WHAT IS THE STUDY

OF LIFE?
MARK BALONQUITA
BIOLOGY
 is branch of science that is the study of animals, plants
and microorganisms which are all living organisms
possessing life features such as gathering and using
energy for survival, adapting and evolving on Earth,
reproducing and continuing the circle of life and living
and interacting with the environment.
 BIOLOGY – THE STUDY OF
LIFE
 Life arose more than
3.5 billion years ago
 First organisms (living
things) were single
celled
 Only life on Earth for
millions of years
 Organisms changed
over time (evolved)

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New organisms arose
from older kinds
Today there are
millions of species
They inhabit almost
every region of Earth
today
WHY DO WE NEED TO STUDY
BIOLOGY?
 UNDERSTAND and APPRECIATE the nature of LIFE.

 Make us aware of our environment and current environmental concerns

which have an effect on our lives.

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IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING BIOLOGY
 Studying biology helps you understand the functions and
reactions of your body.
 It explains your similarities and differences with other
organisms.
 It helps in understanding how these animals survive,
respond, and interact in their environment.
 Biology helps you respond to the demands of an
increasing human population. Through careful such as
study and research, plants and animals for consumption
are improved to answer the need for increased food
production.
WHAT DO BIOLOGISTS STUDY?

 THE INTERACTION OF LIFE

 THE INTERACTIONS WITH THE

ENVIRONMENT

 THEY STUDY PROBLEMS AND PROPOSE

SOLUTIONS (E.G. MEDICAL TREATMENT,

DISEASE PREVENTION, ETC.)

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WHAT IS AN ORGANISM?

ALL LIVING THINGS ARE ORGANISM

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AM I AN ORGANISM?

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CHARACTERISTICS OF
LIFE

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CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING
THINGS
 ORGANIZATION
 REPRODUCTION
 CONSTANT ENERGY REQUIREMENT
 MOVEMENT
 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
 ABILITY TO ADJUST TO ENVIRONMENT
 LIVING THINGS ADAPT AND EVOLVE
CELLS
 All living things are
composed of cells
 In multicellular organisms,
many are specialized to
perform specific functions
 Cells are always very small
 The size of multi-celled
organisms depends on the
number of cells NOT their
size

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ORGANIZATION
 Organized at both the
molecular and cellular
levels
 Take in substances from
the environment and
organize them in complex
ways
 Specific cell structures
(organelles) carry out
particular functions
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 ALL LIVING THINGS ARE COMPOSED OF
ONE OR MORE CELLS

 EACH CELLS CONTAIN DNA

 ALL PARTS FUNCTION TOGETHER IN AN

ORDERLY SYSTEM
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Cellular Composition

 Made up of at least one cell

 Unicellular - made of one cell (bacteria,

amoeba, paramecium)

 Multicellular - made up of two or more cells

(plants, fungi, animals)
 In multicellular
organisms, cells and
groups of cells
(tissues) are
organized by their
function
 Cells tissues
 Tissues  organs
 Organs 
systems
 Systems 
 ORGANISM

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ENERGY USE
 Use energy in a process called metabolism
 Sum of all chemical processes
 Require energy to maintain their molecular and
cellular organization, grow and reproduce

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HOMEOSTASIS
 Maintain stable internal conditions
 Temperature, pH, etc.

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Homeostasis
 Maintaining the same state
Homeo = same, steady
Stasis = state
Examples:
-Water balance inside and outside of cell
-Human body temperature
*Cells function best when these are in balance
 GROWTH
 Grow occurs as the result of cell division and cell
enlargement
 Cell division is the formation of two cells from a
preexisting cell
 New cells enlarge as they mature

 When a cell grows to a size where its surface area

isn’t big enough for its volume, the cell divides
DEVELOPMENT
 The process by which an adult organism arise is
called development
 Repeated cell divisions and cell differentiation

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GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

 GROWTH – GRADUAL INCREASE IN SIZE OVER

TIME
 RESULTSIN MORE LIVING MATERIALS AND FORMS
NEW STRUCTURES.
 DEVELOPMENT – ALL THE CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE
DURING THE LIFE OF AN ORGANISM
MOVEMENT

 PLANTS CAN MOVE BY BENDING THEIR ROOTS

EXTEND TO A WIDER AREA AS THEY GROW
 ANIMALS CAN WALK, CRAWL, FLY, JUMP, HOP, OR
SWIM
REPRODUCTION
 All species have the ability to reproduce
 Not essential to survival of individual but is essential for
continuation of a species
 THE PRODUCTION OF

OFFSPRING

 SAME SPECIES
 THEY CAN INTERBREED

 THEY PRODUCE FERTILE OFFSPRING

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ZEBRANKEY
RESPONSIVENESS
 Respond to stimuli in the
external environment
 Detect and respond to
changes in light, heat, sound
and chemical and mechanical
contact
 Coordinates it’s responses

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Responsiveness
 Reaction(s) to various stimuli

Examples of stimuli: light, heat, pH, vibration,

smell, etc.– earthworms respond to all of
these

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 STIMULUS – ANY CONDITION
THAT REQUIRES A RESPONSE
 RESPONSE/TROPISM –
REACTION TO A STIMULI
 HOMEOSTASIS –
MAINTAINING CONDITIONS
SUITABLE FOR SURVIVAL

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 HYDROTROPISM

PHOTOTROPISM GEOTROPISM

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ADJUSTING TO THE ENVIRONMENT

 LIVING THINGS ARE ABLE TO

ADJUST TO THEIR
ENVIRONMENT
 ENVIRONMENT – THE
SORROUNDINGS OF THE
ORGANISM (E.G. AIR,
WEATHER, TEMPERATURE,
OTHER ORGANISMS AND
MANY OTHER FACTORS)
EVOLVE
 Ability to adapt to their environment through the
process of evolution
 Favorable characteristics are selected for and passed
on to offspring
 Called adaptations

 Driven by
natural selection
or “survival of the
fittest”
LIVING THINGS ADAPT AND EVOLVE

 ADAPTATION – ANY STRUCTURE , BEHAVIOR OR

INTERNAL PROCESS THAT ENABLES AN ORGANISM
TO RESPOND TO STIMULI BETTER AND BETTER
SURVIVE IN THE ENVIRONMENT
 EVOLUTION – GRADUAL ACCUMULATION OF
ADAPTATIONS OVER TIME
 CHANGE OVER TIME
 RECAP QUIZ:
 WHAT IS BIOLOGY?
 WHAT IS AN ORGANISM?
 WHAT ARE THE FIVE
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING
THINGS?

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CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING
THINGS
 ORGANIZATION
 REPRODUCTION
 CONSTANT ENERGY REQUIREMENT
 MOVEMENT
 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
 ABILITY TO ADJUST TO ENVIRONMENT
 LIVING THINGS ADAPT AND EVOLVE
EARLY BELIEFS ABOUT THE
ORIGIN OF LIFE
There are various theories and hypotheses that
explain the origin of life or living organisms.
Most of them are based on the scientific
explanations except the religious ones, which
were based solely on faith.
1. RELIGIOUS EXPLANATION OR
SPECIAL CREATION
 Creation stories of most religions explain
the origin of life.
 That life forms, organism, or begins have
been put or were created on Earth by
supernatural or divine forces.
 This viewpoint common to western
religions, is the oldest hypothesis and is
widely accepted. If forms the basis of the
basic “scientific creationism”.

 E.g. – In the Hebrew Scriptures: Genesis

chapters 1 and 2.
2. THEORY OF SPONTANEOUS
GENERATION OR ABIOGENESIS
 This theory, which originated in ancient times, claimed
that lower life forms of life could arise from non-living
matter.
3. BIOGENESIS
 theory that will explain that life originated from already
existing life – living organisms or living beings
originated from former of from the same or similar, or
other living organisms or beings.
FRANSICO REDI
 Conducted an experiment
that challenged the idea of
spontaneous generation. His
experiment setup involved
rejecting spontaneous
generation using maggots
that arose from decaying
meat.
 CONTROL SET-UP: EXPERIMENTAL
SET-UP:
Fransico Redi Four clean jars – left Four clean jars –
open closed/sealed with
wax
The two set – ups have the same content:
He placed some pieces of snakes, some fish,
some eels of Arno and slice of milk – fed veal
in each of the four jars
RESULTS:
Flies were soon Several weeks later,
attracted to the open Redi opened the
jars, which they sealed jars and found
entered to lay eggs – putrefied meat but no
within a short time maggots.
maggots appeared in
all of the open jars.
CONCLUSION
Flies originate from flies
and not by spontaneous generation
and from decaying meat
  Needham boiled mutton broth
in loosely stopped flasks for a
JOHN NEEDHAM few minutes. After a few days,
he examined broth with a
microscopes and found it to be
teeming with microorganisms.
 When he repeated the
experiment with various meat
and vegetable broths, the results
were the same.
 He challenged Redi’s
experiment. It was a common
knowledge at that times that
boiling and kill
microorganisms.
 Needham argued that boiling had destroyed all life in the
broth and that since the flasks were closed with stoppers,
the organisms found present after standing must have
been formed by spontaneous generation.
 In order to demonstrate the flaw in

Needham’s experiment, Spallanzani
conducted a series of experiments of his
Lazzaro Spallanzaniown.
 He prepared vegetable infusions by boiling
seeds in water for a few short time.
 He placed these infusions in 19 glass vessels
that were then sealed securely by heating the
glass and fusing it at the top.
 All the 19 glass vessels were placed in
boiling water for one hour and then removed
and allowed to stand.
 After several days, Spallanzani opened each
flask and examined several drops of the
infusion for evidence of life.

 RESULT: None of the infusions contained

living organisms
 He challenged Needham’s experiment. He
boiled a broth containing meat and
vegetables placed in clean glass
containers.
  The experiment he set up involved his famous
swan-necked flasks.
 He prepared a liquid containing sugar and yeast
Loius Pasteur and poured it into a long – necked flask.
 He then heated the neck of the flask and bent it
into an S-shaped curve resembling a swan’s
neck.
 After preparing the flask, he boiled the liquid
for several minutes.
 Air forced out of the flask during boiling and
returned through the neck as the liquid cooled.  
 Throughout the experiment, air moved through
the open neck.  
 Water and dust particles, however, settled in the
trap formed by the bent neck.

 RESULT: Even though the sugar solution was

in direct contact with the outside air, no
organism appeared in the liquid flask.
 His experiment is the most convinced that
spontaneous generation does not occur. He
designed an experiment to test the idea
that vital element from air was necessary
for life to occur.
BRANCHES OF
BIOLOGY
CLASSICAL BRANCHES OF BIOLOGY
 ANATOMY – the study of internal structures of living organisms.
 BACTERIOLOGY – the science of bacteria.

 BIOCHEMISTRY – the use of application of knowledge derived

in the field of Chemistry in/of the study of living organisms.
 BIOGEOGRAPHY – concerned with the geographical
distribution of living organisms.
 BRYOLOGY – the study of mosses.

 CYTOLOGY – the study of cells.

 ECOLOGY – the study of the relationships of living organisms to

each and to/with or within their environment.
 EMBRYOLOGY – the study on the formation and development
of living organisms from fertilization to birth as independent
organisms.
 ENDOCRINOLOGY – the study of hormones and their
functions.
 ENTOMOLOGY – the study of insects.

 EVOLUTION – the study of origin and differentiation of

various organisms
 GENETICS – the study of heredity and the lifelong
development of living organisms.
 GRAMINOLOGY – the study of grasses.

 HELMINTHOLOGY - the study of worms.

 HERPETOLOGY – the study of reptiles and amphibians.

 HISTOLOGY – the science of tissues.

 ICHTHYOLOGY – the study of fishes.
 LICHENOLOGY – the science of lichens.

 MORPHOLOGY – the study of forms and structures of

living organisms.
 MAMMALOGY – the study of mammals.

 MYCOLOGY – the science that deals with fungi.

 ORNITHOLOGY – the study of birds.

 PATHOLOGY – the science concerned with the diseases of

animals.
 PALEONTOLOGY – the study of fossils.

 PYTHPATHOLOGY – the science concerned with the

diseases of plants.
 PHYSIOLOGY – the study of normal functions of
living organisms.
 PHYCOLOGY – the study of fossils.

 POMOLOGY – the study of fruit crops.

 TAXONOMY – the science concerned with the

classification and naming of living organisms.
MODERN BRANCHES OF BIOLOGY
 BIOINFORMATICS – study of biological data using computer
programs.
 GENOMICS – study of the entire genetic material of an
organisms.
 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY – study of molecules that make up
the cells of living organisms.
 PHARMACOGENOMICS – study of how genes affect a
person’s response to drugs.
 PROTEOMICS – study of the different proteins of an organisms.

 SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY– study of combined biology and

engineering.
 SYSTEMS BIOLOGY – study of systems of biological
molecules such as cell organism or species.