WHAT IS BIOLOGY?

• The word "biology" is derived from the Greek

words "bios" (meaning life) and "logos"
(meaning "study"). Biology is the study of life.

• the study of living organisms, divided into

many specialized fields that cover their
morphology, physiology, anatomy, behaviour,
origin, and distribution
• What makes something “alive”? Anyone could
deduce that a galloping horse is alive and a car
is not, but why?
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING ORGANISMS
• Cellular organization - All organisms consist of one or more cells.
• Ordered complexity - 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.
• Sensitivity - All organisms respond to stimuli. Plants grow toward a source of light,
and the pupils of your eyes dilate when you walk into a dark room
• Growth, development, and reproduction - All organisms are capable of growing
and reproducing, and they all possess hereditary molecules that are passed to
their offspring
• Energy utilization - All organisms take in energy and use it to perform many kinds
of work.
• Homeostasis - All organisms maintain relatively constant internal conditions that
are different from their environment, a process called homeostasis. For example,
your body temperature remains stable despite changes in outside temperatures.
• Evolutionary adaptation - 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
Biological Sciences embrace the fields of:
1. Zoology – science of animals
– A branch of zoology specializing in the study of
insects is termed Entomology
– Another branch of zoology dealing with parasitic
animals is called Parasitology
2. The science of plants is known as Botany or
Phytology
3.The study of fungi is termed as Mycology
4.The study of Bacteria is covered in the
discipline of biology called Bacteriology
5.The special study of viruses is termed Virology
6.The fields of bacteriology, mycology and
virology constitute a major discipline of
biology called Microbiology.
Microbiology is the study of microscopic
organisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses)
7. The branch of biology dealing with heredity
and biological variation is called Genetics

• Biology can be studied from several angles

that embrace such branches as:
1. Morphology – a field which deals with the
form and structure of organisms
2. Anatomy – a field that involves the study of
the internal structures of organs and
associated tissue types
8. Ecology – the study that involves the
interactions between organisms (plants and
animals) and their environment
 INTRODUCTION
• All living things are made up of cells
• Cells are the basic unit of structure and
function in an organism (basic unit of life)
• Living things may be unicellular or multi-
cellular.
• Cell structure is diverse but all cells share
common characteristics.
 MICROSCOPE

• The cells are so minute that they can only be

studied under the microscope.
• A microscope is a device that allows people to
view specimens in detail too small for the
naked eye to see.
• They do this by magnification and resolution.
Magnification is how many times the object is
enlarged within the viewing lens. Resolution is
how detailed the object appears when
viewed.
TYPES OF MICROSCOPES
 THE LIGHT MICROSCOPE
• The light microscope can magnify the cell
structure to about 1,000 times the normal
size. The light microscope which consists of a
system of lenses, floods the specimens with
light waves
Light Microscopy
 Electron Microscope
• The electron microscope, developed in the
1950s, is yet another innovation which can
reveal much finer detail (or ultra-structure) of
cell components
• The electron microscope floods the specimens
with a beam of electrons. The electron
microscope can magnify the image to about
250,000 times or more.
• The two main features of the microscope are:
I. Magnification
II. Resolving power
 MAGNIFICATION
• Magnification is the factor by which an image
appears to be enlarged. It will be a whole
number greater than 1 and is usually followed
by an “x”, as in 10x magnification.
 is the ability of a microscope to enlarge specimens
for the viewer
 How to calculate magnification for a light
microscope:
Magfinal = Magocular X Magobjective
 RESOLVING POWER

• Resolving power
– is the ability of the microscope to reveal fine detail
of the specimen
• Resolving power is determined by:
– The wavelength of light, power of the objective and
ocular lenses
• Therefore, microscopes are essential tools for
studying cell structures
• transmission electron microscope (TEM)
designed to reveal internal structures of the
specimen.

• scanning electron microscope (SEM) designed

to reveal the surface features of the
specimen.
 Microscopy
• Two types of microscopes used in the
laboratory are:
i. Transmission types
ii. Dissecting types
• In transmission microscopes, the light waves
are transmitted through the specimen
whereas in electron microscopes, electrons
are transmitted through the specimen
 Microscopy
• 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)
– It is designed to reveal surface features of the
specimen
– Resolution ~ 0.05nm
 Microscopy
• A variant of the transmission microscope is the
transmission electron microscope (TEM)
– It is designed to reveal internal structures of the
specimen
– Resolution ~ 0.4nm
– 3D view
CELLS
 ROBERT HOOKE
• English natural philosopher Robert Hooke first described
cells in 1665

• when he used a microscope he had built to examine a thin

slice of a non-living tissue found in the bark of certain trees.

• Hooke observed a honeycomb of tiny, empty (because the

cells were dead) compartments.

• He called the compartments cellulae (Latin, “small rooms”),

and the term has come down to us as cells.
ROBERT HOOKE
 antonie van Leeuwenhoek
• The first living cells were observed a few years
later by the Dutch naturalist Antonie van
Leeuwenhoek, who called the tiny organisms
that he observed “animalcules,” meaning little
animals.
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
 Beginning of the Cell
Theory
• For another century and a half, however, biologists failed to
recognize the importance of cells.

• In 1838, a German botanist named Matthias Schleiden

concluded that all plants were made of cells.

• Schleiden is a co-founder of the cell theory

• made a careful study of plant tissues and developed the

first statement of the cell theory. He stated that:
“all plants are aggregates of fully individualized,
independent, separate beings, namely the cells
themselves.”
Matthias Schleiden
 Theodore Schwann
•In 1839, a German zoologist named Theodore
Schwann concluded that all animals were made of
cells.
•Schwann also co-founded the cell theory
 Rudolph Virchow
• In 1855, a German medical doctor named
Rudolph Virchow observed, under the
microscope, cells dividing
• He reasoned that all cells come from other
pre-existing cells by cell division
Rudolph Virchow
 The Cell Theory
• Explains relationship between cells and living
things – foundation of modern biology
THE CELL THEORY, in its modern form, includes
the following three principles:

1. All organisms are composed of one or more

cells, and the life processes of metabolism and
heredity occur within these cells.
2. Cells are the smallest living things, the basic
units of organization of all organisms.
3. Cells arise only by division of a previously
existing cell.
• When cells were visualized with microscopes,
two basic cellular architectures were
recognized: eukaryotic and prokaryotic.

• These terms refer to the presence or absence,

respectively, of a membrane-bounded nucleus
that contains genetic material.
 Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
1. prokaryotic (pro = before; karyon– = nucleus)
The single-celled organisms which includes
bacteria and Archaea
2. Eukaryotes (eu = true). Animal cells, plant
cells, fungi, and protists are eukaryotes (eu =
true).
• Prokaryotic cells comprise bacteria and
archaea.
• They typically have a diameter of 0.1–5 μm,
and their DNA is not contained within a
nucleus.
• Instead, their DNA is circular and can be found
in a region called the nucleoid, which floats in
the cytoplasm.
• Prokaryotes are organisms that consist of a
single prokaryotic cell. cell wall composed
• of peptidoglycan
PROKARYOTES
• Prokaryotes are very important in the ecology
of living organisms. Some harvest light by
photosynthesis, others break
• down dead organisms and recycle their
components. Still others
• cause disease or have uses in many important
industrial processes.
• Prokaryotes have two main domains: archaea
and bacteria.
• Eukaryotic cells are found in plants, animals,
fungi, and protists.
• They range from 10–100 μm in diameter, and
their DNA is contained within a membrane-
bound nucleus.
• Eukaryotes are organisms containing
eukaryotic cells.
EUKARYOTES
EUKARYOTES
 Prokaryotes versus Eukaryotes
• Prokaryotes—eubacteria and archaea—differ
from eukaryotes in numerous important
features.
• These differences represent some of the most
fundamental distinctions that separate any
groups of organisms.

1. Multicellularity.
• All prokaryotes are fundamentally single-celled
in comparison to multicellular eukaryotes
• 2. Cell size - Most prokaryotic cells are only 1
micrometer or less in diameter. Most
eukaryotic cells are well over 10 times that size.
• 3. Chromosomes - Eukaryotic cells have a
membrane-bound nucleus containing
chromosomes made up of both nucleic acids
and proteins. Prokaryotes do not have
membrane-bound nuclei. Instead, their naked
circular DNA is localized in a zone of the
cytoplasm called the nucleoid.
• 4. Cell division and genetic recombination -
Cell division in eukaryotes takes place by
mitosis and involves spindles made up of
microtubules. Cell division in prokaryotes
takes place mainly by binary fission
Binary Fission in Prokaryotes
Mitosis in Eukaryotes
• 5. Internal compartmentalization. In
eukaryotes, the enzymes for cellular
respiration are packaged in mitochondria. In
bacteria, the corresponding enzymes are not
packaged separately but are bound to the cell
membranes. The cytoplasm of prokaryotes,
unlike that of eukaryotes, contains no internal
compartments or cytoskeleton and no
organelles except ribosomes.
• 6. Flagella. Prokaryote flagella are simple in
structure, composed of a single fibre of the
protein flagellin, spinning like propellers.
Eukaryotic flagella are complex have a whip-like
motion.
• 7. Metabolic diversity. Only one kind of
photosynthesis occurs in eukaryotes, and it
involves the release of oxygen. Prokaryotes have
several different patterns of anaerobic and
aerobic photosynthesis, involving the formation of
end products such as sulphur, sulphate, and
oxygen
 BACTERIA
• all bacteria may be classified into two types
based on differences in their cell walls
detected by the Gram staining procedure.
• Danish microbiologist Hans Christian Gram,
who developed the procedure to detect the
presence of certain disease-causing bacteria.
• Two types of bacteria can be identified using a
staining process called the Gram stain, hence
their names.
• Most bacteria are encased by a strong cell
wall composed of peptidoglycan, which
consists of a carbohydrate matrix (polymers of
sugars)
• Gram-positive bacteria have a thick, single-
layered cell wall that retains a violet dye from
the Gram stain procedure, causing the stained
cells to appear purple under a microscope.
• whereas the Gram-negative bacteria contain
less peptidoglycan and do not retain the
purple-coloured dye.
• These gram-negative bacteria can be stained
with a red counter-stain and then appear dark
pink
 Gram stain test

• Gram stain testing is a method for classifying bacteria based on their cell
wall. It allows scientists to determine whether an organism is gram-
positive or gram-negative. The test, which uses a microscope, was created
by Hans Christian Gram in 1884.

• During the procedure, crystal violet dye is applied to a sample of bacteria.

This chemical dye can stain thick peptidoglycan layers.
• Under a microscope, gram-positive bacteria appear purple-blue because
their thick peptidoglycan membrane can hold the dye. The bacteria is
called gram-positive due to the positive result.

• Gram-negative bacteria stain pink-red. Their peptidoglycan layer is

thinner, so it doesn’t retain the blue color. The test result is negative.
• In a medical setting, a doctor can send a sample of your blood, urine, or
tissue to a lab for Gram stain testing. This may help them diagnose a
bacterial infection.
 Gram stain procedure - Gram staining a sample

1. Gently flood the smear with crystal violet and leave for 1 minute.
Tilt the slide slightly and gently rinse with tap water or distilled
water.

Crystal violet is a water-soluble dye which enters the peptidoglycan

layer in the bacterial cell wall.

2. Gently flood the smear with Gram’s iodine and leave for 1
minute. Tilt the slide slightly and gently rinse with tap water or
distilled water. The smear will now appear purple.

Gram's iodine solution (iodine and potassium iodide) is added to

form a complex with the crystal violet, which is much larger and is
insoluble in water.
3. Decolorize the smear using 95 % ethyl alcohol or acetone. Tilt the slide slightly
and apply the alcohol drop by drop until the alcohol runs almost clear (5-10
seconds). Immediately rinse with water to avoid over-decolorizing.

Decolorizer dehydrates the peptidoglycan layer, shrinking and tightening it. In Gram
positive bacteria, the large crystal violet-iodine complexes are then unable to
penetrate and escape the thick peptidoglycan layer, resulting in purple stained cells.
However, in Gram negative bacteria, the outer membrane is degraded, the thin
peptidoglycan layer is unable to retain the crystal violet-iodine complexes and the
color is lost.

4. Gently flood with safranin counterstain and leave for 45 seconds. Tilt the
slide slightly and gently rinse with tap water or distilled water.

Safranin is weakly water soluble and will stain bacterial cells a light red, enabling
visualization of Gram negative cells without interfering with the observation of the
purple of the Gram positive cells.

5. Blot the slide dry on filter paper then view the smear using a light-
microscope under oil-immersion.
• Though both groups of bacteria can cause
disease, they require different treatments. If
you have a bacterial infection, the Gram stain
will determine what kind of medication you
need.
• The major difference is the outer lipid membrane. It’s
difficult to penetrate, which gives gram-negative
bacteria extra protection. Gram-positive bacteria don’t
have this feature.
• Because of this difference, gram-negative bacteria are
harder to kill. This means gram-positive and gram-
negative bacteria require different treatments.
• Though gram-negative bacteria are harder to destroy,
gram-positive bacteria can still cause problems. Many
species result in disease and require specific antibiotics.