LIFE SCIENCES (FBI 1224)

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO LIFE

SCIENCES

Dr. Nur Afiqah Mohamad

Learning Outcome
 At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

 Identify course objectives and requirements for this

course.
 Define and identify basic principles.

 State the level of organization.

 Describe technologies applied in Life Sciences.

Course Evaluation
Contact time: The duration of this lesson is 14 weeks. Total
contact time consists of 40 hours of lecture, 16 hours of
tutorial and 104 hours for others (self-directed, group
discussion, assignments & quiz).

 Quiz : 5%
 Assignment (Tutorial) : 15%
 Midsem Examination : 20%
 Final Examination : 60%
 Total : 100%
Chapters:
1. Introduction to Life Sciences
2. Biocatalysis
3. Homeostasis
4. Coordination (The Nervous System)
5. Coordination (The Endocrine System)
6. Immunity
7. Bacteriology
8. Virology, Parasitology and Mycology
9. Growth
10. Variation
11. Human Genetic I (Central Dogma)
12. Human Genetic II (DNA Mutation)
13. Molecular Biology
What is LIFE SCIENCE ?
LIFE SCIENCE

The life sciences are the study of living organisms

and how they interact with each other and their
environment.

 These include all the biological sciences.

 Deal with every aspect of living organisms
Why LIFE SCIENCE is important?
To understand
 how we live,

 how our bodies work,

 how to use natural resources,

 how to keep ourselves healthy, etc.

Two Important Life Science Theories

 In life sciences, there are possibly hundreds or

thousands of theories. Yet there are at least two
fundamental theories, which provide a foundation
for modern biology. They are:
1. The Cell Theory
2. The Theory of Evolution
 The cell theory

 Cells are the building blocks of all plants and animals

Cells are produced by the division of preexisting cells

Cells are the smallest units that perform all vital physiological functions

Each cell maintains homeostasis at the cellular level

 Homeostasis at the tissue, organ, organ system, and organism levels

reflects the combined and coordinated actions of many cells
The Theory of Evolution

 Natural selection is the process where organisms that are

better suited to the environment are more likely to survive
and reproduce than others that are less suited to the
environment.
 The theory of evolution by natural selection is often called the
“great unifier” of biology, because it applies to every field of
biology.
 It also explains the tremendous diversity and distribution of
organisms across Earth. All living organisms on Earth are
descended from common ancestors.
 Evolution
12

 Descent with modification – A change in the genetic

composition of a population from generation to
generation
 A phrase Darwin used in proposing that Earth’s
many species are descendants of ancestral species
that were different from the present-day species.
Natural Selection
 Level of
Organization
Levels of Organization
1. Chemical
2. Cellular
3. Tissue
4. Organs
5. System Level
6. Organism Level
1. Chemical level
The chemical level is the basic structure of which
all substances are composed.

Includes:
 Atoms - The smallest unit of matter that participates in
reactions
 Molecules - Two or more atoms joined together
2. Cellular level
The most basic structural and functional unit of an
organism is the cell.

It is the smallest living unit of the human body.

There are many different types of cells in the body including:

 Nerve cells

 Blood cells

 Muscle cells

 Fat cells
3. Tissue level
Tissues are groups of cells, and the surrounding
environment, which work together to produce a
specific function.

There are only four types of tissues in the body:

1. Epithelial tissue
2. Connective tissue
3. Muscle tissue
4. Nervous tissue
4. Organ level

Organs are structures that are made of two or more

different types of tissues.

They have specific functions and a defined shape.

Example: Stomach
 Inside of stomach lined with epithelial tissue
 Wall of stomach contains smooth muscle
 Nervous tissue in stomach controls muscle contraction and gland secretion
 Connective tissue binds all the above tissues together
5. System level
A system consists of related organs that have a
common function.

There are eleven organ systems in the body.

Can you name all 11 organ system in our

body???
MUSCULAR SYSTEM

Components: Muscles composed of

skeletal muscle tissue, so-named
because it is usually attached to
bones.

Functions: Produces body

movements, such as walking;
stabilizes body position
(posture); generates heat.
NERVOUS SYSTEM

Components: Brain, spinal cord, nerves,

and special sense organs, such as the
eyes and ears.

Functions: Generates action potentials

to regulate body activities; detects
changes in the body’s internal and
external environments, interprets the
changes, and responds by causing
muscular contractions or glandular
secretions
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Components: Organs of gastrointestinal

tract, a long tube that includes the
mouth, pharynx (throat), esophagus,
stomach, small and large intestines, and
anus; also includes accessory organs
that assist in digestive processes, such
as the salivary glands, liver,
gallbladder, and pancreas.

Functions: Achieves physical and chemical

breakdown of food; absorbs nutrients;
eliminates solid wastes.
URINARY SYSTEM

Components: Kidneys, ureters, urinary

bladder, and urethra.

Functions: Produces, stores, and

eliminates urine; eliminates wastes
and regulates volume and chemical
composition of blood; helps maintain
the acid–base balance of body
fluids; maintains body’s mineral
balance; helps regulate production
of red blood cells.
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

Components: Blood, heart, and blood

vessels.

Functions: Heart pumps blood through

blood vessels; blood carries oxygen
and nutrients to cells and carbon
dioxide and wastes away from cells
and helps regulate acid–base balance,
temperature, and water content of
body fluids; blood components help
defend against disease and repair
damaged blood vessels
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

Components: Hormone-producing glands

(pineal gland, hypothalamus, pituitary
gland, thymus, thyroid gland,
parathyroid glands, adrenal glands,
pancreas, ovaries, and testes) and
hormone-producing cells in several
other organs.

Functions: Regulates body activities by

releasing hormones, which are chemical
messengers transported in blood from
an endocrine gland or tissue to a target
organ.
LYMPHATIC SYSTEM (IMMUNE)

Components: Lymphatic fluid (lymph)

and vessels; also includes spleen,
thymus, lymph nodes, and tonsils.

Functions: Returns proteins and fluid to

blood; carries lipids from
gastrointestinal tract to blood;
includes structures where lymphocytes
that protect against disease-causing
microbes mature and proliferate.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Components: Lungs and air passageways

such as the pharynx (throat), larynx
(voice box), trachea (windpipe), and
bronchial tubes leading into and out of
the lungs.

Functions: Transfers oxygen from inhaled

air to blood and carbon dioxide from
blood to exhaled air; helps regulate
acid–base balance of body fluids; air
flowing out of lungs through vocal cords
produces sounds.
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

Components: Gonads (testes in males

and ovaries in females) and associated
organs (uterine tubes, uterus, and
vagina in females and epididymis,
ductus deferens, and penis in males)

Functions: Gonads produce gametes

(sperm or oocytes) that unite to form a
new organism; gonads also release
hormones that regulate reproduction
and other body processes; associated
organs transport and store gametes.
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM

Components: Skin and structures

associated with it, such as hair, nails,
sweat glands, and oil glands.

Functions: Protects the body; helps

regulate body temperature;
eliminates some wastes; helps make
vitamin D; and detects sensations
such as touch, pain, warmth, and
cold.
SKELETAL SYSTEM

Components: Bones and joints of the

body and their associated cartilages.

Functions: Supports and protects the

body; provides a surface area for
muscle attachments; aids body
movements; houses cells that produce
blood cells; stores minerals and lipids
(fats).
6. Organism level
An organism, any living individual, All the parts of the
human body functioning together constitute the total
organism.

Organismic level - one living individual

 Cells: Structure &
Function

OBJECTIVES

Name & describe the main parts of a cell

Describe the structure and functions of cell membrane,
cytoplasm, organelles and nucleus
 CELLS: Structure & Function

A cell – the basic, living, structural and functional unit of the body

The human body contains trillions of cells, and all our

activities—from running to thinking—result from the
combined and coordinated responses of millions or even
billions of cells.

1st described by the English scientist Robert Hooke ~ 1665

cell theory

 Cells are the building blocks of all plants and animals

Cells are produced by the division of preexisting cells
Cells are the smallest units that perform all vital
physiological functions
Each cell maintains homeostasis at the cellular level

 Homeostasis at the tissue, organ, organ system, and

organism levels reflects the combined and coordinated
actions of many cells
2 Basic Types of Cells:

Eukaryotic
Prokaryotic more advanced, larger,
contain organelles
more primitive,
small, no cell All higher species:
membrane and animals, plants,
without organelles fungi, protozoa

eg:-
Bacteria, blue-green algae

Human cells are of the eukaryotic type …….

https://wordwall.net/resource/27187687/eukaryotic-cell-labelling
https://wordwall.net/resource/5347240/biology/prokaryotic-cell-to-label
 The HUMAN BODY contains 2 classes of cells:-

somatic cells sex cells/germ cell

all the other cells

sperm

oocyte
Cells have a variety of forms and functions:
Animal cell
Plant cell
Animal cells and plant cells

Similarities
 Eukaryotic cells

 Contain organelles, for specific function

 Contain mitochondria

 Cytoskeleton (protein molecules) to hold up

shape and structures
 Nucleolus in nucleus for rRNA synthesis

 Both contain rough endoplasmic reticulum

Animal cells and plant cells
Differences
 Plants cells have cell wall which is made of
carbohydrate
 Plant cells have mitochondria and chloroplast
is only found in plants
 Vacuole and storage granules in plant cells
for water control and nutrient storage
 Animal cells have lysosomes for digestion,
microtubules, microfilaments, and centrioles
for intracellular transport and cell division.
 THE
CELL

Cell
Nucleus Cytoplasm
membrane
extracellular
fluid
Cytosol Organelles

Membranous Nonmembranous
organelles organelles

Intracellular fluid
 Plasma Cytoplasm
membrane

Mitochondrion Nucleus

Ribosome
Lysosome

Rough
endoplasmic
reticulum

Smooth
endoplasmic
reticulum
Centrioles

Golgi
apparatus

Cytoskeleton

Cilia Microvilli
 The Cell Membrane
Also called the plasma membrane, forms the outer boundary of the cell.

• Membrane Structure

 2 primary building blocks:

 protein (~ 60%)

 lipid, or fat (~ 40%)

█ Phospholipids

• The primary lipid is called phospholipid form a 'phospholipid

bilayer' (two layers of phospholipid molecules).

• This bilayer forms because the two 'ends' of phospholipid molecules have
very different characteristics:

phosphate @ polar end (or hydrophilic)

fatty acid (or lipid) @ non-polar end (or hydrophobic )

█ Membrane Proteins

Membrane proteins have many different functions, including the following:

① ②
Receptors for the attachment of Enzymes that help with chemical
chemical hormones and reactions or breakdown molecules
neurotransmitters

③
④
Ion channels or pores that allow
water-soluble substances, like Membrane-transport carriers that
ions, into the cell transport molecules across the
membrane (this may include gated
channels)

⑤
Cell-identity markers, like antigens or glycoproteins.
Antigens are foreign particles that can stimulate the
immune system
 Membrane channel

Peripheral protein
Glycoprotein
Carbohydrate chains
Integral protein
Glycocalyx

Receptor Glycolipid
protein

External
membrane
surface

Phospholipid
bilayer

Cholesterol
Internal
membrane
surface

Plasma
membrane

TEM 100,000x
o Other Functions

 Sensitivity
contains a variety of receptors that allow the cell to recognise and respond to
specific molecules in its environment.

 Structural support
Specialised connections between cell membranes or between membranes and
extracellular materials give tissues a stable structure .
 THE CYTOPLASM
• a gelatinous material located inside the cell membrane and outside the
membrane surrounding the nucleus

2 major subdivisions:

 Cytosol Organelles
(intracellular fluid) 
structures that perform specific
Composed mostly H2O functions within the cell.
+
dissolved nutrients, ions, soluble
and insoluble proteins, and waste
products
 Organelles
• Specialised structures that performs specific functions that are essential
to normal cell structure, maintenance, and metabolism

2 major categories of organelles :

Membranous Nonmembranous

  Cytoskeleton
Mitochondria
Microvilli
Endoplasmic reticulum
Centrioles
Golgi apparatus
Cilia
Lysosomes
Flagella

ribosomes
Cytoskeleton

 is an internal protein framework

that gives the cytoplasm strength
and flexibility

 3 major components:
1. microfilaments

2. intermediate
filaments

3. microtubules
 Microvilli

 Projections of cell membrane that serve to increase surface area of a cell (eg. Cells
lining the intestine, oviduct)
 Centrioles

 is a cylindrical structure composed of short microtubules located near the nucleus

 Play important role in cell division

 During cell division, the centrioles form the spindle apparatus associated with the
movement of DNA strands.

 There are no centrioles in mature red blood cells, skeletal muscle or cardiac
muscle cells, or typical neurons;

 these cells are not capable of dividing.

 Cilia & Flagella

• Hair-like projections from some human cells

•Cilia are relatively short & numerous (eg. cells lining the
trachea)

•a flagellum is relatively long & there’s typically just “one”

(eg. sperm)
 Ribosomes

• organelles that manufacture proteins.

• contain special proteins and ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

• two major types of functional ribosomes:

• free ribosomes
[scattered throughout the cytoplasm]

• fixed ribosomes
[attached to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)]
 Mitochondria

• “Power House”

• small organelles that an unusual

double membrane; outer
membrane & highly convoluted
inner membrane

• Inner membrane has folds

structures (cristae) contain enzymes
important in adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) production.

• Major function: energy production

in the form of ATP
 The Endoplasmic Reticulum

• is a network of intracellular membranes

that form flattened sacs or cisterns

• 2 forms:
1. smooth
2. rough (surface coated with
ribosomes)

• 4 major functions:
1. Synthesis
2. Storage
3. Transport
4. Detoxification
 The Golgi Apparatus

• consists of a series of flattened sacs (or

cisternae)

• functions include:

•synthesis (of substances likes

phospholipids)
•packaging of materials for transport (in
vesicles)
•production of lysosomes
 Lysosomes

• 'suicide bags‘
• vesicles filled with digestive enzymes

• produced at the Golgi apparatus

• Functions:

• destruction of damaged cells

• digestion of phagocytosed materials (such
as bacteria)
 NUCLEUS

• The most prominent features of a cell

• The "brain" of a cell containing genetic information (DNA) that

determines every natural process within an organism control
center of cellular operations

• A single nucleus stores all the information needed to control the

synthesis of the approximately 100,000 different proteins in the
human body

• The nucleus determines the structural and functional

characteristics of the cell by controlling which proteins are
synthesized, and in what amounts

• Most cells contain a single nucleus, but there are exceptions:

• skeletal muscle cells --- multinucleated

• mature RBCs have none
The End