Introduction to Biology

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Why a Study of Biology is Important?

Societal
Medicine
Public Health
Worldwide Water Crisis

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Why a Study of Biology is Important?

Philosophical
Evolution
Genetics

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Copyright The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

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Why a Study of Biology is Important?

Personal

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To be informed
Support your cause
Make it your life work

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[bahy-ol-uh-jee]
Bio

= life

...ology

= the study of

Biology

is the science that studies

life

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The Scientific Method in Action

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A systematic way of gaining information

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The Scientific Method:

Observation

An observation is a thoughtful and careful

recognition of an event or a fact.

The careful observation of a phenomenon leads

to a question.

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How does this happen?

What causes it to occur?

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The Scientific Method:

The Hypothesis

Hypothesizing

Hypotheses must:

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question an observation
propose possible solutions to questions based on what
is already understood about the phenomenon
be logical
account for all current information
make the least possible assumptions
be testable
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Testing Hypotheses

Hypotheses need to be tested to see if they are

supported or disproved.

Disproved hypotheses are rejected

Hypotheses can be supported but not proven

Ways to test a hypothesis:

Gathering relevant historical information

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Retrospective Studies

Make additional observations from the natural world

Experimentation
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The Scientific Method:

Experimentation

Experiments

Experiments attempt to recreation an occurrence

tests whether or not the hypothesis can be supported or

rejected

There are many types of experiments

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rigorous tests to determine if the solutions are supported

laboratory, clinical trials, surveys, statistical analyses

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Experimental Design

All experiments have key elements in common:

Experiments must be controlled

this means that all aspects except for one variable must be kept
constant
usually include any two groups.
Experimental group: variable is altered, independent variable
Control group: variable is not altered, dependent variable

Experiments use models to recreate occurrences, but in a

controlled setting

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model organisms, ISS, cohorts

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Experimental Design

Experiments must:

use large numbers of subjects and/or must be

repeated several times (replication)
be independently reproducible

The validity of experimental results must:

be tested statistically

be scrutinized by other scientists

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chi-squared test for statistical significance

peer reviewed
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Theory

If the hypothesis is supported by ample experimental data, it

leads to a theory.
A theory may be defined as a widely accepted, plausible
general statement about a fundamental concept in science.

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The germ theory states that infectious diseases are caused by

microorganisms.
Many diseases are not caused by microorganisms, so we must be
careful not to generalize theories too broadly.
Theories continue to be tested
Exceptions identified
Modifications made

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A Scientific Law

A scientific law is a uniform and constant fact of nature that

describes what happens in nature.

Scientific laws promote the process of generalization.

Inductive reasoning
Since every bird that has been studied lays eggs, we can generalize
that all birds lay eggs.

Once a theory becomes established, it can be used to

predict specific facts.

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An example: All living things come from pre-existing living things.

Deductive reasoning
We can predict that a newly discovered bird species will lay eggs.
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Scientific Communication

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Data is shared with the

scientific community through
research articles published in
scientific journals.
peer review

Scientists present preliminary

data at conferences.

Scientists collaborate directly by

phone and
e-mail.

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A Sample Experiment
Scientific American August 2010

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A Sample Experiment

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Article: Hardt, Marah J. and Safina, Carl. Threatening Ocean Life from
the Inside Out. Scientific American August 2010: Vol. 303 2.

What types of observations were being made?

State a hypothesis that was tested.

Describe an experiment that was conducted.

Discuss a variable that was studied and describe how constants

where maintained in the experiment.

How was a model system was used to simulate the conditions being
studied.

How were the complex processes being studied reduced to their

simplest parts?

What was learned from the experiments?

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The Science of Biology

Chapter 1

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1.1 The Science of Life

Biology unifies much of natural life
Biology attempts to define life
Biology Living reveals a hierarchical
organization of living systems

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Properties of Life
Living organisms:
are composed of cells (Cellular Organization)
are complex and ordered (Ordered Complexity)
respond to their environment (Sensitivity)
can Grow, Develop and Reproduce
obtain and use energy (Energy Utilization)
maintain internal balance (Homeostasis)
allow for Evolutionary Adaptation

The definitions of life are adapting with the field

- where do viruses fit in?
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Levels of Organization
1. Cellular Level

Atoms

molecules

organelles

cells

2. Organismal Level
Tissues

organs

organ systems

3.Population Level
Population

species

biological community

4. Ecosystem Level
Biological community + physical habitat (soil, water,
atmosphere)

5. The Biosphere
The entire planet thought of as an ecosystem
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Levels of Organization
Cellular Organization
cells
organelles
molecules
atoms
The cell is the
basic unit of life.
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Fig. 1.1-1

Levels of Organization
Organismal Level
organism
organ systems
organs
tissues

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Fig. 1.1-2

Levels of Organization
Population Level
ecosystem
community
species
population

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Fig. 1.1-3

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Levels of Organization
Each level of organization builds on the
level below it but often demonstrates new
features

Emergent properties: new properties

present at one level that are not seen in the
previous level

New properties emerging may be greater

than the sum of the the parts
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1.2 The Nature of Science

Science aims to understand the natural
world through observation and reasoning

Science begins with observations,

therefore, much of science is purely
descriptive

Science uses both deductive and inductive

reasoning

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The Nature of Science

Deductive reasoning uses general
principles to make specific predictions.

Inductive reasoning uses specific

observations to develop general
conclusions.

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The Nature of Science

Scientists use a systematic approach to
gain understanding of the natural world:

Observation
Hypothesis formation
Prediction
Experimentation
Conclusion
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The Nature of Science

A hypothesis is a possible explanation for
an observation.

A hypothesis:
must be tested to determine its validity
is often tested in many different ways
allows for predictions to be made
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The Nature of Science

The experiment:
tests the hypothesis
must be carefully designed to test only
one variable at a time
consists of a test experiment and a
control experiment

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The Nature of Science

If the hypothesis is valid, the scientist can
predict the result of the experiment

Conducting the experiment to determine if

it yields the predicted result is one way to
test the validity of the experiment

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Think Like a Scientist

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The Nature of Science

Scientists may use:

reductionism - to break a complex

process down to its simpler parts
models to simulate phenomena
that are difficult to study directly

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Test the early hypothesis of

Spontaneous Generation

Fig. 1.4

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The Nature of Science

A scientific theory:

is a body of interconnected concepts

is supported by much experimental
evidence and scientific reasoning
expresses ideas of which we are
most certain

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1.3 An Example of Scientific

Inquiry: Darwin and Evolution
Charles Darwin served as naturalist on
mapping expedition around coastal South
America.

Used many observations to develop his

ideas

Proposed that evolution occurs by

natural selection
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Voyage of the Beagle

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Charles Darwin
Evolution:

Modification of a species over

generations

descent with modification

Natural Selection:

Individuals with
superior physical or behavioral
characteristics are more likely to survive and
reproduce than those without such
characteristics
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Darwins Evidence
Similarity of related species

Darwin noticed variations in related species

living in different locations

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Unnatural Selection

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Darwins Evidence
Thomas Malthus:
Population growth vs. availability of resources
-population growth
is geometric
-increase in food
supply is arithmetic
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Darwins Evidence
Population growth vs. availability of resources

Darwin realized that not all members of a

population survive and reproduce
Deduced that the organisms best adapted
to obtaining resources would survive to
reproduce
Darwin based these ideas on the writings
of Thomas Malthus
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Post-Darwin Evolution Evidence

Fossil record
Intermediate Organisms

Mechanisms of heredity
- Early criticism of Darwins ideas were resolved
by Mendels theories for genetic inheritance

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Post-Darwin Evolution Evidence

Comparative anatomy
- Homologous structures have same
evolutionary origin, but different structure
and function.
- Analogous structures have similar
structure and function, but different
evolutionary origin.
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Homologous Structures

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Post-Darwin Evolution Evidence

Molecular Evidence
- Our increased
understanding of
DNA and protein
structures has led to
the development of
more accurate
phylogenetic
trees.

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1.4 Unifying Themes in Biology

Cell theory
The cell theory describes the organization of
living systems
All living organisms are made of cells, and
all living cells come from preexisting cells

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Single Celled Organisms

Fig. 1.11a

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Multi-Cellular Organisms

Fig. 1.11b

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1.4 Unifying Themes in Biology

Molecular basis of inheritance
The molecular basis of inheritance explains
the continuity of life
DNA encodes genes which control living
organisms and are passed from one
generation to the next
The DNA code is similar for all organisms
(The Central Dogma)
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Fig. 1.12

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Unifying Themes in Biology

Structure and Function
The proper function of a molecule is
dependent on its structure
The structure of a molecule can often tell
us about its function
Four major classes of Biomolecules
1. Nucleic Acids
2. Amino Acids
3. Lipids
4. Carbohydrates

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Unifying Themes in Biology

Evolutionary Change
The diversity of life arises by evolutionary
change leading to the present biodiversity we
see
Biology attempts to classify lifes great
diversity based on these unifying themes
Currently all living things are classified into 3
Domains subdivided into Kingdoms (more on
taxonomy to come)
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This process is always changing
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The Diversity of Life

Three Domains:
1. Eukarya
2. Archaea
3. Bacteria

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Fig. 1.13

Domain Eukarya is
Divided into four
Kingdoms:
1. Plantae
2. Fungi
3. Animalia
4. Protista

Fig. 1.13-1

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Fig. 1.13-2

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Fig. 1.13-3

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Unifying Themes in Biology

Evolutionary Conservation
Evolutionary conservation explains the unity
of living systems
The underlying unity of biochemistry and
genetics argues that all life has evolved from
the same origin event
Critical characteristics of early organisms are
conserved and passed on to future
generations
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Homeodomains

Fig. 1.14

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Unifying Themes in Biology

Cells are information-processing
systems
Every cell in an organism carries the same
genetic information
The control of gene expression allows cells
to differentiate into different cell and tissue
types
Cells also process information received
from the environment and respond to
maintain homeostasis
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Unifying Themes in Biology

Emergent properties
New properties are present at one level of
organization that are not seen in the
previous level
The whole is greater than the sum of its
parts

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The Science of Biology

End Chapter 1

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