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1. Introduction to Biology: What is Life?

2. What is Biology?
● Biology is the study of life
● Examines all living things from tiny
microbes to giant whales
● Helps us understand medicine,
ecosystems, and ourselves
● Why do you think biology is important to
study?

3. Why Study Biology?
● Develop new medicines and treatments
● Learn to identify misinformation
● Understand how our bodies and ecosystems function
● Gain insight into the interconnectedness of all life
● What areas of biology are you most interested in exploring?

4. Defining Life: A Centuries-
Old Challenge
● Aristotle: Growth, reproduction, reaction to
forces
● Modern biologists: Self-sustaining
chemical system capable of evolution
● NASA: Looking for signs of life beyond
Earth
● How would you define life?

5. 7 Characteristics of Living Things
● Regulation
● Response to environment
● Reproduction
● Growth and development
● Energy processing
● Organization
● Adaptation through evolution
● Can you think of examples for each characteristic?

6. Regulation
● Living things maintain internal balance
● Adapt to changing external conditions
● Examples: Sweating, panting to regulate
temperature
● What other examples of regulation can you
think of?

7. Response to Environment
● Living things react to stimuli
● Can be fast (cheetah chasing prey) or slow (plant growing
towards light)
● Includes physical and chemical responses
● How do you respond to changes in your environment?

8. Reproduction
● Passing genetic information to offspring
● Can be sexual or asexual
● Examples: Giraffe inheriting traits, yeast
cell division
● Why is reproduction essential for life?

9. Growth and Development
● Following genetic instructions
● Changes throughout an organism's lifetime
● Examples: Tadpole to frog, human puberty
● How have you grown and developed over time?

10. Energy Processing
● Converting nutrients into usable energy
● Powering biological processes (breathing,
movement, etc.)
● Energy flows through ecosystems
● Where does your energy come from?

11. Organization
● Structured from molecules to organisms
● Cells, tissues, organs, organ systems
● Even seemingly chaotic organisms (like the platypus) have
order
● How is your body organized?

12. Adaptation through
Evolution
● Traits shaped by natural selection
● Helps organisms survive and reproduce
● Occurs over many generations
● Can you name an interesting animal
adaptation?

13. The Gray Area: Viruses
● Tiny bundles of genes in protein coats
● Inactive on their own
● Hijack host cells to replicate
● Evolve over time
● Are viruses alive? Why or why not?

14. Viruses: Alive or Not?
● Cannot reproduce or process energy on
their own
● Depend entirely on host cells
● Show some life-like characteristics when
infecting cells
● Most biologists say viruses are not alive
● What's your opinion on whether viruses are
alive?

15. Astrobiology: Life Beyond Earth?
● Studies potential extraterrestrial life
● Examines extreme life forms on Earth
● May expand our definition of life
● What do you think alien life might look like?

16. The Interconnectedness
of Life
● All life shares a common ancestor
● Connected through evolution and
ecosystems
● Made of the same "stardust" as the
cosmos
● How does this interconnectedness make
you feel?

17. Practical Applications of Biology
● Medical research and drug development
● Environmental conservation
● Agriculture and food production
● Biotechnology and genetic engineering
● What biological advances excite you most?

18. Biology and Global
Challenges
● Addressing hunger through crop
improvements
● Fighting diseases with new treatments
● Mitigating climate change impacts
● How can biology help solve world
problems?

19. The Scientific Process in Biology
● Asking questions about life and nature
● Forming hypotheses and conducting experiments
● Analyzing data and drawing conclusions
● Continuously refining our understanding
● What biological question would you like to investigate?

20. Your Role in Biology
● Everyone can contribute to biological knowledge
● Observe nature and ask questions
● Make eco-friendly choices
● Support scientific research and education
● How will you engage with biology in your daily life?