Introduction to Biology Flashcards
The study of life reveals common themes. Evolution accounts for the unity and diversity of life. In studying nature, scientists make observations and form and test hypotheses. Science benefits from a cooperative approach and diverse viewpoints
Evolution
Descent with modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from the present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation
Biology
The scientific study of life
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 interactions among the system’s parts
Eukaryotic Cell
A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with these cells (protists, plants, fungi, and animals) are called eukaryotes
Prokaryotic Cell
A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with these cells (bacteria and archaea) are called prokaryotes
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
Genes
A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in RNA (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 genetic material of an organism or virus; the complete complement of an organism’s or virus’s 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 or group of cells
Bioinformatics
The use of computers, software, and mathematical models to process and integrate biological information from large data sets
Producers
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)
