Into Biology Lecture: 1

1. Bio 3AH – Honors General Biology I
Lecture T/Th 1300 - 1420 pm
Lab T/Th 0900 – 1150 (17320) or 1430 - 1720 pm (17325)
Office Hours TTh 1200 - 1300 pm (and online when I’m there…)

2. Textbooks
Bio 3AH – Honors General Biology I

3. Chapter 1: Evolution and the Themes of Biology

4. I. Characteristics of living organisms
Order
Energy processing
Growth and
development
Regulation
Reproduction
Response
to the
environment
Evolutionary
adaptation

5. I. Characteristics of living organisms
Order
Reproduction
Energy
processing
Response to the
environment
Regulation
Evolutionary
adaptation

6. II. Hierarchical organization of life
• Reductionism
• Systems Biology
• Emergent properties
• Structure & Function
• Natural Selection
1 The Biosphere 7 Tissues
8
Cells
5
Organisms
10
Mole-
cules
3
Communities
2
Ecosystems
6 Organs
and Organ
Systems
4 Populations
9 Organelles

7. Biosphere
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organism
Organ
Tissue
Cell
Organelle
Molecule
Ecological
Domain
Organismic Domain
Biochemical
Domain
Emergent properties:
As we move up life’s
hierarchy, new properties
arise at each level;
“the whole is greater
than the sum of its parts”
II. Hierarchical organization of life

8. Biosphere
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organism
Organ
Tissue
Cell
Organelle
Molecule
Structural and
functional unit of life
II. Hierarchical organization of life

9. III. Some important concepts
• Metabolism: All chemical reactions that occur inside living cells
• Homeostasis: The process of maintaining constant internal
conditions
• Evolution: A change in allele frequencies (inherited characteristics)
in a population (group of organisms of the same species) over time
(generations)
• DNA is the molecule responsible for inheritance and control of
cellular activity

10. III. Some important concepts
Genes are the sections of DNA that are the units of inheritance
Gene expression is the process by which genetic information is
converted into cellular products (RNA, proteins)
Our entire “library” of genetic information is called our genome;
the sets of proteins expressed by the genome is called the
proteome (genomics, proteomics = areas of study)
High-throughput technology, bioinformatics, and interdisciplinary
research teams are revolutionizing the way we process biological
information

11. IV. Life Requires Transfer and Transformation of Energy and Matter
ENERGY FLOW
Light
energy
Heat is lost
Chemical
energy
Plants take
up chemicals
from the soil
and air (producers).
Chemicals
Decomposers
return
chemicals
to the soil.
Chemicals
pass to
organisms
that eat the
plants (consumers)

12. V. Interactions are important in biological systems
Insulin
Circulation
throughout
body via
blood
Insulin-producing
cell in pancreas
STIMULUS: High
blood glucose level
Negative
feedback
Liver and
muscle cells
RESPONSE: Glucose
uptake by liver and
muscle cells
Feedback regulation
Negative feedback: more
common; response reduces
the original stimulus
Positive feedback: augments
the signal and response

13. V. Interactions are important in biological systems
Sunlight
Leaves take in
carbon dioxide
from the air and
release oxygen.
Animals eat leaves
and fruit from the tree,
returning nutrients
and minerals to the
soil in their waste
products.
Water and
minerals in
the soil are
taken up
by the tree
through its
roots.
Leaves absorb light
energy from the sun.
Leaves fall to the
ground and are
decomposed by
organisms that
return minerals
to the soil.
CO2
O2

14. VI. Evolution accounts for unity and diversity of life
Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution
Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975)
The American Biology Teacher, March 1973 (35:125-129)
Evolution helps explain the similarities (derived from common ancestor)
and differences (heritable changes that occurred along evolutionary
history) among organisms

15. Evolution accounts for unity of life
The three domains of life reflect evolutionary history

16. Evolution accounts for unity of life
From Hu et al. 2016
(Nature Microbiology)

17. Evolution accounts for unity of life
From Hu et al. 2016
(Nature Microbiology)

18. Evolution accounts for unity of life
SPECIES GENUS FAMILY ORDER CLASS PHYLUM KINGDOM DOMAIN
Ursus
Ursidae
Carnivora
Mammalia
Chordata
Animalia
Eukarya
Ursus americanus

19. Charles Darwin and the Theory of Natural Selection
Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882)
• The Voyage of the Beagle - 5 years, around the world
• Darwin collected and observed thousands of species in different
environments

20. Charles Darwin and the Theory of Natural Selection
Darwin proposed natural selection as the mechanism to
explain the evolution of adaptations
A leaf mantid in Costa Rica A flower mantid in Malaysia
While natural selection is the
only evolutionary agent
capable of producing
adaptations, other evolutionary
agents exist

21. Charles Darwin and the Theory of Natural Selection
2
1
2
3
Population with varied inherited traits
Elimination of individuals with certain traits
Reproduction of survivors
Evolution by
natural selection
is the unavoidable
consequence of
how organisms
reproduce and
interact with their
environment

22. Charles Darwin and the Theory of Natural Selection
Charles Darwin, 1859
Alfred R.
Wallace

23. Charles Darwin and the Theory of Natural Selection
Green warbler finch
COMMON
ANCESTOR
Certhidea olivacea
Gray warbler finch
Certhidea fusca
Sharp-beaked ground finch
Geospiza difficilis
Vegetarian finch
Platyspiza crassirostris
Mangrove finch
Cactospiza heliobates
Woodpecker finch
Cactospiza pallida
Medium tree finch
Camarhynchus pauper
Large tree finch
Camarhynchus psittacula
Small tree finch
Camarhynchus parvulus
Large cactus ground finch
Geospiza conirostris
Cactus ground finch
Geospiza scandens
Small ground finch
Geospiza fuliginosa
Medium ground finch
Geospiza fortis
Large ground finch
Geospiza
magnirostris
Cactus-flower-
eaters
Seed-eaters
Ground
finches
Tree
finches
Insect-eaters
Bud-
eater
Seed-
eater
Insect-eaters
Warbler
finches

24. The scientific name (species name) of any plant,
animal, fungus, alga or bacterium consists of two
Latinized words. The first word is the name of the genus
to which the organism belongs. The second word is the
specific epithet or specific term of the species. Together,
the genus plus the specific epithet make up the species
name. The species name and scientific name are
synonyms.
We are
Homo sapiens
Your dog is
Canis latrans

25. VII. The Scientific Method
How do we know whether any particular biological
explanation is reasonable and likely to be true?