Fundamentals of Biology What is life???????

Do we know? Biologists have never agreed upon a definition. Soooooooooo……… they describe the properties that living things have in common.

Living things

The ingredients of life Beside water, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are necessary for life. Compounds made up of these three things are known as organic compounds

The four main groups of organic molecules Carbohydrates Proteins Lipids Nucleic acids

Carbohydrates Sugars and starches used for energy Structure – chitin (shells of marine organisms) and cellulose (the main ingredient of wood and plant fibers)

Proteins Composed of smaller subunits called amino acids In addition to C, H, and O proteins contain Nitrogen Functions: make up muscles, enzymes, hormones, carry oxygen, and even act as antifreeze in Antarctic fishes

Lipids Fats, oils and waxes Functions: energy storage, waterproofing, insulation and help with buoyancy

Nucleic Acids DNA and RNA Functions: store and transmit the basic genetic information of all living things

Energy Photosynthesis – plants produce usable energy (glucose) from the sun, carbon dioxide and nutrients. Respiration – use the energy formed by plants in addition to oxygen to gain the needed energy to function.

Cells Prokaryotes vs Eukaryotes Prokaryotes – no organelles Eukaryotes – organelles : nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, golgi apparatus, etc..

Life in the sea What is unique about living in the ocean? Salt water Movement of water – tides and curents Temperature

Dealing with the salt Diffusion – molecules moving from high concentration to low. Cells spend most of their energy actively transporting materials opposite the direction of diffusion.

Marine fish have the ability to rid their body of excess salt – through their gills and in their urine

Temperature Marine organisms are ectotherms (cold-blooded) or endotherms (warm-blooded). The organisms have adapted to live in particular temperature ranges where their enzymes would work the best.

Reproducing Sexual – eggs, sperm and fertilization – offspring inherits genes from each parent Asexual – budding, and fission – all offspring are exact copies of parent

Why the diversity? Theory of evolution – the gradual alteration of a species genetic make-up. Why does this occur? Natural Selection – the best adapted individuals produce more offspring

Classifying all the organisms KING PHILLIP CAME OVER FOR GOOD SPAGHETTI KING PHILLIP CAME OVER FROM GREECE SATURDAY Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

Humans Kingdom  Animalia   (multicellular organisms that eat other organisms; mostly mobile Phylum  Chordata   (animals with a semi-rigid rod, a notochord, running down its back Class  Mammalia   (chordates with hair and mammary glands) Order  Primates   (mammals with well-developed hands and a high level of  intelligence Family  Hominidae   (primates which walk upright on two legs, hands well structured for manipulating objects; cerebrum of the brain is relatively large Genus  Homo   (tool-using hominids with very large brain Species  Homo sapiens  (only surviving species of genus Homo)

Bottlenose Dolphin Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Mammalia Order  Cetacea Family  Delphinidae Genus  Tursiops Species  Tursiops truncatus