Life - a collection of complex but organized systems, all working together Lesson 1.

3 Biology as a Science

Science – is a body of systemized information about living things derived from observations and
Lesson 1.1 (The Study of Life) experiments.

Biology - the science of life; the study of life Two main approaches in scientific investigations:
- it deals with structures, functions, and relationships of organisms with their environment.
- Greek words: (1) bios, “life”; (2) logos, “study” 1. Discovery-based science
- 3 major divisions of the biological sciences: -relies mainly on verifiable observations and measurements
Microbiology - study of organisms 2. Hypothesis-based science
Botany - study of plants -involves the use of scientific method:
Zoology - study of animals i. Observation – identifying and clearly defining the problem
ii. Hypothesis – formulating a possible logical answer to the identified problem
Traditional Branches of Biological Sciences 3. Experiment
-conducting controlled attempts to test one or more hypotheses and includes
Taxonomy – study of naming and classifying organisms recording and analyzing results
Cytology – study of structures and functions of cells 4. Conclusion
Embryology – study of formation and development of organisms -formulating generalization about the results that may accept, reject or modify the
Anatomy – study of structures and parts of organisms hypothesis
Physiology – study of functions of living organisms and their parts
Biochemistry – study of biochemical compositions and processes of living things Two kinds of reasoning
Genetics – study of heredity and variation
Evolution – study of origin and differentiation of various organisms  Inductive reasoning – scientific reasoning from specific to general
Ecology – study of relationships of organisms with each other and their environment  Deductive reasoning – scientific reasoning from general to specific
Immunology – study of immune system
Theories – existing body of knowledge; which explains the natural world and are well-accepted by the
Morphology – study of forms and structures of organisms
scientific community
Modern Branches of Biological Science -- Common Biological Theories:
Cell Theory – Cell is the basic unit of life. All organisms are composed of cells. All
Bioinformatics – study of biological data using computer programs cells come from preexisting cells.
Genomics – study of the entire genetic material of an organism Gene Theory – Inherited information dictates the structure, function, and behavior of
Molecular biology – study of molecules that make up the cells of living organisms organisms.
Pharmacogenomics- study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs Theory of evolution by natural selection – Organisms possess inherited traits that may
Proteomics – study of the different proteins in an organism make them adaptable to changing conditions in their environment
Synthetic Biology – study of combined biology and engineering
Systems Biology – study of systems of biological molecules such as cell, organism or species Lesson 1.4 (Life and its Beginnings)

Early Beliefs about the Origin of Life

Lesson 1.2 (Importance of Studying Biology)
*Biology can help solve the societal problems
*Biology is important because it is a science that helps you think critically, make informed choices, and
solve problems
*It explains our similarities and differences with other organisms
*It helps us understand the functions and reactions of our body
*It helps us in understanding how these life forms survive, respond, and interact in their environment
since they play essential roles to keep the balance in the environment
*By studying the life processes of different causative agents of diseases, their reaction to chemicals,
people might learn ways to fight and prevent the spread of diseases.
 Abiogenesis – theory of spontaneous generation (the idea that life originates from nonliving
matter).
-- proposed by Aristotle in the 4th century
 Biogenesis – life originates from preexisting life
i. Francesco Redi’s Experiment (using jar, gauze and meat)
ii. John Needham’s Experiment (he supports the abiogenesis)
iii. Lazzaro Spallanzani’s Experiment (rejects the abiogenesis of Needham)
iv. Louis Pasteur’s Experiment (disproves the abiogenesis)
-it is the most acceptable experiment and convinced the scientists that
abiogenesis does not occur
Current Beliefs about the Origin of Life  Accretion – the growth that happen to non-living things by external
addition of substances
 Divine Creation – creationism  Development – the process of undergoing in different stages of a
 Spontaneous Origin – lightning or other geothermal energy culminated in the evolution of cells life cycle
from simple to multicellular forms (Miller-Urey experiment)  Reproduction – is a process by which genetic information is passed on from
 Panspermia – a meteor or cosmic dust may have carried to Earth significant amounts of one generation to another as organisms produce offspring
organic molecules, which started the evolution of life  Sexual reproduction – two parents are involved by the union of their
sex cells to produce a unique individual of their kind
Lesson 1.5 (Unifying Themes about Life)  Asexual reproduction – occurs when an organism makes copies of
itself, as commonly found in lower life forms
Common Characteristics of Ling Living Things:  Heredity: Unity Amidst Diversity
 DNA is the molecule similar to all living organisms and responsible
 Gathering and Using Energy for differences
 In order to perform vital activities such as growth, movement, and reproduction, all  Living and Interacting
living things require energy  Organization of Life in Vertical Dimension – spreads the scope in terms of
 Photosynthesis- where plants obtain energy from sunlight size scale from the microscopic DNA inside cells to the macroscopic view of
 Cellular Respiration – energy is released by the breakdown of food substances the living sphere of the world, the biosphere.
 Carbohydrates to glucose  The Hierarchical Levels of Biological Organization:
 Proteins to amino acids 1. Atoms
 Metabolism – sum of all chemical processes and energy changes happening inside 2. Molecules
the body of an organism 3. Organelles
 Nutrient Uptake and Processing 4. Cells
 Nutrition – the process by which organisms acquire food 5. Tissue
 Maintaining Internal Balance 6. Organs
 Excretion – the process of removing wastes 7. Organ system
 Homeostasis – the maintenance of the body’s internal environment 8. Organism
 Enzymes – at metabolic level, help regulate the rate at which these reactions 9. Population – a group of the same kind of organisms living
occur, eg. The amt. of nutrients to be processed into other forms. in an area
 Hormones – at organismal level, these are regulatory chemicals that control 10. Community – different populations sharing the same
the functions of activities, growth, and development habitat
 Responding, Adapting, and Evolving 11. Ecosystem – communities exist in an environment affected
 Motility – it is the movement or locomotion of a living thing by both living and nonliving components
 Irritability – it is the sensibility or the ability of an organism to respond appropriately to 12. Biome - a community of plants and animals that have
a stimulus common characteristics for the environment they exist in
 Tropism or response – the reaction of an organism to stimuli 13. Biosphere – all ecosystems on earth
 Stimuli – external factors such as light, sound, temp., pressure, food  Organization of Life in Horizontal Dimension – to show the diversity and
sources, or presence of chemical substances; these affect living things richness of organisms inhabiting our planet
 Individual Adaptation – the ability to adjust to changes in the environment; it usually  The 6 kingdoms of the living world divided into 3 domains of life:
happens more slowly than responding to a stimulus because some changes need to 1. Domain Bacteria (prokaryotes)
occur in the organism (days)  Bacteria
 Evolutionary Adaptation – changes in the characteristics of a group of organisms 2. Domain Archaea (prokaryotes)
(species) over time  Archaea
 Reproducing and Continuing Life 3. Domain Eukarya (eukaryotes)
 Growth and Development  Protista, Plantae, Fungi, Animalia
 Growth – is an increase in size, and volume by converting food to become a  Prokaryote - a microscopic single-celled organism that has neither a distinct
part of body cells nucleus with a membrane nor other specialized organelles
 Intussusception – the process of growth within the cells  Eukaryote - are organisms whose cells have a nucleus enclosed within
 Organogenesis – formation of new organs membranes
Lesson 2.2 (The Cell and Its Beginning) 7. Scanning electron microscope – used to examine 3D surface structures or shapes of
objects such as viruses
Earliest Microscopic Observations 8. Fluorescent microscope – illuminates objects stained with fluorescent dyes that glow
in the dark.
 Robert Hooke - he compared the cells he saw in cork to the small rooms that monks lived in
9. Confocal scanning microscope – used to examine 3D structure of a cell or organelle
and called those porous structures as cellulae, Latin word for a “small room”
without cutting the specimen into sections.
 Micrographia – a manuscript that is a collection of the works and drawing Hooke
 Video microscopy – the process by which objects examined using the different microscopes
using his microscope
can be photographed or viewed on TV or computer screens.
 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek – was credited to be the first to study magnified cells
-- he was the first to observe living cells
animalcules, “Latin word for “little animals”
Lesson 2.3 (Basic Cell types)
The Cell Theory
Similar Structural Parts of Living Things
1. All organisms are composed of one or more cells.
2. Cells are the smallest and basic units of structure and function in organisms. 1. Cell Membrane or Plasma Membrane – the outer boundary that regulates the passage of
3. Cells arise only from previously existing cells. materials into and out of the cell
2. Cytoplasm – a gel-like substance making up the cell’s internal environment
 Matthias Jakob Schleiden – focused his interests in the study of plant cells 3. Genetic material – DNA and RNA; (DNA) provide instructions to make proteins, regulates
 Theodore Schwann – examined animal cells activities, and enables cells to reproduce
 Rudolf Carl Virchow – all cells come from other cells through the process of cell division 4. Ribosomes
 The Origin of Life (Hypothesis): Organic Chemical Evolution 5. Cytoskeleton – microscopic fibers where organelles can be found
 Life originated as primitive cells (protocells) from inorganic and organic molecules in
Earth’s prebiotic oceans some 3.5 to 4 billion years ago. Two Types of Cells
 Aleksandr Oparin - notable for his contributions to the theory of the origin of life on
 The presence of a specific type of cell allows biologists to classify organisms based on their
Earth, and particularly for the “primordial soup” theory of the evolution of life from
complexity.
carbon-based molecules.
 Stanley Miller - performed an experiment that may explain what occurred on primitive
1. Simple prokaryotes
Earth billions of years ago supporting Oparin’s hypothesis
- pro meaning “before” and karyon meaning “nut”, which all mean “before the nut”
 Protocells – are hypothesized to have been formed by the polymerization of organic
- first kind of cell to develop
molecules in heated rocks in clay.
- simple organisms possessing cells that are smaller in size with simple internal
Lesson 2.2 (Lens of a Microscope) structures
- they reproduce very fast; thus, they can exist in great nos. in air, bodies of water,
 Micrograph – the image produced by a microscope soil, and even inside bodies of living hosts
 Magnification – is the measure of optical instruments for an object to appear larger than its - two major kinds of prokaryotes:
actual size  Bacteria (singular "bacterium")
 Resolution – indicates clarity of an image  Archaea (singular "archaeon")
 Different types of microscope: 2. Complex eukaryotes
1. Light microscope – allowed man to see cells but with limited complexity - eu meaning “true” and karyon meaning “nut”
2. Electron microscope – enabling man to see the intricacies of the cell and its parts - larger in size and more complex structural components
3. Compound microscope – used to examine cells and sections of tissues with the use - fungi, plants, animals, and protists
of sunlight or artificial light to illuminate an object being examined - have their genetic material (DNA) encased within a distinct nucleus
4. Stereomicroscope – used to examine the external structures of a specimen such as - have many membrane-bound interior compartments and their organelles are neatly
insects. arranged
5. Phase-contrast microscope – is used to examine highly transparent objects such as
unstained cells.
6. Transmission electron microscope – used to study internal structures of cells through
sectioned specimens.