BIOC61H3 Chapter Notes -Convergent Evolution, Biological System, Complex System
Document Summary
Bioc15 - genetics (lecture 1+2 reading notes; chapter 1) 1. 2 proteins: the functional molecules of life processes. Biological system: any complex network of interacting molecules or groups of cells that function in a coordinated manner through dynamic signalling. Many scientists believe that rna was the first information processing molecular to appear. Rna is similar to dna: bases (g, c, a, u -> t for dna, has the capacity to store, replicate, mutate and express information, not as stable as dna; functions as a intermediary from dna to protein. Rna is like protein: able to fold into 3-d structures. All living organisms use the triplet groupings of the bases to encode for amino acids: genes in one organism might be able to function fine in another related organism. Convergent evolution: features in organisms that developed independently. Due to the similarities, model organisms are used to analyze human genes. Genetic complexity (families of genes) arose from duplicates of primordial genes.