Bio 1406 Ortiz- Chapter 1

evolution

the process of change that has transformed life on Earth

biology

is the scientific study of life

the 5 unifying themes of biology

Organization
Information
Energy and matter
Interactions
Evolution

emergent properties

result from the arrangement and interaction of parts within a system

reductionism

the simplification of complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study

eukaryotic cell

has membrane-enclosed organelles, the largest of which is usually the nucleus

prokaryotic cell

simpler and usually smaller, and does not contain a nucleus or other membrane-enclosed organelles

genes

encode information for building the molecules synthesized within the cell they are also the units of inheritance

DNA

controls the development and maintenance of organisms

DNA molecules

made up of two long chains arranged in a double helix

DNA chains

made up of four kinds of chemical building blocks called nucleotides and nicknamed A, G, C, and T

gene expression

process of converting information from gene to cellular product

genome

entire set of genetic instructions
The human genome and those of many other organisms have been sequenced

genomics

the study of sets of genes within and between species

proteomics

the study of whole sets of proteins encoded by the genome (known as proteomes)

bioinformatics

the use of computational tools to process a large volume of data

feedback

Cells are able to coordinate various chemical pathways

taxonomy

the branch of biology that names and classifies species into groups of increasing breadth Domains, followed by kingdoms, are the broadest units of classification

Domain Bacteria and domain Archaea compose the...?

prokaryotes

Domain Eukarya includes the...?

eukaryotes

what are the three multicellular kingdoms of domain eukarya?

Plants, which produce their own food by photosynthesis
Fungi, which absorb nutrients
Animals, which ingest their food

natural selection

the environment "selects" for the propagation of beneficial traits

inquiry

the search for information and explanations of natural phenomena

scientific process

Making observations
Forming logical hypotheses
Testing hypothesis

deductive reasoning

uses general premises to make specific predictions

Questions That Can and Cannot Be Addressed by Science

A hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable
explanations are outside the bounds of science

theory

Broader in scope than a hypothesis
General, and can lead to new testable hypotheses
Supported by a large body of evidence in comparison to a hypothesis