CHY 204 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Differential Centrifugation, Supernova Remnant, Mycoplasma Laboratorium
20 Feb 2014
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Document Summary
The cell is the basic unit of life (there are debates whether it is the cell/gene) A high degree of chemical complexity & microscopic organization (*polymers) Systems for extracting, transforming & using energy from the environment (*organic or inorganic, eg. falcon acquires nutrients by eating a smaller bird) Defined functions for each of an organisms components & regulated interactions among them (*life is dynamic) Defined functions for specific subcellular components, cell types & tissues and dynamic interregulation b/w them. Mechanism for sensing & responding to alterations in surroundings. Via biosignaling, eg. ligands, receptors, signal transduction/kinase cascades commonly used for vision, taste, smell & neurons, paracrine &endocrine systems. Clonal vs. non-clonal self-replication: no organism is perfectly clonal. Clonal refers to the mutation rate being the element of change, eg. bacteria & viruses. Non- clonal refers to genetic recombination being the mechanism of change, eg. animals & humans. Bacteria & viruses have high mutation rates compared to any other living organism.
