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BSC1010C-Chapter 1
Biology Chapter 1
24
Biology
Undergraduate 1
03/24/2010

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BSC1010C

CHAPTER 1

 

WORD ROOTS 

Definition

bio- = life (biology: the scientific study of life; biosphere: all the environments on Earth that are inhabited by life; bioinformatics: using information technology to extract useful information from large sets of biological data)

-ell = small (organelle: a small membrane-enclosed body with a specialized function found in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells)

eu- = true (eukaryotic cell: a cell that has a true nucleus)

pro- = before; karyo- = nucleus (prokaryotic cell: a cell that has no nucleus)

Term

evolution

Definition

Descent with modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from the present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation.

Term
biology
Definition

The scientific study of life.

Term

emergent properties

Definition

New properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases.

Term

systems biology

Definition

An approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems.

Term

eukaryotic cell

Definition

A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with eukaryotic cells (protists, plants, fungi, and animals) are called eukaryotes.

Term

prokaryotic cell

Definition

A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with prokaryotic cells (bacteria and archaea) are called prokaryotes.

Term

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

Definition

A double-stranded, helical nucleic acid molecule, consisting 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.

Term

gene

Definition

A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses).

Term

genome

Definition

The genetic material of an organism or virus; the complete complement of an organism’s or virus’s genes along with its noncoding nucleic acid sequences.

Term

bioinformatics

Definition

The use of computers, software, and mathematical models to process and integrate biological information from large data sets.

Term

negative feedback

Definition

A primary mechanism of homeostasis, whereby a change in a physiological variable triggers a response that counteracts the initial change.

Term

positive feedback

Definition

A physiological control mechanism in which a change in a variable triggers mechanisms that amplify the change.

Term

domain

Definition

 

A taxonomic category above the kingdom level. The three domains are Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya.  Archaea and Bacteria are prokaryotic; Eukarya is eukaryotic.


 

Term

inquiry

Definition

The search for information and explanation, often focused by specific questions.

Term

discovery science

Definition

The process of scientific inquiry that focuses on describing nature.

Term

data

Definition

Recorded observations.

Term

inductive reasoning

Definition

A type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations.

Term

hypothesis

Definition

A tentative answer to a well-framed question, narrower in scope than a theory and subject to testing.

Term

deductive reasoning

Definition

A type of logic in which specific results are predicted from a general premise.

Term

controlled experiment

Definition

An experiment in which an experimental group is compared with a control group that varies only in the factor being tested.

Term

theory

Definition

An explanation that is broad in scope, generates new hypotheses, and is supported by a large body of evidence.

Term

model

Definition

A representation of a theory or process.

Term

technology

Definition

The application of scientific knowledge for a specific purpose, often involving industry or commerce but also including uses in basic research.

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