INTRODUCTION TO MODERN

BIOLOGY

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lecture, the students should be able to:
• Define biology;
• Characterize biology as a “unified science of life”;
• Enumerate the characteristics of life and explain the
significance of each;
• Explain the principles involved in the scientific inquiry;
• Assess the importance of studying biology as applied to
engineering field
Inquiring about life

• Evolution is the process of change over time

that has resulted in the astounding array of
organisms found on earth.
Biology is the scientific study of life.
 Properties of Life

• Order
- All living things are
both complex and
highly ordered.
- Your body is composed
of many different kinds
of cells, each
containing many
complex molecular
structures.
• Energy possessing/
energy utilization
- All organisms take in
energy and use it to
perform many kinds
of work.
- Every muscle in your
body is powered with
energy you obtain
from your diet.
• Evolutionary adaptation/
evolution
- All organisms interact
with other organisms and
the nonliving environment
in ways that influence their
survival, and as a
consequence, organisms
evolve adaptations to their
environments.
• Growth and
development
- All organisms are
capable of growing and
they all possess
hereditary molecules
that are passed to their
offspring, ensuring that
the offspring are of the
same species.
• Response to the environment
- All organisms respond to stimuli.
• Regulation
- All organisms maintain
relatively constant
internal conditions that
are different from their
environment, a process
called homeostasis.
• Reproduction
- Organisms (living
things) reproduce
their own kind.
 FIVE UNIFYING THEMES
– ways of thinking about life

• Organization
• Information
• Energy and Matter
• Interactions
• Evolution
Organization
 Organization
• Biosphere
– Consists of all life on Earth and all the places where life exists: most regions of land,
most bodies of water, the atmosphere to an altitude of several kilometers, and even
sediments far below the ocean floor.
• Ecosystems
– An ecosystem consists of all the living things in a particular area, along with all the
nonliving components of the environment with which life interacts, such as soil,
water, atmospheric gases, and light.
• Communities
– The array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem is called a biological
community.
• Populations
– A population consists of all the individuals of a species living within the bounds of a
specified area.
• Organisms
– Individual living things are called organisms.
Organization
 Organization
• Organs
– a collection of tissues that structurally form a functional unit
specialized to perform a particular function.
• Tissues
– a group of cells that work together, performing a specialized
function
• Cells
– The cell is life’s fundamental unit of structure and function.
• Organelles
– the various functional components present in cells.
• Molecules
– a chemical structure consisting of two or more units called atoms.
 Information

• DNA - the genetic material

• Genes - the units of inheritance
Information
Energy and Matter
 Interactions
• Molecules: Interactions
within organisms

– In feedback regulation,
the output or product of
a process regulates that
very process. The most
common form of
regulation in living
systems is negative
feedback, a loop in which
the response reduces the
initial stimulus.
 Interactions

• In positive feedback, an end product speeds up

its own production.
 Interactions

• Ecosystems: An organism’s interactions with other organisms and

the physical environment
 Evolution
• Evolution is the
concept that the
organisms living
on Earth today
are the modified
descendants of
common
ancestors.
 Scientific inquiry
• Science is a way of knowing—an approach to
understanding the natural world.
• The word science is derived from a Latin verb
meaning “to know.”
• Scientists use a process of inquiry that
includes making observations, forming logical,
testable explanations (hypotheses), and
testing them.
 Exploration and Observation

• Data are items of information on which

scientific inquiry is based.
• Qualitative data are often in the form of
recorded descriptions rather than numerical
measurements.
• Quantitative data are generally expressed as
numerical measurements and often organized
into tables and graphs.
Collecting and analyzing observations

• Collecting and analyzing observations can lead

to important conclusions based on a type of
logic called inductive reasoning.
• Through induction, we derive generalizations
from a large number of specific observations.
 Forming and testing hypotheses

• In science, a hypothesis is an explanation,

based on observations and assumptions, that
leads to a testable prediction.
• An experiment is a scientific test, carried out
under controlled conditions.
• Deductive reasoning involves logic that flows
from the general to the specific.
 Experimental Variables and Controls

• variables—a feature or quantity that varies in

an experiment
• The independent variable—the factor being
manipulated by the researchers.
• The dependent variable — the factor being
measured that is predicted to be affected by
the independent variable.
• Controlled experiments — designed to
demonstrate the effect of one variable by
testing control groups and experimental
groups that differ in only that one variable.

• A scientific theory is broad in scope, generates

new hypotheses, and is supported by a large
body of evidence.