INTRODUCTION TO LIFE SCIENCE

Paleontologists are scientists who collect, identify, and study pieces of evidence about earlier life forms and
try to determine how these have evolved into the organism today.
Fossil is a remnant or trace of a plant, an animal, or other organism that may have been replaced by rock
material or left imprinted on sedimentary rock deposited in riverbeds or on the ocean floor.
Stromatolites considered as the oldest fossils on Earth. These are sheet like sedimentary rocks that were
created by layers upon layers of cyanobacteria, a single-celled photosynthetic microbe.

The 7 Characteristics of Life:

1. Living Things are composed of Cells:

Single-cell organisms have everything they need to be self-sufficient.
In multicellular organisms, specialization increases until some cells do only certain things.

2. Living Things Have Different Levels of Organization:

Both molecular and cellular organization.
Living things must be able to organize simple substances into complex ones.
Living things organize cells at several levels:
Tissue - a group of cells that perform a common function.
Organ - a group of tissues that perform a common function.
Organ system - a group of organs that perform a common function.
Organism - any complete living thing.

3. Living Things Use Energy:

Living things take in energy and use it for maintenance and growth.

4. Living Things Respond To Their Environment:

Living things will make changes in response to a stimulus in their environment.
A behavior is a complex set of responses.

5. Living Things Grow:

Cell division - the orderly formation of new cells.
Cell enlargement - the increase in size of a cell. Cells grow to a certain size and then divide.
An organism gets larger as the number of its cells increases.

6. Living Things Reproduce:

Reproduction is not essential for the survival of individual organisms, but must occur for a species to survive.
All living things reproduce in one of the following ways:
Asexual repoduction - Producing offspring without the use of gametes.
Sexual reproduction - Producing offspring by the joining of sex cells.

7. Living Things Adapt To Their Environment:

Adaptations are traits giving an organism an advantage in a certain environment.
Variation of individuals is important for a healthy species.

THE LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL HIERARCHY

1. Atom - basic unit of matter
2. Molecule - A chemical structure consisting of atoms
3. Organelle - Little "organs" in the cell
4. Cell - Life's fundamental unit of structure and function
5. Tissue - A group of similar cells
6. Organ and Organ systems - Specialized body parts made up of tissues
7. Organism - An individual living thing
8. Population - all same species in a particular area
9. Community - all different species in an ecosystem
10. Ecosystem - all living and nonliving things in a particular area
11. Biosphere - all ecosystems on Earth
THREE MAJOR FIELDS IN BIOLOGY THAT COVER THE UNIFYING THEMES OF LIFE

1. GENETICS is the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation.

2. EVOLUTION is the change in the characteristics of a species over several generations and relies on the process
of natural selection. The theory of evolution is based on the idea that all species are related and gradually
change over time.
3. BIOCHEMISTRY is the branch of science that explores the chemical processes within and related to living
organisms. It is a laboratory based science that brings together biology and chemistry. By using chemical
knowledge and techniques, biochemists can understand and solve biological problems.

THREE DOMAINS OF LIFE

1. Bacteria most diverse and widespread prokaryote. E.g. cyanobacteria

2. Archaea prokaryotes that often live in extreme environment. E.g. thermophiles and halophiles
3. Eukarya eukaryotes, that include single-celled protists and multicellular fungi, plants, and animals.

KEY NOTES:

All organisms are made up of elements or a combination of elements called compounds. About 25 elements are
essential to organisms. Four of these elements make up about 96% of the weight of most organisms. These
elements are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Organisms are made up of matter.
Domains Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya require the need to reproduce (genetics), adapt (evolution), and
metabolize (biochemistry). All organisms need to reproduce to preserve their future generations. These younger
generations should possess the needed biochemical components that will help them adapt to their
environment.
The diversity and abundance of these domains are controlled by resources (food) and condition of their habitat
(temperature, pH, and oxygen).

REFLECT UPON
How are early life-forms (simple organisms) related to your existence as a complex organism?