Themes in the
Study of Life
Life is very diverse because it involves organisms from
the simplest to the most complex.
Because of this diversity, life cannot have one simple
definition.
Instead, it has to be defined by several characteristics
common to all organisms.
These characteristics of life, taken together and not
individually, distinguish organisms from nonliving
things.
A Hierarchy of Organization
A Hierarchy of Organization
The biological world is a hierarchy with each
level of biological structure building on the
level below it.
Life is characterized by a high degree of
order, and the biological organization is
based on this order
Each level of organization is more complex
compared with the level preceding it.
The higher degree contains all the characteristics
of the one on its lower level, and it usually has
another characteristic, called an emergent
property, in addition to what the former level has.
Emergent properties arise because of the
interactions among the parts of the whole of the
organism.
1. ATOM
The smallest
particle of an
element.
2. MOLECULE
Two or more atoms
bonded together.
3. CELL
The smallest unit
of life.
4. TISSUE
A group of similar
cells.
5. ORGAN
A group of
similar
tissues
working
together.
6. ORGAN SYSTEM
A group of organs
working together
7. MULTICELLULAR ORGANISM
A complete
living thing.
8. SPECIES
Organisms that can
reproduce and
produce a fertile,
viable offspring.
9. POPULATION
A group of the same species.
10. COMMUNITY
All the species in
an area
11. ECOSYSTEM
All the biotic
(living) and
abiotic
(nonliving)
things in an
area.
12. BIOSPHERE
The Earth
Emergent
Properties /
Characteristics of Life
Emergent Properties
Result from the interactions between
components.
With each step upward in the biological
hierarchy, new properties that were not
present at the simpler organizational levels
emerge.
Emergent Properties and Processes
Associated with Life:
1. Order
2. Reproduction
3. Growth and Development
4. Energy Utilization
5. Response to Environment
6. Homeostasis / Regulation
7. Evolutionary Adaptation
1. Order
Organismsare highly ordered, and
other characteristics of life emerge
from this complex organization.
2. Reproduction
Organisms are
capable of
reproduction. Life
comes only from
life (biogenesis)
3. Growth and Development
Heritable
programs stored
in DNA direct the
species – specific
pattern of growth
and
development.
4. Energy Utilization
Organisms
take in and
transform
energy to do
work, including
the
maintenance of
their ordered
state.
5. Response to Environment
Organisms respond to stimuli from their
environment.
6. Homeostasis/Regulation
Organisms
regulate their
internal
environment to
maintain a
steady state,
even in the face
of fluctuating
external
environment.
7. Evolutionary Adaptation
Life evolves in response to interactions
between organisms and their environment.
Unifying Themes
of Life
Threemajor fields in biology
cover the unifying themes of
life.
These include genetics,
evolution, and biochemistry
1. GENETICS
It is the branch of biology that deals with the
study of the transmission of traits from parents
to offspring.
It also deals with variation.
Within cells, the threadlike structures called
chromosomes contain genetic material in the
form of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
During cell division, the DNA is first replicated,
or copied, and each of the two cellular offspring
inherits a complete set of chromosomes,
identical to that of the parent cell.
Chromosomes consist of DNA molecules
carrying hundreds or thousands of genes which
are composed of traits being transmitted from
parents to offspring during reproduction.
As the cells grow and divided, the genetic
information encoded by the DNA directs our
development
Bases in
DNA
2. EVOLUTION
Is
the branch of biology that studies
about change of species over time.
Thediversity of life can also be
explained through evolution.
Fossil
remains present the history of life
and the story of a changing Earth
through the evolution or organisms.
CharlesDarwin, in his book
published in 1859, On the Origin of
Species by means of Natural
Selection expressed that all species
are descendants of ancestral
species (modification by descent)
and that the mechanism for this
process is evolution (natural
selection).
Darwin further proposed the following;
(1) Those individuals with traits suited to the
environment are more likely to survive than
those with less suited traits;
(2) Hereditary constitution accounts for the
survival and existence, which is a part of natural
selection process; and
(3) Evolutionary adaptation and formation of new
species is the result of the process of natural
selection from one generation to another gradual
with continuing gradual change
3. BIOCHEMISTRY
Cells
are composed of chemical
substances. All organisms are made
up of elements or a combination of
elements –compounds.
Thebiochemical composition of
organisms is vital in interacting with
other organisms and their
environment.
Though there is diversity of life, organisms
can be grouped into three domains:
(1) Bacteria- most diverse and widespread
prokaryotes.
(2) Archaea- are prokaryotes with no distinct
nucleus and other membrane-bound
organelles, often live in extreme environment
(3) Eukarya – are eukaryotes with true nuclei
and other organelles that include single-celled
protists and multicellular plants, animals and
fungi.
All these three domains of
life require the need to
reproduce (genetics), adapt
(evolution), and metabolize
(biochemistry).
Allorganisms need to
reproduce to perpetuate
their future generations.
Understanding these important themes
in biology will help you realize the value
and importance of each organism.
You will learn how to preserve their
homes and habitats that are continuously
at risks of destruction due to human
activities.
Livingharmoniously with other
organisms and with the environment is
central theme in the study of Biology.
The Cellular Basis
of Life
Inthis lesson, you will learn about
the early discoveries about cells,
cell theory, how cells carry out
function required for life and the
two major processes in energy
harvesting- photosynthesis and
cellular respiration.
The Cell Theory
Thedevelopment of instruments
and microscope allowed the early
scientists to discover the cells and
understand their structures and
functions.
Microscopes were invented in 1590
and further advanced during
the1600s.
In1665, Robert Hooke first seen the
structure of cells as he looked through
a microscope at dead cells from the
bark of an oak tree.
Hooke described those structures
similar to a honeycomb and termed it
“cellulae” and later used the word “cell”.
Butit took the magnificently crafted
lenses of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to
visualize living cells.
In1838, Matthias Jacob
Schleidean, a German botanist
and a professor worked on the
structure of plants that led him
to conclude that plants are
made up of cells and these cells
are the basic units of living
organisms.
The following year, Theodor Schwann, a
German physiologist also showed that animal
tissues are also made of cells.
Later in 1855, Rudolf Virchow, a prominent
German doctor of the 19th century stated that
new cells come from pre-existing cell.
Schleiden, Schwann and Virchow unified the
concepts that constitute to the so-called cell
theory which include the following statements:
1.All living things are composed
of fundamental units called cells.
2.
A cell is the basic structure and
functional unit of life.
3.A cell arises from pre-existing
cells
The cell theory has expanded as
more studies and discoveries were
laid out that further led to the
“Modern principles of the Cell
Theory”. These statements include
the following:
“Modern principles of the Cell
Theory”
1. All organisms are composed of cells.
2. The cell is basic unit of life.
3. All cells come from pre-existing cells.
4. Cells consist of information that are
transmitted from cell to cell during cell
division.
5. All cells are usually the same in metabolic
activities and chemical composition.
6. Metabolism and other mechanisms of life
occurs within cells.
Cell: The Unit of Life
Allorganisms are made up of cells. It
is the basic unit of life.
Allcells are connected from earlier
cells.
Overlong evolutionary history of life
on Earth, cells have been changed in
many different ways.
Cellsdiffer in size and shape, but most
of them have common three basic
structures:
• Cell membrane – part of the cell that
controls the entrance and exit of
materials in or out of the cell
• Nucleus – the brain of the cell that
controls all its activities
• Cytoplasm – the part of the cell
outside the nucleus which contains the
organelles
The plasma membrane separates the inner part
of the cell from its surrounding environment.
Inside the cell is a jellylike structure known as
cytosol.
The nuclear membrane protects or shields the
nucleus of the cell. It regulates the passage of
materials in and out of the nucleus.
All cells have chromosomes, that contains genes
in the form of deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA.
DNA contains biological information that is
passed on from one generation to the next.
Cells have ribosomes which is the site of
protein synthesis
A mitochondrion is a sausage-shaped body
commonly called the “power house” of the
cell. It traps the energy that results when
food is broken down.
Endoplasmic reticulum is a network of
tubules that extends from the nucleus to the
cell membrane and takes up quite a lot of
space in some cells. It transports materials in
the cell.
Thegolgi bodies serve as the packaging
and releasing sites of the cell.
The lysosomes consist of digestive
enzymes that digest wastes and worn-
out or destroyed cell parts. When cells
die, chemicals in the lysosomes act to
quickly break down the cell.
Vacuolesstore water, food, or waste
products. Vacuoles are big in plant cells
while smaller in animal cells.
Cell
walls and chloroplasts are only
observed among plant cells.
Cell
walls are the outermost layer in
plant cells made of cellulose that
maintain cell’s shape and protect from
mechanical damage.
Chloroplastis the membrane bound
organelle capable of converting light
energy to chemical energy stored in food
among plants
One of the differences between
prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells is the
area or location of their DNA.
Ina eukaryotic cell, the deoxyribonucleic
acid or DNA is located in the nucleus.
In
a prokaryotic cell, the DNA is
concentrated in a region called nucleoid
that is not membrane-bounded
Organisms may be unicellular or
single-celled like Euglena, a
protist while animals and plants
are multicellular, composed of
many specialized cells that
perform specific functions
Cells carry out Functions Required for
Life
Cells
can get energy and exchange
materials in various ways.
Atthe same time, they have to convert
these materials to form a product, and
to use and convert energy.
Cells
store energy in the form of
adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
Cells carry out many functions required for life
which include the following;
1. Respiration- a set of metabolic reactions and
processes within the cells
2. Regulation- the control and coordination of
body activities through the nervous and
endocrine systems
3. Reproduction- production of new organisms
through sexual reproduction in most
multicellular organisms and asexual in other
organisms
4. Excretion - removal of wastes produced by
cellular activities
5. Growth – increase in size of organisms as a result
of increase in number of cells
6. Nutrition- process by which organisms take in
food
7. Transport- process in which materials needed by
the cell are taken through absorption and circulation
8. Synthesis - process by which cells combine
substances chemically to form various complex
substances
Answer the following questions:
1. What makes up all living organisms?
2. Where do cells come from?
3. Who paved the way for the discovery of
cells?
4. What contribution did Leeuwenhoek,
Hooke, Schleiden and Schwann and Virchow
make to the development of the cell theory?
5. What role did the invention of the
microscope play in the development of the
cell theory?
