UNIT 1

The cell as the basic unit of LIFE

BIOLOGY – Its all about you.
• Explain what happens to a healthy human cell when
attacked by Ebola virus?

• A healthy human cell is attacked by ebola virus as its

potential host . The virus uses its numerous spiky
glycoprotien projection to attack the outer surface
of human cells to sneak its way in. Once inside, the
virus hijacks the cell’s machinery to cause havoc in
the person’s body with a fatality rate of 90 percent.
• Today no drug has been approved to treat this
highly fatal infection.
Is this highly virulent particle living or not?

• Yes or No ? Why ?
• A virus is not strictly alive or dead.
• Viruses are biological particles made up of
genetic material, either DNA or RNA , enclosed by
a protein coat called capsid.
• They cannot survive without a living cell, wherein
they multiply using the host cell’s enzymes and
organelles.
• Infectious viruses leave the cell through CELL
LYSIS or cell budding to infect other cells.
 BIOLOGY
• Is the study of life
Bios – means Life
Logos – means study
• It deals with structures , functions , of living things , and their
relationships with their environment
• STRUCTURES – is the way the body is organized
• FUNCTIONS – ( work , purpose, perform )
• It is a broad field of study – it may be studied at various levels
either:
• molecular , cellular , organismal, population , community ,
ecosystem
MOLECULAR – ( atom – molecules - organelles)
CELLULAR – ( cell – tissues – organs – organ system )
ORGANISMAL - ( organisms either plants and animals)
- an organism can function on its own and
interacts with other organisms and its environment
POPULATION – are groups of organism with the same
features
COMMUNITY – a combination of populations in a
particular area
ECOSYSTEM – a cluster of communities together with
the abiotic factors in the area
BIOSPHERE – highest level of biological organization ,
comprises all the ecosystems on Earth.
• 3 MAJOR DIVISIONS OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE
1. ZOOLOGY – study of animal
2. BOTANY - study of plants
3. MICROBIOLOGY – study microorganisms
 Traditional branches of Biological
Sciences
• Taxonomy-study of naming and classifying organisms
• Cytology- study of structures and functions of cell
• Embryology- study of formation and development of organisms
• Anatomy- study of structures and parts of organisms
• Physiology- study of functions of living organisms and their parts
• Biochemistry- study of biochemical compositions and processes of
living things
• Genetics- study of heredity and variations
• Evolution - study of origin and differentiation of various organisms
• Ecology –study of relationships of organisms with each other and their
environment
 Modern branches of Biology
• BIOINFORMATICS
• - is the study of biological data using computer programs

• GENOMICS
• - study of the entire genetic material of an organism

• 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 in an organism
• SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
• - study of the artificial biological systems
• SYSTEMS BIOLOGY
• - study of computational and mathematical
modeling of biological systems
 WHY STUDY BIOLOGY ?
• helps us understand the functions and reactions of our body
• helps us understand how animals survive , respond and
interact in their environment
• it encompasses the study of different causative agents of
diseases such as bacteria and viruses
• It helps us respond to the demands of an increasing human
population
• Helps us understand the importance of plants
• help us preserve endangered species and their ecosystems.
• Help us think critically , make informed choices and solve
problems
HOW DO BIOLOGISTS STUDY LIFE?
• in a biological point of view , science is a
systematized body of information about living
things derived from observations and experiments
• Biology is an objective , logical , and repeatable
attempt to understand the principles and forces
operating in the natural world
• OBJECTIVE MEANS – refers to the manner by
which knowledge is obtained
• SCIENTIFIC METHOD – is used as a guide by
biologists in solving problems
• Steps in Scientific Methods
• OBSERVATION: identifying and defining the
problem
• HYPHOTHESIS : formulating a possible logical
answer to the identified problem
• EXPERIMENT : conducting controlled attempts
to test one or more hypothesis and includes
recording and analyzing results
• CONCLUSION : formulating generalization
about the results that may accept , reject or
modify the hypothesis.
 HOW DO BIOLOGISTS STUDY LIFE AND
EXPLORE ITS COMPLEXITIES?
• Biologists blend 2 main approaches in scientific
investigations
• 1. discovery - based science - relies mainly on verifiable
observations and measurements

• 2. hypothesis – based science - involves the use of scientific

methods

---Using experimental research

- Experimental research design is a research method that
strictly follows the scientific method to test the hypothesis
 How did life arise on Earth ?

• Early beliefs about the origin of life ABIOGENESIS

/SPONTANEOUS GENERATION
- is an idea that life originates from non living matter
- this idea is proposed by ARISTOTLE ( 384-422 BC)
- Idea lasted about 2000 years

BIOGENESIS
- is a belief that life originates from preexisting life
 SEATWORK (

• Group 1 : Redi’s Experiment

• Group 2 : Needham’s Experiment
• Group 3 : Spallanzani’s Experiment
• Group 4 : Pasteur’s Experiment
• Group 5 : Divine Creation
• Group 6 : Spontaneous Origin
• Group 7 : Panspermia
Experiment

Proponents

Hypothesis

Experimental design

Finding and Results

Implication
• REDI’S EXPERIMENT
- 1668 , Italian physician Francesco Redi
conducted experiment that challenged the idea
of spontaneous generation by using 6 jars with
decaying meat.
 Evidence Pro and Con
• 1668 ; Francesco REDI filled 6 jars with decaying meat.

CONDITIONS RESULTS
•
3 JARS COVERED WITH FINE NETS ___

3 OPEN JARS ___

• Questions:
1. From where the maggots come?
2. What was the purpose of the sealed jars?
3. Does this experiment support spontaneous
generation ? Biogenesis ?
• NEEDHAM’S EXPERIMENT
 Evidence Pro and Con
• 1745 – English Naturalist and priest
JOHN NEEDHAM – challenged Redi’s expt.by
testing whether or not microorganisms can
appear spontaneously after boiling.

CONDITIONS RESULTS

1. NUTRIENTS BROTH HEATED , THEN __

PLACED IN A CLEAN “ FLASK” , FLASK
THEN SEALED
2. WHAT DID NEEDHAM CONCLUDE? __
 Evidence Pro and Con
• 1765 : LAZZARO SPALLANZANI – Italian
scientist modified Needham’s experiment.
CONDITIONS RESULTS

1. Nutrients broth placed in sealed __

flasks , then heated

2. Nutrients broth placed in flasks and __

sealed then heated

3. Does this experiment support __

spontaneous generation or
biogenesis ?
 LOUIS PASTEUR’S EXPERIMENT
• 1861 Pasteur designed an experiment to test
the idea that a vital element from air was
necessary for life to occur
• He boiled sugar solution with yeast in flasks
with long neck.
• The flask were open allowing air to enter, but
no organism developed in the mixture.
• It was because microorganism settled on the
bottom of the curved neck of the flasks and
cannot reached the mixture.
• He cut the neck of the flasks, with in 2 days,
the solution was teeming with microorganisms
because airborne microorganisms easily
entered the flask.
• Pasteur supported the theory of biogenesis
and rejected spontaneous generation.
• The experiment of Pasteur suggest that new
organisms arise only when they are produced
by existing organisms.
 Evidence Pro and Con
• 1861 – LOUIS PASTEUR demonstrated that
microorganisms are present on dust particles
in the air.
CONDITIONS RESULTS

1. Nutrients broth placed in flasks, __

heated , not sealed

2. Nutrients broth placed in flasks , __

heated , then sealed

3. Does the experiment support __

spontaneous generation ? Biogenesis ?
 CURRENT EVENTS ABOUT THE ORIGIN
OF LIFE
1. DIVINE CREATION - this belief
is called CREATIONISM
• It is believed that life forms and everything in
the universe were created through a
supernatural power rather than naturalistic
means.
• Creationists believed that everything was
made by a supreme being in a 6 day period
2. SPONTANEOUS ORIGIN - Life came from
spontaneous origin or life evolved from inanimate
matter - life evolved from simple molecules combined
to form complex ones.
• the energy that drove these chemical processes come
from lightning or some form of geothermal energy,
culminating in the evolution of cells from simple to
multicellular forms
• Electric sparks can produce amino acids and sugars
from an atmosphere loaded with preexisting materials
like water, methane , ammonia , and hydrogen
• Scientists also tried to explain various scenarios where
life molecules
• Spontaneous Origin - states that
life develops from inanimate matter or objects
such as soil, plants, stones etc.
- states that air is the sole cause of life
- unable to be determined and actually
confirmed through experimentation.
3. PANSPERMIA
• This theory is given by Richer in 1865 and
• also known as cosmozoic theory.
• Panspermia means "seeds everywhere".
• This hypothesis states that the "seeds" of life
exist all over the Universe and can be
propagated through space dust , meteoroids ,
asteroids , comets , and planetoids as well as
by spacecraft carrying unintended
contamination by microorganisms .
How did these seeds or microbes get
here ?

• Transported by meteorites , comets

spacecrafts etc.
• Three popular variations of the panspermia
hypothesis are:
1 . Litho panspermia (interstellar panspermia) -
impact-expelled rocks from a planet's surface
serve as transfer vehicles for spreading biological
material from one solar system to another.
2 . Ballistic panspermia (interplanetary
panspermia) - impact-expelled rocks from a
planet's surface serve as transfer vehicles for
spreading biological material from one planet to
another within the same solar system
3 . Directed Panspermia - the intentional spreading of the
seeds of life to other planets by an advanced
extraterrestrial civilization, or the intentional spreading of
the seeds of life from Earth to other planets by humans.
• Panspermia does not provide an explanation for
evolution or attempt pinpoint the origin of life in the
Universe.
• The panspermia hypothesis gives no explanation for
how life that arrived on Earth came to be.
• Even if we are able to show that life on Earth was a
result of panspermia, the question of where and how
life originated will be a lot harder to answer
• WHAT CHARACTERISTICS
DO ALL LIVING THINGS
SHARE ?
1. Gathering and using energy -a
unique characteristics of living things to use
energy and materials to ensure survival.
ENERGY –ability of organisms to do work that
allows them to move ,in order to perform
vital activities such as growth , movement ,
and reproduction CELLULAR
RESPIRATION – process by which energy is
released by the breakdown of food
substances
• METABOLISM – sum of all chemical processes
and energy changes happening inside the
body of an organism.
2 kinds
1. Anabolism – the building up process or
aspect of metabolism - it is the set
of metabolic pathways that construct
molecules from smaller units - it requires
energy , known as an ENDERGONIC
PROCESS.
2. CATABOLISM - breaking - down or aspect
- the breakdown of complex molecules in
living organisms to form simpler ones , together
with the release of energy .
- destructive metabolism
Ex. digestion- breaking down of food

*** metabolic processes include: -

nutrient uptake
-nutrient processing
- waste elimination
DIGESTION -Nutrient up take and
processing
NUTRITION – the process by which organisms
acquire food
• In plants, nutrition is performed by absorbing
water and minerals from the soil and carbon
dioxide from the air.
• Animals and some microorganisms feed on
organic food obtained from plants and other
animals
• Nonliving things – absorb water and minerals ,
like in the case of a filter paper or a ball of
cotton. - unlike living
things, they are unable to convert the
absorbed substance to become part of
themselves
2. Maintaining Internal Balance A.
EXCRETION – the process of removing waste
- Metabolic waste products
include carbon dioxide , water , mineral salts ,
and nitrogenous waste products.
• Organs involved in waste elimination -
skin - lungs
- liver - kidneys
- large intestine -
urinary bladder
• B. HOMEOSTASIS – is the state of steady
internal, physical, and chemical conditions
maintained by living system
- helps the body maintain a stable internal
environment
• In the body of organisms, all metabolic
processes must be coordinated and regulated
• At the metabolic level , the chemical reactions
are processed to ensure efficient coordination
via enzymes.
• ENZYMES – are proteins that help speed up
metabolism - a substance
that acts as a catalyst in living organisms
• In the organismal level , regulatory chemicals
in the form of hormones control the functions
of activities,growth , and development
• The different organ systems help control the
internal environment and maintain normal
processes such as heart rate , body
temperature ,and fluid environment of the cell
Ex.
when it is warm , skin pores open to release
sweat as the body’s way to cool down when it is
cold , the skin pores close to conserve heat
3. Responding , Adopting , and Evolving
- Categories of response 1.
movement
2. irritability
3. individual adaptation
4. evolution
LOCOMOTION / MOTILITY – ability to move
from one place to another

( to be continued…. )