Study of life

Key concept: biologists study life in all its forms.

Main Ideas
> Earth is home to an incredible diversity of life.
> Biology is the scientific study of all forms of life.
> Humans have studied living things throughout history.
Life on Earth
Not only are living things found just about anywhere on Earth, but they also
come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes.
Biosphere
> All living things and all the places they are found on Earth make up the
biosphere.
> The biosphere is defined as the region on, above, and below the
Earth's surface where life exists.
> Every part of the biosphere is connected.
Includes: deserts, grasslands, and different types of forests. Saltwater,
freshwater environments, and portions of the atmosphere. Animals and other
living things.
Biodiversity: the variety of organisms in a given area.
Biodiversity generally increases from Earth’s poles to the equator.
More living things are able to survive in consistently warm temperatures.
More living things, especially plants, can survive in warm areas. With food
supply.
Species: group organisms that are closely related and can produce fertile
offspring.
2 million different living species have been identified. But tens of millions of
species remain to be discovered.
Biology: is the scientific study of living things and their interactions with
their environment.
Science: is the knowledge obtained by observing natural events and
conditions in order to discover facts and formulate laws or principles that can
be verified or tested.

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Biology is one of the three basic areas or science: life science, earth science,
and physical science.
Art: carvings and papyri.
Those chow how early humans began to understand basic biological concept
(anatomy, medicinal use of herbs, and embalming).
Scientific revolution
> Scientific understanding is always limited by available technology.
> Many of the advances in biology and other areas of science that
occurred during the Scientific Revolution were made possible by new
technologies.
> For example, the invention of the microscope around the start of the
1600s allowed for the discovery of cells and microorganisms.
Principles of the Cell Theory
> All organisms are made of cells.
> All existing cells are produced by other living cells.
> The cell is the most basic unit of life.

Unifying themes in Biology

Main ideas
> All organisms share certain characteristics.
> All levels of life have systems of related parts.
> Structure and function are related in Biology.
> Organisms must maintain homeostasis to survive.
> Evolution explains the unity and diversity of life.
Organisms: is any individual living thing.
Characteristics:
> Cells
> Need for energy
> Response to environment
> Reproduction and development
Cells: All organisms are made up of one or more cells.
A cell is the basic unit of life.
Single-celled organisms are the most common forms of life on Eart.
Need for energy

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All organisms need a source of energy to carry out life processes.
Energy: ability to cause a change or to do work.
All living thing (bacteria to ferrets to ferns), use chemical energy.
Some organisms use chemicals from their environment to make their own
source of chemical energy.
Some organisms absorb energy from sunlight. Animals obtain energy by
eating other organisms.
Response to the environment
Stimuli: light temperature and touch are just a few of the physical factors to
which organisms must respond.
Reproduction
Members of a species must have the ability to reproduce.
When organisms reproduce, they pass their genetic material to their
offspring.
DNA: genetic material that contains the information that determines
inherited characteristics.
Single-celled organisms can reproduce when one cell divides into two cells.
Both new cells have genetic information that is identical to the original cell.
Multicellular organisms reproduce by combining the genetic information from
two parents.
System: organized group of related parts that interact to form a whole.
Type of systems:
> Two organisms that interact.
> Ecosystem.
Ecosystem: community of organisms and their physical environment.
Structure and function are related at the level of chemicals in cells.
Membrane channels and enzymes are both proteins, but they have very
different structures and functions.
Channel: is a protein molecule that extends through the membrane, or
outer layer, of a cell.
Enzymes: protein molecules that make chemical processes possible in living
things.

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These proteins have shapes that allow them to attach to only certain
chemicals and then cause the chemicals to react with each other.
Types of cells:
> Neurons: cell in the brain process information.
> Red blood cells: they are much smaller, disk shaped. They are
specialized to carry oxygen.
Homeostasis: Maintenance of constant internal conditions in an organism.
Temperature, blood sugar, acidity, and other conditions must be controlled.
Homeostasis is usually maintained through a process called negative
feedback.
A change in a system causes a response that tends to return that system to
its original state.
Behavior is also involved in homeostasis (animals regulate their temperature
through behavior).
Evolution: change in living things over time.
Adaptation: An inherited trait that give an advantage to individual
organisms and is passed on to other future generations.
One way evolution occurs is through natural selection of adaptations.

Scientific thinking and processes

Curiosity: is what drives scientists to ask questions about the world around
them.
Skepticism: use of the critical thinking to question results and conclusions.
Logical thinking: is the use of reasoning through information to make
conclusions that are supported by evidence.
One of the most important points of science is that scientific evidence may
support or even overturn long-standing ideas.
Scientists depend on empirical evidence as the basic for scientific
knowledge.
Empirical evidence: evidence that is observed directly through research
and investigation.

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Such evidence is used to construct testable explanations and predictions of
natural phenomena.
Scientists share their findings with each other.
Observations
> All scientific inquiry begins with careful and systematic observations.
> Scientists use computers to collect measurements or to examine past
research results.
> Observations are often recorded as data that can be analyzed.
Qualitative data: sight, sounds and smells.
Quantitative data: characteristics than can be measured or counted
(mass, volume, and temperature).
Scientists use observations, data, and scientific literature to form a
hypothesis.
Hypothesis: is a proposed answer for a scientific question.
A hypothesis leads to testable predictions of what would happen if the
hypothesis is valid.
After scientists collect data, they use statics to mathematically analyze
whether a hypothesis is supported.
Analyzed data are the results of the experiment.
Nonsignificant: the data show no effect, or an effect so small that the
results could have happened by chance.
Statistically significant: the data show an effect that is likely not due to
chance.
When data do not support a hypothesis, the hypothesis is rejected. But these
data are still useful because they often lead to new hypothesis.
Biologists use experiments to test hypotheses
> Observational studies help biologists describe and explain something
in the world.
> But in observational studies, scientists try not to interfere with what
happens.
> They try to simply observe a phenomenon.
Experiments

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Scientific experiments allow scientists to test hypotheses and find out how
something happens in experiments. Scientists study factors called
independent variables and dependent variables to cause-and-effect
relationships.
Variables
Independent Variables: condition that is changed or manipulated, by a
scientist. The effects of manipulating and independent variable are
measured by changes in dependent variables.
Dependent variable: are observed and measured during and experiment;
they are the experimental data. Changes in dependent variables depend
upon the manipulation of the independent variable.
Constants: the conditions that do not change during an experiment.
The independent variable is manipulated in experimental groups or
experimental conditions.
Theory: proposed explanation for a wide range of observations
experimental results that is supported by a wide range of evidence.
A hypothesis is a proposed answer to a scientific question.
Natural selection is a scientific theory.
It is supported by a large amount of data, and it explains how populations
can envolve.
Scientific theories provide explanations of phenomena.
Scientific hypothesis and theories may be supported or refuted, and they will
always change.
Science is an ongoing process.
Scientific understanding
Scientific understanding can change.
Scientific journals are primary sources of scientific information.
Examples:
> Magazine
> Articles
> News reports
> Textbooks
> Advertisements

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Secondary sources may contain pieces of data that are most relevant to the
source.

Biologists’ tools and technology

Technology changes the way we live and work, it also plays a mayor part in
the rapid increase of biological knowledge.
In early days of biology, scientists were limited to making measurements and
observations with simple tools.
Today, technology allows biologists to view tiny structures within cells and
activity within a human brain.
Technology even allows biologists to study and change genes.
Observations include making measurements
Examples of tools:
> Glassware
> Hot plates
> Microscopes
> Hand lenses
> Rulers
> Balance
> Timing devices
> Computer software
Quantitative data are gathered through measurement.
The modern metric system, called the International System of Units or SI. Is
the language for all scientific measurements.
Accuracy: description of how close a measurement is to the true value of
the quantity measured.
Precision: is the exactness of a measurement.
In 1600s, the microscope was invented.

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The first microscope magnified objects but did not produce clear images.
By 1800s, most microscopes had combinations of lenses that provided
clearer images.
Electron microscopes
The first developed was in 1930s, use beams of electrons instead of light to
magnify objects.
These microscopes can be used to see cells, but they produce much higher
magnifications so they can also show much smaller things.
Electron microscopes cannot be used to study living organisms because the
specimens being studied must be in a vacuum.
Types of electron microscopes
> Scanning electron microscope (SEM): three-dimensional image.
> Transmission electron microscope (TEM): two-dimensional images
are artificially colorized with computers.
X-ray image: is formed by x-rays, which pass through soft tissue. But are
absorbed by bones and teeth.
To image soft tissue, another imaging technology called magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI).
MRI uses a strong magnetic field to produce a cross-section image of a part
of the body.
Gene: segment of DNA that stores genetic information.
Molecular genetics: study and manipulation of DNA on a molecular level. Is
used tu study evolution, ecology, biochemistry.
Genomics: study of an organism’s complete set of genetic information.
Genomics also study and comparison of genomes both within and across
species.

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