1. Biology: The study of life
Long ago, the scope of this study left the range of ‘plants and animals’ Known: 2X106 of???
5 to 100 million. 2 million known Maybe billions
amazing locations for life!

2. Today, we can study life on many scales…
From earth’s
veil of life called
the Biosphere…

3. The Biosphere

4. To the tiniest units we can perceive
Like molecules

5. The DNA molecule: a frontier in biology
DNA demonstrates both the simplicity, and baffling complexity of living things.

6. Another scale: Cells – the basic units of life
Another scale: Cells – the basic units of life.! Who knows what a polymer is?‘
What we gen see w a student scope. What we recognize is there
We’re kind of a POLYMER’ ourselves

7. All “individuals” are really….
parts of a whole… (for these polar bear ‘parts’ to exist, what others are required?)

8. The range of the study of life:
Reductionism vs Systems biology.
Reductionism simplifies. Regents .
Systems biology studies how pieces fit together. Includes interactions Helps see the more complex relationship

9. Emergent properties become apparent (emerge) as the reductionist facts accumulate into a related system, providing greater understanding
Molecules, organelles, cells tissues, organs organ systems
Life itself is an emergent property; things affect, and are affected by, other things.

10. consider a wrist watch.
We could study each single part, and we would learn things.
Systems looks at those parts in the context of the watch. Sees how the parts working together

11. Feedback: how life is regulated
Living systems at most levels monitor the environment, and attempt to adjust to changes.
Feedback tells a living system how it is doing. Regulation = adjustments, maintains homeostasis, sustaining life It may be chemical or be behavioral.

12. Increases the ability of an ecosystem to sustain life.
BIODIVERSITY (?)
Increases the ability of an ecosystem to sustain life.
Requires producers, consumers and decomposers
“variety is the spice of life”

13. Taxonomy: reductionism
Knowing each category (know them?) identifies specific structural characteristics of a particular organism.
Est = 86% of life forms are UNidentified.

14. The 3 domains of life (the largest grouping) 1990
The 3 domain system used since 1977
Archaea (oldest) ‘Extremeophiles’
(Eu)bacteria [sometimes called prokarya]: Cyanobacteria, eubacteria. Both beneficial & harmful to other living things
Eukarya name its 4 kingdoms: Characteristics?

15. archaeans… methanogens halo –, thermo-, psychrophiles
All life fits 1 of these 3 forms

16. All 3 domains 1. have DNA 2. have similar basic structures, & 3
All 3 domains 1.have DNA have similar basic structures, & perform the life processes
Where did all this variety come from?
The best scientific explanation:
EVOLUTION – Darwin’s ‘descent with modification’, forming branches
Based on preferential reproductive success, & random changes to the DNA.

18. Phyla of K. Animalia
1. Porifera 2. Cnidaria 3. Platyhelminthes 4. Nematoda 5. Annelida 6. Mollusca 7. Arthropoda 8. Echinodermata 9. Chordata

19. How we learn
Good science (almost) always produces reliable DATA

20. Hypothesis based science vs observational based science
List the steps of hypothesis based science 1 2 3 4 5
(6)
(7)
Observational;
Listen!
2015 example

21. Inductive vs. deductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning is the broad, general explanation for observations. Look for adjectives Think Darwin
It’s conclusions may be false
Ex: Humans are doing something to the environment causing the climate to warm and storms to be more frequent and intense
“Bottom up” approach

22. Deductive r. answers broad questions by acquiring facts through testing & data collection from multiple sources that supports or refutes a hypothesis Look for numbers Think Julian Huxley and the modern theory of evolution. “top down” approach.
Serengeti, proponent of natural selection, evolutionary synthesis (incl genetics)