Characteristics of Living Things 1. Made of Cells 2. Reproduce 3. Adapt 4. Respond to environment 5. Evolve 6. Use energy 7. Grow and Develop 8. Based on a Genetic Code 9. Need Materials from environment 10. Maintain internal environment

Made of Cells Cells: membrane bound capsules that contain genetic material and carry out living functions. - Unicellular: * Bacteria, amoeba, and other organisms carry out all of the function of life as a single cell. - Multicellular: * Plants, animals, fungus, and some other organisms are made of many specialized cells that work together to carry out the functions of life.

Reproduce Living things form new organisms through the process of reproduction. - Asexual reproduction: * Budding, self-pollination, and binary fission are all examples of asexual reproduction. - Sexual reproduction: * Pollination, spawning, and sexual intercourse are all examples of sexual reproduction.

Adapt Adaptation: - All organisms have inherited the ability to survive in their environment, if they had not they would be extinct. * Pack hunting, nocturnal hunting, superior vision, camouflage, eyespots, mimicry, and many other characteristics are examples of adaptations.

Respond to Environment Response: Environment: - The head of a sunflower following the sun through the sky, a bird flying south for the winter, you shivering in the cold are all responses to changes in environmental conditions.

Evolve Evolution: - As the environment of a species changes those best adapted to the changes pass those adaptations on to their offspring resulting in changes to the genetic characteristics of the population. * Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is an example of evolution.

Use Energy All organisms require energy to maintain organization and carry out the functions of life. - Photosynthesis: * Plants undergo photosynthesis, and store sugars in their roots, seeds, fruits and leaves. - Cellular respiration: * All living organisms use cellular respiration to release the energy in sugar. - Metabolism: * Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are metabolic reactions.

Grow and Develop Growth: - Most organisms get by adding more cells. Development: - Many organisms, like flies, have different stages of life that they go through. ** Growth and development are metabolic processes.

Based on Genetic code Genetic Material: - DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid, is what chromosomes and genes are made of. - RNA: ribonucleic acid, carries genetic information throughout the cell. **All living organisms contain DNA and RNA in their cells, and the genetic code is universal.

Need materials from environment All living organisms must be able to obtain materials from their environment. - In order to grow and develop organisms must obtain nutrients and energy from their environment. * Many animals gather or hunt their food, but plants obtain energy from the sun and nutrients from their roots.

Maintain an internal environment Homeostasis: the metabolic reactions that keep an organisms internal environment relatively stable. - Organisms must use energy to stay warm, eliminate waste, breakdown toxins, and move nutrients throughout the organism. * Warm blooded animals burn energy to produce heat so they maintain a stable body temperature, but cold blooded animals slow down their metabolism to go into a hibernation so they can survive cold temperatures.

Viruses A Virus is a small protein capsule that contains genetic material... similar to a single chromosome surrounded by a protein shell. - Viruses cause disease in plants and animals by infecting healthy cells, and using the cells replication machinery to make more virus. * Most scientists do not consider viruses living, because they cannot grow, move, produce proteins, use energy, or reproduce on their own. * Some viruses do adapt to environmental changes very rapidly.

Prions Prions are disease causing proteins caused by mutations in normally occurring protein segments. - Many cells contain normal prion protein segments, but when the become mutated they become misshapen. * Disease causing prions interact with other normal proteins (often in the brain) causing them to mutate and destroy nervous tissue. * The most common prion cause disease is transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or mad cow disease (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans). - Prions carry out some functions of life, but are not considered living.