BIO1 Flashcards
BIO1
Why is water important for life? What properties make it special?
Water is a solvent, regulates temperature, and is essential for biochemical reactions.
What are requirements for life as we know it?
Conditions such as liquid water, a stable environment, and energy sources.
What are the basic characteristics of living systems and why are viruses often not considered alive?
Living systems are organized, reproduce, respond to stimuli, and evolve. Viruses lack cellular structure and cannot reproduce independently.
How can we remotely find signs of life on exoplanets?
Using spectrometers to detect atmospheric gases that indicate biological activity.
What are examples of how living organisms can generate large scale geological structures?
Coral reefs and stromatolites are examples of organisms creating large geological formations.
What is the role of ATP? How much of it are we producing?
ATP provides energy for cellular functions; humans produce around 50-75 kg daily.
What forms of energy does life use and how is energy stored in live cells?
Cells use chemical, light, and electrical energy, storing it in molecules like ATP and glucose.
What is an argument for the RNA-world hypothesis of the origin of life?
RNA may have been the first genetic material due to its ability to store information and catalyze reactions.
Which basic properties of living systems are constrained by physical laws?
Growth, energy consumption, and movement are examples constrained by laws like thermodynamics.
Why are dissipative structures relevant for understanding life?
Dissipative structures show how order can emerge from chaos, important in biological organization.
How can diffusion lead to pattern formation?
Concentration gradients can lead to complex patterns in biological systems.
Give examples for biological properties governed by universal scaling laws.
Metabolic rates and lifespans are examples of biological properties that follow scaling laws.
How do biological magnetoreception and temperature sensing work?
Magnetoreception uses Earth’s magnetic field; thermoreception detects temperature changes.
What is chemotaxis?
Chemotaxis is movement in response to chemical stimuli.
