Fundamentals of Biology
1. Biology: Exploring Life
1.1. All forms of life share common properties
1.1.1. 7 properties we associate with life = order-life is organized (cells are organized), reproduction (pass on DNA), growth and development, energy processing, regulation (of their internal environment), response to the environment, evolutionary adaptation
1.2. Hierarchy of organization
1.2.1. Biosphere  Ecosystem  Community  Population  Organism  Organ system  Organ  Tissue  Cell  Organelle  Molecule  Atoms (elements)
1.2.2. Unicellular organisms cell organism
1.3. Cells are the structural and functional units of life
1.3.1. Hierarchical- each level builds on the previous, complexity increases with each level
1.3.2. Emergent properties – properties of lower levels combine to create novel properties at higher levels ex: electronegativity of atoms, polarity of chemical bonds, hydrophobic or hydrophilic properties of molecules, selective permeability of membranes
1.3.3. Cells is the level at which the properties of life emerge – the lowest level of structure that can perform all activities required for life
1.3.4. Cells can regulate internal environment, take and use energy, respond to environment, build and maintain complex organization
1.3.5. Prokaryotic cells—first to evolve and Earth’s sole inhabitants for more than 1.5 billion years, does not have a nucleus but contains DNA
1.3.6. Eukaryotic cells—evolved from prokaryotic ancestral cells about 1.8 billion years ago
1.3.7. Tissue – an integrated group of similarly specialized cells that work together to perform a common function
1.3.8. Organ – two or more types of tissue that together perform a specific task
1.3.9. Organ system – multiple organs working together to accomplish a vital body function
1.3.10. Humans vs. Plants – photosynthesis, cell walls
1.3.11. Humans vs. Fungi – absorption, we digest
1.3.12. Humans are animals- eukaryotic cells without cell walls, multicellular, ingestive heterotrophs, locomotion: muscles and nerves, diploid body, haploid gametes, development is determinate: we grow bigger without adding more parts
1.3.13. Systems biology—the study of a biological system and the modeling of its dynamic behavior by analyzing the interactions among its parts
1.4. Organisms interact with their environment
1.4.1. The dynamics of ecosystems include two major processes—the recycling of chemicals and the flow of energy.
1.4.2. The most basic chemicals necessary for life—carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, and various minerals – cycle within an ecosystem from the air and soil to plants, to animals and decomposers, and back to the air and soil
1.4.3. An ecosystem gains and loses energy constantly
1.5. DNA and a common genetic code
1.5.1. Genes—the units of inheritance that transmit information from parents to offspring
1.5.2. DNA is made of two long chains called strains to make a double helix made up of building blocks called nucleotides
1.5.3. DNA is passed from parent to offspring
1.5.4. Mistakes during DNA replication create genetic differences among offspring, mutations cause natural variation
1.5.5. DNA of genes provides the blueprints for making proteins, and proteins serve as the tools that actually build and maintain the cell and carry out its activities.
1.5.6. Genome—entire “library” of genetic instructions that an organism inherits
1.6. Three Domains
1.6.1. Taxonomy, the branch of biology that names and