted at the opposite ends of a tube that has mechanical control to move the
tube in relation to the object.

The light microscope is the most common instrument used in the laboratory that is capable
of revealing the general feature of the cell, such as the cytoplasm and the nucleus. It consists
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of a system of lenses that floods the specimens with light waves. The electron microscope,
which was developed in the 1950s, is yet another innovation which can reveal much finer
detail (or ultra-structure) of the cell components. The electron microscope floods the
specimens with a beam of electrons, as compared to a light microscope which floods
specimens with a beam of light waves.

The two main features of the microscope are: magnification and power of resolving.
Magnification is known as the ability of the microscope to enlarge specimens for the viewer.
The light microscope can magnify the cell structure to about 1000 times the normal (natural)
size. However, the electron microscope can magnify the image to about 250,000 times or
more. The resolving power is the ability of the microscope to reveal finer detail of the
specimen. The power of resolution is the ability of the microscope to separate minimum
distance between two points. Therefore, microscopes are the essential tools for studying cell
structures.

Two types of microscopes used in the science of biology are: the transmission microscopes
and the dissecting microscopes. In transmission microscopes the light waves are transmitted
through the specimen, whereas in electron microscopes electrons are transmitted through the
specimen. In dissecting microscopes the light is reflected on the surface of the specimen to
reveal surface features or ornamentations. A variant of the powerful dissecting microscope is
the scanning electron microscope (SEM) designed to reveal the surface features of the
specimen. A variant of the transmission microscope is the transmission electron microscope
(TEM) designed to reveal the internal structures of the specimen.

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Bibliography (References)
Clegg, C.J. and Mackean, D.G. (2008). Advanced Biology: Principles and Applications,
Second Edition. Hodder Education. London.
Craig, N.L., Cohen-Fix, O., Green, R., Greider, C., Storz, G. and Welberger, C. (2014).
Molecular Biology: Principles, of Genome Function. Oxford University Press.
Oxford.
Raven, P.H., Johnson, G.B., Mason, K.A., Losos, J.B. and Singer, S.R. (2014). Biology,
10th Edition. McGraw-Hill Co.
Soper, R., Taylor, D.J., Green, N.P.O. and Stout, G.W. (2017). Biological Science 1 & 2.
Cambridge University Press.