Structural Levels of Biology

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Life is a result of Emergent Properties.  This suggests that characteristics are local and depend on level of biological organization currently being examined.

Examples:
     Order
     Reproduction
          Asexual Sexual (gamete production)
     Biogenesis vs. abiogenesis
          "Life from Life" vs. spontaneous generation
     Growth & Development
          Increase in mass & Change in body proportion, form, caused by hormones
     E (energy)
          Energy conversion (eg. light chemical)
     Responses to stimuli: both external and internal
     Metabolism
          How fast one uses energy = metabolic rate.  
          Homeostasis = balance for ideal function
     Blood, pH, body temperature all strive to maintain ideal ranges in chemical fluctuations (conditions).
     Adaptation

Holism vs. Reductionism

Holism is macro-study.  It does not allow for a meaningful explanation of processes.  Reductionism reduces complex systems into simpler components, interfering with the processes' interactions.

Names to Remember

     Robert Hooke saw tiny boxes in cork (bark from oak); hence the name, "cells."
     Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovered what we now know as single-celled organisms and saw blood and sperm cells of animals.  He used a "modern" microscope.
     Schleiden and Schwann inductively confirmed Hooke's and Anton's ovservations stating the smallest unit of life is the cell.
     Virchow witnessed a cell dividing.
     Barbara McClintock discovered the genetic rearrangement ("jumping genes" and randomly changing genes) and investigated kernal color inheritence in maize, uncovering mutations that led to the above.

Cells are units of organisms but organisms are units of life.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is comprised of four chemical building blocks of nucleotides (plus phosphates and ribose).  Different combinations and pairings of nucleotides equal different information about the organism

Form Fits Function

The Two Main Processes of Ecosystems are nutrient cycling and E flow.

Taxonomy:  Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protista, Plantae, Fungi, Animalia.  Archaebacteria utilize anaerobic respiration (cellular) primarily using sulfites.  Eubacteria use aerobic respiration.