Chapter 1: Evolution, The Themes of Biology, and Scientific Inquiry Flashcards
biology
the scientific study of life
unifying themes of biology
- Organization
- Information
- Energy and Matter
- Interactions
- Evolution
reductionism
an approach that reduces complex systems to simple components that are manageable to study
emergent properties
new properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases
systems biology
an approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interaction’s among the system’s parts
cell theory
states that all living organisms are made from cells
eukaryotic cell
- a type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles
- eukaryotes = protists, plants, fungi, animals
prokaryotic cell
- a type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles
- prokaryotes = bacteria, archaea
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
- a nucleic acid molecule, usually a double-stranded helix, in which each polynucleotide strand consists of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T)
- capable of being replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell’s proteins
gene
a discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses)
codon
- a three-nucleotide sequence of DNA or mRNA that specifies a particular amino acid or termination signal
- the basic unit of the genetic code
genome
- the genetic material of an organism or virus
- the complete complement of an organism’s or virus’ genes along with its noncoding nucleic acid sequences
genomics
the systematic study of whole sets of genes (or other DNA) and their interactions within a species, as well as genome comparisons between species
proteomics
the systematic study of sets of proteins and their properties, including their abundance, chemical modifications, and interactions
proteome
the entire set of proteins expressed by a given cell, tissue, or organism
bioinformatics
the use of computers, software, and mathematical models to process and integrate biological information from large data sets
producer
an organism that produces organic compounds from CO2 by harnessing light energy (in photosynthesis) or by oxidizing inorganic chemicals (in chemosynthetic reactions carried out by some prokaryotes)
consumer
an organism that feeds on producers, other consumers, or nonliving organic material
feedback regulation
the regulation of a process by its output or end product
negative feedback
the most common form of regulation in living organisms, in which accumulation of an end product of a process slows the process
positive feedback
a less common form of regulation, in which an end product speeds up its own production
three domains
- Bacteria
- Archaea
- Eukarya