RAMIRO, JOHN KEVIN D.

PETE-1305

Laboratory 1
Modern Biology

Learn if Bacteria and Viruses are alive

1. Is bacteria living organisms?
Answer: Yes bacteria is a living organism because it is able to carry out homeostasis,
being composed of one or more cells, being able to carry out metabolism(both
catabolism and anabolism), able to carry out growth, able to adapt to their environment,

respond to stimuli and they can reproduce.

Using the 8 characteristics of life, does the bacteria meet all the requirements for being
considered living organism? Explain to each characteristics.

a. Adaptation through evolution (do they evolve / mutate?)

Answer: It is mutate because bacteria have organelles such as pili to carry out
conjugation which helps transfer alleles for antibiotic resistance and a shorter pili
called fimbriae which helps them attach to surfaces.

b. Cellular organization (do they have cell)

Answer: Yes they have cell, bacteria are unicellular. Bacteria do grow ,they must before
they can carry out binary fission.

c. Growth and development

Answer: Bacteria do not grow and multiply the same way as animals or humans. They
take in nutrients and reproduce by dividing – one bacteria splits and becomes two
bacteria, two become four, four become eight and so on. Doubling can occur quickly if
the conditions – enough nutrients, proper temperature, adequate moisture, etc. - are
suitable. Each type of bacteria has its own preferred conditions for growth.

d. Heredity (contain DNA/RNA?)

Answer: The genetic material of bacteria and plasmids is DNA. Bacterial viruses
(bacteriophages or phages) have DNA or RNA as genetic material. The two essential
functions of genetic material are replication and expression.

e. Homeostasis
Answer: Bacteria carry out homeostasis they do and they have organelles such as a cell
membrane and cell wall to assist them in this. Antibiotics such as penicillin work by
preventing the formation of cell walls, so bacteria can no longer maintain homeostasis.

f. Metabolism
Answer: Bacterial photosynthesis is a light-dependent, anaerobic mode of metabolism.
Carbon dioxide is reduced to glucose, which is used for both biosynthesis and energy
production. Depending on the hydrogen source used to reduce CO2, both
photolithographic and photoorganotrophic reactions exist in  bacteria.

g. Reproduction (can reproduce? How?)

Answer: Yes they can reproduce, they do asexually via binary fission. Bacteria  can
divide very rapidly. This image is of a growing colony of E. coli bacteria. In the right
environment, a single E. coli  can divide to form a colony of hundreds of bacteria in just
a few hours. Bacteria, being single-celled prokaryotic organisms, do not have a male or
female version. Bacteria reproduce asexually. In asexual reproduction, the "parent"
produces a genetically identical copy of itself. Bacteria reproduce through a process
called binary fission. During binary fission, the chromosome copies itself, forming two
genetically identical copies. Then, the cell enlarges and divides into two new
daughter cells. The two daughter cells are identical to the parent cell. Binary fission can
happen very rapidly. Some species of bacteria can double their population in less than
 ten minutes! This process makes it possible for a tremendous bacterial colony to start
from a single cell. Are there male and female bacteria? Of course the answer is no.
So,  sexual reproduction does not occur in bacteria. But not all new bacteria are clones.
This is because bacteria can acquire new DNA.
h. Response to stimuli (how they response to stimuli?)
Answer: When exposed to osmotic stress from the environment, bacteria act to maintain
cell turgor and hydration by responding both on the level of gene transcription and
protein activity. Upon a sudden decrease in external osmolality, internal solutes are
released by the action of membrane embedded mechanosensitive channels.
Conclusion:
Bacteria are economically important as these microorganisms are used by humans for
many purposes. Bacteria is a living organism because it is able to carry out
homeostasis, being composed of one or more cells, being able to carry out
metabolism(both catabolism and anabolism), able to carry out growth, able to adapt to
their environment, respond to stimuli and they can reproduce.

2. Are viruses living organisms?

Answer: Viruses are not living things. Viruses are complicated assemblies of
molecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates, but on their own
they can do nothing until they enter a  living  cell. Without cells, viruses would not be
able to multiply. Therefore, viruses  are not  living  things.

Using the 8 characteristics of life, do viruses meet all the requirements for being
considered living organisms? Explain to each characteristics.

a. Adaptation through evolution

Answer: Viruses can mutate. Viruses may have arisen from mobile genetic elements that
gained the ability to move between cells. They may be descendants of previously free-
living organisms that adapted a parasitic replication strategy. Perhaps viruses existed
before, and led to the evolution of, cellular life.

b. Cellular organization
Answer: Viruses are acellular- they contain no cellular organelles, cannot grow and
divide, and carry out no independent metabolism - they are considered neither
prokaryotic nor eukaryotic. Because  viruses are not cells and have
no  cellular organelles, they can only replicate and assemble inside a living host cell.

c. Growth and development

Answer: Viruses do not grow. Viruses manipulate host cells into building
new viruses  which means each virion is created in its fully-formed state, and will
neither  increase in size nor in complexity throughout its existence. 

d. Heredity
Answer: A virus is a small collection of genetic code, either DNA or RNA, surrounded
by a protein coat. A virus cannot replicate alone. Viruses must infect cells and use
components of the host cell to make copies of themselves. Often, they kill the host cell in
the process, and cause damage to the host organism. 

e. Homeostasis
Answer: Viruses have no way to control their internal environment and they do not
maintain their own homeostasis.

f. Metabolism
Answer: They carry out no metabolism on their own and must replicate using the host
cell's metabolic machinery. In other words, viruses don't grow and divide. Instead, new
viral components are synthesized and assembled within the infected host cell.
Viruses  are non-living entities and as such do not inherently have their
own  metabolism. However, within the last decade, it has become clear
that viruses dramatically modify cellular metabolism upon entry into a
cell. Viruses have likely evolved to induce metabolic pathways for multiple ends.

g. Reproduction
Answer: Viruses do not carry out respiration. They also do not grow or reproduce
on their own. A virus needs a living cell in order to reproduce. The living cell in which
the virus reproduces is called a host cell. A virus is a tiny, infectious particle that can
reproduce only by infecting a host cell. Viruses "commander" the host cell and use its
resources to make more viruses, basically reprogramming it to become a virus factory.
Because they  can't  reproduce by themselves (without a host), viruses  are not
considered living.

h. Response to stimuli
Answer: They do not respond to stimuli, they do not grow, they do not do any of the
things we normally associate with life. Strictly speaking, they should not be considered
as "living" organisms at all.

Conclusion:
Viruses are infectious agents with both living and nonliving characteristics.
Living characteristics of viruses include the ability to reproduce – but only in living host
cells – and the ability to mutate. Nonliving characteristics include the fact that they are
not cells, have no cytoplasm or cellular organelles, and carry out no metabolism on
their own and therefore must replicate using the host cell's metabolic machinery.
Viruses can infect animals, plants, and even other microorganisms. Since viruses lack
metabolic machinery of their own and are totally dependent on their host cell for
replication, they cannot be grown in synthetic culture media.

3. Which of the 8 characteristics of life does a computer have?

It may sound silly, but a good test of life's definition is to apply it to things we think of as
non-living.
a. Adaptation through evolution
Answer: Computers can evolve because every year or everytime computer have a new
version.

b. Cellular organization
Answer: Computers have no cell because it is more on electronics function.

c. Growth and development

Answer: Computers do not grow and develop because they cannot reach nutrients.

d. Heredity
Answer: Computers contain no DNA & RNA because computers don’t have a cell.

e. Homeostasis
Answer: Computers cannot perform homeostasis because their functions is not to
develop cells.

f. Metabolism
Answer: Computers obtain and use energy to function.

g. Reproduction
Answer: Computers cannot reproduce because they don’t have Reproductive System.

h. Response to stimuli
Answer: Computers can respond to stimuli because they can absorb heat.

Conclusion:
Since computers have only evolution, a kind of metabolism, and response to stimuli, they
cannot be considered alive. They lack five of the eight characteristics of life.