BIO 181 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Human Genome Project, Homeostasis, Spontaneous Generation
29 Aug 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
In the past 42 years, biology has rapidly evolved. The completion of the human genome project began the biological revolution. Similar characteristics shared by living organisms: cellular organization: all organisms consist of one or more cells. Often too tiny to see, cells carry out the basic activities of life. Each cell is bounded by a membrane that protects it from the outside world: ordered completely: all living things are both complex and highly ordered. Your body is composed of many different kinds of cells, each containing many complex molecular structures. Many nonliving things may also be complex, but they do not exhibit this degree of ordered complexity: sensitivity: all organisms respond to stimuli. Every muscle in your body is powered with energy you obtain from your diet: homeostasis: all organisms maintain relatively constant internal conditions that are different from their environment, a process called homeostasis. Living systems show hierarchical organization: the cellular level.
