General biology

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General biology
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Biology

• The study of life itself!!!

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Green titles

• Blue important!
• Pink examples, extra info

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• Symbols and such!
• i.e. that is, id est
• e.g. for example, exempli gratia
• . Therefore
• Then, leads to
• -l inhibits

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• Same as
• ? Different from
• ? Something that can flow either way
• ? Increase
• Decrease
• Change
• NB Nota Bene (note well )

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• Today
• Process of science
• What is life?
• Categories and fundementals

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• How do we know all this?

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The Scientific Method

• Make OBSERVATION- notice the world around us!
• Pose QUESTION
• Propose HYPOTHESIS
• - Potential explanation for observation/answer to
  question
• - Must lead to testable predictions
• Design execute EXPERIMENTS
• - Collect data
• Draw CONCLUSION (yes or no to hypothesis)
• Start over with new questions!!!

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And/or

• Discovery Science
• good descriptions!!!

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CREATIVITY AND CHANCE

• Alexander Fleming, 1920
• - Culture dish of bacteria became contaminated
  with mold-GOOD/BAD LUCK
• - NOTICED no bacteria grew near the mold.
• - THOUGHT OUTSIDE THE PETRI DISH
• - Hypothesis this mold inhibits bacterial
  growth.
• - Data fluid extracted from mold inhibited
  bacterial growth.
• - Conclusion yes!
• Later, the fluid was isolated as penicillin.
• CHANGED THE WORLD (gave you 30 extra years in
  YOUR life!)

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• What is enough proof?!

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• Redi and maggots

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PROOF

• Reproducible!!!
• Proper controls!!!

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• Whats the point of controls?!

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Rodolfo and the mystery yeast
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Rodolfo and the mystery yeast
a tale of good controls!!!
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Question can we save Rodolfo?!
Hypothesis X is yeast!
Expt
Bread mix X
Positive Control Bread mix KNOWN yeast
Negative Control Bread mix NO YEAST
So, we can trust and interpret any result!
Result A) Bread mix - X no bread. -(
C tells us that it wasnt due to something else,
like oven malfunction!
Result B) Bread mix X Bread! Yay!
C- tells us that bread mix alone cannot make
bread.
Conclusion A we have no yeast. . Rodolfo is
doomed.
Conclusion B we have yeast! . Rodolfo is
saved!
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CAUSE -gt EFFECT
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Controls
Do Expt look for effect (or no effect), caused
(or not) by the variable you are
testing. CONTROLS show that your result is
specific to the cause tested, and is not due to
other variables. C- Negative control
shows that you can get NO effect. Especially good
when experimental variable did yield an
effect. C Positive control shows that
you CAN get an effect. Especially good when
experimental variable did not yield an effect.
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Controls
If you have an effect (assay), you can search
for its cause. Do Expt look for effect (or no
effect), caused (or not) by the factor you are
testing. So many variables no way to eliminate
them! Rather, use control groups to cancel their
effects. Try to set up an experiment so the only
difference between the experimental group and the
control group is the variable you are trying to
test!
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NB data results facts
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Types of data

• Qualitative - observations
• Quantitative - measurements

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Some tools

• Double blind expts.
• Statistics!

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Process of science

• Labs groups
• Collaboration!
• Literature.
• Oral Presentations (posters, talks).
• Peer reviewed journals.
• Funding National Institutes of Health (NIH).
• Biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

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Process of science

• Reductionism studying the individual parts.
• However, systems have emergent properties.
• Systems biology tries to figure out the outcomes
  of systems with a large number of known
  components.

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Interactions between proteins in a cell
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Types of expts.

• in vivo in organisms
• in vitro in glass

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Development of New Drugs

• First cellular models, i.e. in vitro.
• Then animal models, i.e. in vivo.

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Development of New Drugs

• CLINICAL TRIALS
• Phase I
• Drug tested on healthy human volunteers.
• Determine safety
• Phase II
• Drug tested on target population, for efficacy.
• Phase III
• Large number of participants, both safety and
  efficacy.
• If passes trials, goes to FDA for
  approval!!!
• Phase IV
• Test for other uses of the drug.

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Ethics in science

• INTEGRITY!!!
• SCIENCE is the search for TRUTH!
• NEVER EVER FAKE DATA!
• Present data as completely as possible, then
  argue about the conclusions!
• Human cloning scandal

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Ethics in science

• Clinical trials
• - Very few womyn and ethnic minorities in
  clinical trials until the past few years.
• - Informed consent.
• Tuskegee syphillis study.
• Vioxx companies as clients of FDA

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Bioethics

• We can, but should we do it? And how should we
  implement it?
• Stem cells and human cloning
• GMO (genetically modified organisms)
• Animal chimeras
• Genetic testing

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What defines life?
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(c) Response to the environment
(b) Evolutionary Adaptation
(a) Order
(e) Energy processing
(d) Regulation
(f) Growth and development
(g) Reproduction
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Characteristics of life!

• Complex and organized
• Able to evolve
• Respond to stimuli
• d) Regulation and homeostasis
• f) Growth
• e) Obtain materials energy
• g) Reproduce themselves

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Complexity and order

• Salt organized but simple
• Oceans complex but unorganized
• Flower organized and complex

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Evolution

• Genetic compositionof population changes over
  time.
• Populations can adapt to their changing
  environment!

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Respond to stimuli

• Changes in internal environment
• - Temperature
• - Blood sugar level
• - Levels of various chemicals
• Changes in external environment
• - Temperature, humidity
• - Sensory systems

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Homeostasis

• Homeostasis means staying the same.
• Organized systems disintegrate.
• Preventing disintegration requires energy (ATP).
• Ex Sweating when hot shivering when cold.

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Growth

• Must acquire more materials and energy than
  needed for homeostasis.

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Obtain materials and energy

• Life requires materials and energy to maintain
  homeostasis and to grow.
• Life requires physical repair.
• Food (and sun) supplies material and energy.

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Reproduction

• Make more of ones own kind.
• Perpetuation of genes.

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Also!

• Genetic material, containing information for
  building and maintaining the organism DNA (or
  RNA in some viruses).

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Levels of organization
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Levels of Biological Organization
The Biosphere
Ecosystems
Populations
Communities
Organisms
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Levels of Biological Organization
Organelles
Molecules
Tissues
Cells
Organs and organ systems
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• More fundamentals

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Theories in BIOLOGY

• Theory the solid truth as best we know it now!
  Something that has been tested and proven (so
  far)!

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STRUCTURE
HOW IT IS BUILT
FUNCTION
WHAT IT DOES
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Ecosystems

• Energy flows from sun, through life, to heat.
• Molecules (atoms) are recycled.
• Producers directly harness the energy of the
  sun.
• Consumers get energy from other living
  organisms.

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Energy flow through an ecosystem
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Categorizing the Diversity of Life

• Bacteria
• Prokaryotic
• Mostly unicellular

Eukaryotic organisms

• Cells with distinct membrane-bound nucleus

• And other organelles

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EUKARYOTIC KINGDOMS

• Protists unicellular

• Fungi multicellular

• Plants multicellular

• Animals multicellular

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Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic Cells
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Cell Division
Actin
DNA
Microtubules

• Cell divides into two smaller, daughter cells.
• Daughter cells will grow and divide again

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• FOR NEXT CLASS
• Come up with a biology question! (2 pts)

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Some of many biology questions! Can we clone
humans? Why are plants mostly green? How do
harsh words make me cry? Why do I have to eat
food? Is saving the oceans all that important to
my well-being? How is cocaine addictive? How do
leaves change colors? Is a paternity test
reliable? Why is Aids so deadly? Do giant
squids exist? Why is the paper cut on my finger
all red and swollen? Is water enough to clean
the dishes?
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More of many biology questions! Can my twin
frame me for a crime? Is the DNA in it going to
make this moisterizer worth the extra
expense? Is it ok to eat moldy cheese? Is there
any point in quitting smoking after all these
years? What is the difference between the mind
and the brain? Does it matter if I take tylenol
instead of advil? How did I lift my arm, move my
fingers and take notes in class?