Chapter 1 - Introduction: Themes in The Study Of Life Flashcards
Evolution
The process of change that has transformed life on Earth from its earliest beginnings to the diversity of organisms living today
Biology
The scientific study of life
Systems biology
An approach that attempts to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s parts
In order from largest to smallest, what are the levels of biological organization?
The biosphere Ecosystems Communities Populations Organisms Organs and organ systems Tissues Cells Organelles Molecules
Eukaryotic cell
A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles
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
Prokaryotic cell
A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with prokaryotic cells are called prokaryotes
What type of organisms or microorganisms are prokaryotic?
Bacteria and archaea
What type of organism or microorganism is eukaryotic?
Plants and animals
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
A double-stranded, helical nucleic acid molecule, consisting of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine; capable of being replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell’s proteins
Genes
A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting if a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses)
Gene expression
The process by which information encoded in DNA directs the synthesis of proteins or, in some cases, RNAs that are not translated into proteins and instead function as RNAs
Genome
The entire “library” of genetic instructions that an organism inherits
Genomics
The approach of studying whole sets of genes of a species as well as comparing genomes between species
Bioinformatics
The use of computational tools to store, organize, and analyze the huge volume of data that result from high-throughput methods
Negative feedback
A form of regulation in which accumulation of an end product of a process slows the process; in physiology, a primary mechanism of homeostasis, whereby a change in a variable triggers a response that counteracts the initial change
Positive feedback
A form of regulation in which an end product of a process speeds up that process; in physiology, a control mechanism in which a change in a variable triggers a response that reinforces or amplifies the change
What are the three domains of life?
Bacteria
Archaea
Eukarya
Natural selection
A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits
Science
A way of knowing – an approach to understanding the natural world
Inquiry
A search for information and explanation
Data
Recorded observations
Inductive reasoning
A type of logic in which generalization are based on a large number of specific observations
Hypothesis
Tentative answer to a well-framed question
