Earth and Life Science Reviewer

(magsi)

Biology - bios (life) ; logos (study)

● deals with the structures, functions, and relationships of living organisms with the
environment
● (deals with) molecular, cellular, organismal, population, community, ecosystem, and
biome

Branches of Biology
● Microbiology : deals with microorganisms
● Botany : plants
● Zoology : animals
● Mycology : fungi
● Phycology : algae
● Taxonomy: naming and classifying organisms
● Cytology : cells
● Embryology : formation and development of organisms
● Anatomy : structured and body parts
● Physiology : functions of organisms and its parts
● Biochemistry : chemical processes
● Genetics : genes, genetic variation, heredity
● Evolution
● Ecology : relationships of organisms with their environment and other organisms
● Molecular Biology : chemical structures and processes of molecules
● Genomics : structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes
● Proteomics : proteins
● Immunology : immune systems in all organisms
● Bioinformatics : biological data

Biotechnology
● application of biological concepts to make beneficial products
● used basic molecules of life to make new products
● BT Corn : farmers put viruses in crops to prevent insects from flocking them
● Helps in the following:
1. energy production
2. agriculture
3. food processing
4. bioremediation
5. disease treatment
6. pharmaceuticals
7. waste treatment

How did life begin?

● Divine Creation
 ● Filipino version of Malakas at Maganda (Spanish)
● Spontaneous Generation : living things originated spontaneously from inanimate objects;
abiogenesis ; proposed by Aristotle ; believed by many for at least 2,000 years

John Needham (1713 - 1781)

● put a medium in a flask and boiled / sterilized it, then covered it
● did not heat the medium long enough to kill the microorganisms

Law of Biogenesis
● life came from pre-existing life
● proven through a series of experiments
● “In nature, life comes only from life and that of its kind.”

Francesco Redi (1626 - 1697)

● first to disprove spontaneous generation
● 3 jars (open, gauze, sealed), meat inside

Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729 - 1799)

● also helped debunk spontaneous generation
● flask with medium ; also sterilized it ; one sealed, one open

Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895)

● one of the first to disprove spontaneous generation
● boiled a medium inside a flask with a thin tube, waited, there was no growth

Evolution
● Empedocles (493 - 435 B.C.)
> Greek Philosopher
> all living organism types gradually evolved by the process of trial-and-error ; recombination of
animal parts
> Father of Evolutionary Naturalism
● Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698 - 1759)
> particles from both mother and father are responsible for the characteristics of the child
> child embryo goes through various stages
● Carl von Linné (Linnaeus) (1707 - 1778)
> morphological and anatomical
> homologous organs belong to species of the same evolutionary origin and serves a different
function, like the arm of a man and a seal’s flippers
> analogous organs are from species with different evolutionary origin and serve a similar
purpose
● Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882)
> all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors
> natural selection - struggle for existence
> Survival of the Fittest
 ● Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744 - 1809)

Chemical Evolution
● life originated from chemicals and molecules
● Alexander Oparin (1894 - 1980)
> simple organic and inorganic materials might have combined into complex organic
compounds and then the latter might have formed the primordial organism
● Friedrich Wöhler (1800 - 1882)
> living organisms are fundamentally different from nonliving organisms because they contain a
non-physical element
● Miller-Urey experiment : life came from inorganic molecules that were converted by
lightning to organic molecules which became the first precursor for living things

Panspermia / Cosmozoic Theory

● Svante August Arrhenius (1859 - 1927)
> life might have been carried from planet to planet by the transport of spores

Characteristics of Life
1.Movement / Locomotion
● self-initiated change in an organism’s position
● motion of internal parts
● possible with the use of locomotory organs
● microorganisms, plants, animals, humans
● search for food, reproduction, and response to the changing environment
● peristalsis
2. Responsiveness / Irritability
● ability to sense changes taking place inside or outside the body and to react to these
changes
● capability of an organism to respond to stimuli or external factors like light, temperature,
pressure, sound, presence of chemical substances, food sources, etc.
3. Growth and Development
● increase in body size
● occurs whenever an organism produces new body materials faster than the old ones
● Growth - increase in all parts of the body brought about by cellular development
● Development - improvement in the level of functioning
4. Reproduction
● process by which microscopic cells produce others like themselves
● body parts
● cell division (unicellular)
● production of new individuals
● sexual and asexual reproduction
● Sexual - male and female gametes
● Asexual - an organism makes copies of itself
5. Death
 ● all living things die.
6. Cellular Organization
 all living organisms are composed of 1 or more cells
7. Heredity
 all organisms possess a genetic system that is inherited
8. Evolution
 changes in characteristics of a group of organisms over time
9. Adaptation
 capability to make adjustments to the changes in the environment
10. Circulation
 movement of substances in our body
11. Respiration
 obtaining oxygen
12. Digestion / Metabolism
● catabolism – breaking down of organic matter to harvest energy and molecules
● anabolism – use of energy to build up molecules (ex. Photosynthesis)
13. Homeostasis
 ability to maintain a constant internal environment despite the changes in the external
environment

Maintenance of Life
● water
● food
● oxygen
● heat
● pressure

The Cell
Robert Hooke (1635 - 1703)
● Micrographia, 1665
● microscopic observation of thin slices of cork
● first to use the term ‘cell’

Cell Theory
1. all organisms are made up of cells
2. the cell is the basic unit of life / organization of all organisms
3. all cells come from pre-existing cells

Cell
Prokaryotes (pro - ‘before’ ; karyon - ‘nut’ or ‘kernel’)
● Bacteria
● Archaea
● DNA is naked, circular, and has no introns
● Has no nucleus
 ● is not membrane-bound
● 70S ribosomes
● Binary fission
● Haploids
● Are smaller (~1-5μm)
Eukaryotes (eu - ‘good’ or ‘true’)
● Eukarya
● DNA is bound to protein, is linear, and has introns
● Has a nucleus
● is membrane-bound
● 80S ribosomes
● diploid or more
● mitosis / meiosis
● are larger (~10-100μm)

Eukaryotic Cells
Cell Membrane / Plasma Membrane
● barrier that contains cell contents, separates them from the surrounding environment
● controls the exit and entrance of substances
> selectively permeable membrane
> permeable membrane
● protection & regulation
● two phospholipid layers (bilayer) arranged tail to tail in which protein molecules float
> hydrophilic heads - phosphate groups
> hydrophobic tails
Cell Transport
● Active Transport
> needs the help of ATP
> bulk transport
> solute pumping
> against concentration gradient
> sodium-potassium pump
> Vesicular Transport (vesicles)
> exocytosis and endocytosis
1. Exocytosis
- moves substances out of the cell
- means to actively secrete hormones, mucus, and other cell products
2. Endocytosis
- engulf extracellular substances
- Phagocytosis : cell-eating ; pseudopods
- Pinocytosis : cell-drinking
- Receptor-mediated endocytosis : receptor proteins binds only with certain substances ;
enzymes, some hormones, cholesterol, iron, and unfortunately, the flu viruses
 ● Passive Transport
> does not require energy
1. Osmosis
- movement of solvent molecules from a region of lower concentration to a region of
higher concentration through a selectively permeable membrane
- only solvent particles move
- involves semipermeable membrane
2. Diffusion
- can pass through freely
- more concentration (solute) to less concentration
- solvent and solute particles move to equalize concentration
- no semipermeable membrane involved
3. Facilitated Diffusion
- needs assistance of protein membrane channels (non-specific & specific transporters)
- aquaporins (water channels/pores) created by proteins in the membranes
- Cell Tonicity (solute concentration)
● Hypotonic : more water outside, less water inside
● Hypertonic : more water inside, less water outside
● Isotonic : equal water inside and outside

Cytoplasm
● outside nucleus, inside plasma membrane
● is made up of water and nutrients
● site of most cellular activities - “factory area”
● removes waste
● converts glucose to energy
● cell respiration

Centrosome
● microtubule organizing center
● directs the migration of chromosomes
Centriole
● made up of microtubules
● 2 centrioles in animal cells
● creates a network of threads across the cell

Endoplasmic Reticulum
● almost half the cell membrane
● provides a network for carrying substances from one part of the cell to another
● fluid-filled tube-like structures
● Rough (R.E.R.)
- studded with ribosomes
- cell’s membrane factory (building materials of cellular membranes are formed in or
around it)
 - folds and transports proteins
● Smooth (S.E.R.)
- no ribosomes
- lipid metabolism
- manufacture of steroid hormones
- cell detox

Ribosomes
● site of protein synthesis
● amino acids

Golgi Apparatus
● stack of flattened membranous sacs called cisternae
● processing, packaging, and delivering proteins and other substances

Vesicles
● phospholipid membranes
● ships Golgi body products
● active transport (vesicular)

Lysosomes
● “breakdown bodies”
● powerful digestive enzymes
● cell demolition site
● abundant in phagocytes

Peroxisomes
● enzymes that use O2 to detoxify harmful or poisonous substances
● disarm dangerous free radicals
● converts free radicals to H2O2. enzyme catalase converts excess H2O2 to H2O
● Free Radicals : molecule that contains 1 or more unpaired electrons in its outermost
orbital ; steals electrons from healthy cells ; starts a chain reaction
● Antioxidants : have an extra electron and give it to free radicals

Nucleus
● control center
● takes shape of cell
● contains the genetic information (DNA)

Chromatin
● macromolecule synthesis
● during cell division, it threads coil and condenses to form dense chromosomes
● protein (histone) and DNA molecules
Nucleolus
● little nucleus
● RNA and proteins
● no surrounding membrane
● produces ribosomes

Mitochondria
● cell respiration
● powerhouse
● provides most of ATP needed for all cellular work

Flagella
● cell appendage
● extension of cell membrane
● locomotion

Cilia
● whip-like cellular extension
● move substances along the cell surface
● for locomotion
● absorbing nutrients (digestive system)

Cell Wall
● made of cellulose and lignin
● structural support and protection
● filtering mechanism
● prevents over-expansion when water enters the cell ; pressure vessel

Plastids
● plants and protists have these
● for pigment
● Chloroplasts - contains chlorophyll, the green pigment
● Chromoplasts - yellow, orange, red colored plastids
● Leucoplasts - colorless plastids (ex. starch in potatoes) ; iodine is used to locate the
presence of starch

Chloroplasts
● organelles that conduct photosynthesis
● captures energy from sunlight, converts it into sugar

Central Vacuole
● supports cell structure
● stores water
● also stores proteins and soluble carbohydrates
Animal Cells
● have no cell wall
● eats other cells
● cannot absorb liquid
● variety of shapes
● has lysosomes
Plant Cells
● have chloroplasts
● have vacuoles
● can absorb liquids
● food by photosynthesis
● has cell wall made of cellulose

Similarities:
● have nucleus
● are eukaryotes
● size