Unit 1.1-5.1 Flashcards
Emergent Properties
New properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases.
Example: a box of bicycle parts won’t transport you anywhere, but if they are arranged in a certain way, you can pedal to your chosen destination.
Systems biology
An approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s parts.
Reductionism
The method that reduces complex systems to simpler components that are more easier to study. It is s powerful strategy in biology.
Cell-theory
States that all living organisms are made of cells, which are the basic unit of life.
Prokaryotic
Single-celled microorganisms- bacteria (singular, bacterium) and archaea (singular, archaean).
LACKS a nucleus or other membrane-enclosed organelles.
Also, smallest then eukaryotic cells.
Pro meaning before.
Karyon meaning nucleus/core.
Has:
DNA (no nucleus)
Cell membrane
Cytoplasm with ribosomes
Eukaryotic
All other forms of life, including plants and animals.
Contains membrane-enclosed organelles, such as DNA-containing nucleus:
Example: chloroplast if an organelle found in ONLY eukaryotic cells that carry out photosynthesis.
Eu meaning true.
Karyon meaning nucleus/core.
Has: DNA (throughout the nucleus) Nucleus (membrane-enclosed) Membrane-enclosed organelles Cytoplasm with ribosomes Cell membrane
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
Nucleus acid molecule, usually a double-stranded helix, in which each polynucleotide strand consists of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T); capable of being replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell’s proteins. It as a sugar- phosphate backbone.
Genes
A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses).
Nucleotides
A, T, C, G; shows how DNA will uniquely encode information and is analogous like how we arrange letters of the alphabet into words. Nucleotides are four-letter alphabets.
Differences between organisms reflect differences between their nucleotide sequences rather than between their genetic codes.
Example: the word rat means rodent; the words tar and art, which contain same letters are completely different.
Proteins
Major players in building and maintaining the cell and carrying out its activities.
Can be an enzyme, an antibody, crystallin (transparent proteins)…
Amino acids
Sequence of nucleotides along a gene is transcribed into mRNA, which is then translated into a linked series of a protein building blocks called amino acids.
Gene expression
The process by which information encoded in DNA directs the synthesis of proteins or, in some cases, RNAs that are not translated into proteins and instead function as RNAs.
Cells use information encoded in a gene to synthesize a functional protein.
mRNA
Molecule is translated into a protein, but other cellular RNAs function differently.
Genome
The genetic material of an organism or virus; the complete complement of an organism’s or virus’s genes along with its noncoding nucleus acid sequences.
Example: A typical human cell has two similar sets of chromosomes and each set has approx. 3 billion nucleotide pairs of DNA.
Genomics
The systematic study of whole sets of genes (or other DNA) and their interactions within a species, as well as genome comparisons between species.
Proteomics
The systematic study of sets of proteins and their prosperities, including their abundance, chemical modifications, and interactions.
Proteome
The entire set of proteins expressed by a given cell, tissue, or organism.
Bioinformatics
The use of computers, software, and mathematical models to process and integrate biological information from large data sets.
Photosynthesis
When a plant’s leaves absorb sunlight, molecules within the leaves convert the energy of sunlight to the chemical entertainment of food, such as sugars, in the process of photosynthesis.
Producers
An organism that produces organic compounds from CO2 by harnessing light energy (in photosynthesis) or by oxidizing inorganic chemicals (in chemosynthetic reactions carried out by some prokaryotes).
Consumers
An organism that feeds on producers, other consumers, or nonliving organic material.
Energy flows through…
An ecosystem in one direction, usually entering as light and exiting as heat.
Feedback regulation
The regulation of a process by its output or end product.
Negative feedback
The most common form of regulation, a loop in which the response reduces the initial stimulus.
Example: insulin signaling, after eating the level of sugar glucose in blood rises, which stimulates cells to secrete insulin and insulin causes body cells to take up glucose and liver cells to store in, thus decreasing blood glucose levels. Aka eliminates stimulus for insulin.
Positive feedback
The less common feedback, which an end product speeds up its own production.
Example: clotting of blood in response to an injury.
