Introduction to Biology

What is Biology?

The study of life

The science of living things

Origins of word biology

Biology (Greek or Latin origin)

Bios = life
Logos = study of
Characteristics of Life

1. Cellular 6. Metabolism
composition 7. Specific
2. Growth organization
3. Reproduction 8. Responsiveness
4. Movement
5. Adaptation
Cellular Composition

Made up of at least one cell

Unicellular - made of one cell

(bacteria, amoeba, paramecium)

Multicellular - made up of two or

more cells (plants, fungi, animals)
Growth

Increase in cell size

(unicellular) and/or an
increase in cell number
(multicellular)
Reproduction

Asexual- cell division (mitosis)one

cell becomes two Ex: bacteria

Sexual- union of sex cells (sperm

and egg) Ex: plants and animals
Movement

3 types:

A. Place to Place- (ex: bear running, bird

flying, etc)
B. External Part- (ex: + phototropism,
plants orient leaves toward sun)
C. Internal- (ex: cytoplasmic streaming)
Adaptation

Changing to meet the needs of the

environment

Examples:
1. Bird migration- behavioral adaptation
Adaptation (continued)

2. Human body temperature-

Physiological adaptation

3. Hibernation- physiological adaptation

4. Hare ear length (desert vs. arctic

hares)- structural adaptation
Metabolism

Set of chemical reactions

that convert food into
energy
Specific Organization

Certain parts do specific

jobs (ex: heart, nucleus,
chloroplasts, etc)
Responsiveness

Reaction(s) to various stimuli

Examples of stimuli: light,

heat, pH, vibration, smell,
etc. earthworms respond to
all of these
Branches of Biology

1. Zoology- the
study of animals

2. Ichthyology- the
study of fish
3. Mammalogy-
study of
mammals

4. Ornithology- the
study of birds
5. Botany- the
study of plants

6. Microbiology-
study of small
life
7. Anatomy- study
of an
organisms
parts

8. Physiology-
study of how
organisms
parts work
9. Entomology-
study of insects

10.Genetics- study
of heredity and
genetic
material
(DNA/RNA,
chromosomes,
genes)
11.Ecology- study
of all life in a
particular area,
the
relationships
b/t those life
forms and the
environment
4 Basic Steps of Scientific Method
1. Observation
2. Hypothesis- educated guess that
tries to explain observation
3. Test or experiment
4. Conclusion (match=finished; no
match= start over again)
HISTORY OF BIOLOGY

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

 CONTRIBUTIONS

Famous Greek Philosopher

Pioneered Zoology
First to classify living things
Divided the plants into herbs, shrubs
and trees and animals into land
dwellers, water dwellers and air
dwellers
Claudius Galen (A.D. 131-200)
 CONTRIBUTIONS

Greek physician who describe the

anatomy of the human body
based on dissections of apes and
pigs.
showed that arteries carry blood
His description contained many
errors.
Andreas Versalius (1514-1564)
 CONTRIBUTIONS

Father of Modern Anatomy

Made the first studies on human
anatomy by dissecting corpses De
Humani Corporis Fabrica.
He pioneered the comparative
approach, which is using other animals
to know the function and organization
of a particular anatomical part of the
body.
William Harvey (1578-1657)
 CONTRIBUTIONS

English physician who showed

conclusively that the heart pumps
the blood and the blood circulates.
He stimulated the development of
anatomy by proving the principle
that structure and function must be
studied together.
gave an accurate account of the
mechanism of the circulatory system
William Harvey Explains Blood Circulation
Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694)
 CONTRIBUTIONS

Italian physician and anatomist who was the

founder of microscopic anatomy.
In 1661, he discovered the capillaries,
shedding light to the missing element in
Harveys theory of blood circulation.
observed the microscopic components of the
liver, brain, kidneys, spleen, bone, and the
inner, or what came to be known as the
Malpighian, layer of the skin
discover red blood corpuscles
Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1694)
 CONTRIBUTIONS

Cloth merchant, was the first to use

the microscope with great
observational and descriptive skills.
His most important discoveries were
microorganisms (including bacteria),
sperm cells and single-celled
organisms called protozoans.
CAROLUS LINNAEUS (1707-1778)
 CONTRIBUTION

Father of Taxonomy
Developed binomial nomenclature
to classify and organize plants
and animals
GREGOR MENDEL (1822-1884)
 CONTRIBUTION

Father of Genetics
Developed the principles of
heredity by studying the variation
and heredity of seven pairs of
inherited characteristics in pea
plants
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
 CONTRIBUTIONS

The most prominent figure in the

history of biology.
His book Origin of Species (1859)
presents the theory of evolution by
natural selection.
His work provided a unifying,
organizing framework for the field
of biology.
FILIPINO BIOLOGISTS

Leon Ma. Guerrero (1853-1935)

 CONTRIBUTIONS

Father of Philippine
Pharmacophytology.
He identified hundreds of trees
and herbs and sought to extract
from them certain substances
with therapeutic properties.
First to identify and describe
plants that poison fish.
Angel S. Arguelles (1888-1952)
 CONTRIBUTIONS

Taught Filipino planters and

farmers how to use fertilizers and
pesticides.
His name is listed among the
American Men of Science (He is
not an American)
 CONTRIBUTIONS
Nemesio L. Mendiola (1890-1983)
- Introduced better varieties of fruits,
vegetables and flowering plants.
- Breed a new variety of pineapple
that has the sweetness of the
Hawaiian pineapple and the high
yield of the native pineapple.
- He was referred to as the Luther
Burbank of the Philippines.
 CONTRIBUTIONS
Felix D. Maramba Sr. (1898-1983)
- Popular in the fields of agriculture and business.
- He contributed a machine that could turn rice
hull into fuels for farm engines, a charcoal and a
coconut-oil fed power generator and the biogas
technology.
- Other researches of Maramba are production of
alcohol from cassava, soap from lye, and
pelletized sludge organic fertilizer.
- He was indeed a man of ingenuity in agricultural
technology.
Juan Salcedo (1904-1988)
 CONTRIBUTIONS

Launched the biggest project in the history of

Philippine medicine the inclusion of enriched
rice in the Filipino diet.
*Enriched rice is fortified with vitamin
B1 to cure beri-beri.
He took other projects like the extensive drive to
combat mosquitoes which carry malaria germs,
and the use of the vaccine BCG to combat
tuberculosis.
He was among the first batch of national scientists
named by the National Academy of Science and
Technology (NAST).
Fe Del Mundo (1907 2011)
 CONTRIBUTIONS
Invented the incubator and the
jaundice-relieving device for babies.
She conducted an experiment on
immunization that help designate the
best age at which children should be
immunized.
She wrote many books and research
papers on pediatrics.
She was proclaimed a National Scientist
in 1980.