What is life

What is Life?• Composed of organic compounds • Resistance to entropy disorder – Requires energy must be able to gather and process metabolize energy • Ability to maintain a controlled en

A Short Summary

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Tardigrade

What is Life?

• Composed of organic compounds

• Resistance to entropy (disorder)

– Requires energy (must be able to gather and process (metabolize) energy)

• Ability to maintain a controlled environment

– Requires ability to be isolated from environment

• Information storage

• Self replication

– Including ability to pass on information

• Ability to adapt to its environment

Why Carbon?

• Small and Abundant

• 4th most abundant element in the Solar System

• Bonds with a lot of different atoms

• Forms lots of different organic compounds

• Forms long chains (polymers)

• Forms very strong bonds

• Hard to destroy (Stable)

• Bonds “store” a lot of energy

• Forms compounds that are

Life on Earth:

Organic Compounds

Types of Organic Compounds

1 Lipids - (H,C (hydrocarbons))

 Fats and Oils

 cell membranes & energy storage

2 Carbohydrates - (C, H, O)

 Sugars, Starches and Cellulose

 energy storage & structure

Life on Earth:

Organic Compounds

Types of Organic Compounds

3 Amino Acids  Proteins - (C, H, O, N, S)

 Enzymes - catalysts for chemical reactions

 also Hair, silk, fingernails, etc.

4 Nucleic Acids - (C, H, O, N, P)

 DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

Organic Compounds

Cells Organisms

Not Alive

Alive

Life on Earth:

Controlled Environment

Cell

Eukaryote Prokaryote

Prokaryote - E coli

• Small (<5µm)

• No nucleus

• Unicellular

Life on Earth:

Controlling Entropy

Gathering Energy

PhotosynthesisCarbon Dioxide + Water + Sunlight > Sugar + Oxygen

ChemosynthesisHydrogen Sulfide + Carbon Dioxide + Water + Oxygen

+ Geothermal Heat > Sugar + Sulfuric Acid

Chloroplasts

Life on Earth:

Controlling Entropy

Releasing Energy

RespirationSugar + Oxygen > Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy

Mitochondria

Life on Earth: Information

Storage

DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid

RNA - Ribonucleic Acid

Chromosomes

Human Chromosomes

Chromosome Numbers

Life on Earth: Information

Storage

DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid

RNA - Ribonucleic Acid

The Universal Genetic Code

DNA Translation

Instructions: How to make proteins from amino acids

Genetics Produce Variety

Life on

Earth:

Self

Replication

Life on Earth: Self Replication

What is Life? (Reminder)

• Composed of organic compounds

• Resistance to entropy (disorder)

– Requires energy (must be able to gather and process (metabolize) energy)

• Ability to maintain a controlled environment

– Requires ability to be isolated from environment

• Information storage

• Self replication

– Including ability to pass on information

How is Life Organized:

Homo sapiens sapiens

AnimaliaChordataOsteichthyesSalmoniformesSalmonidae

Onchorhynchus tshawytscha

PlantaePinophytaPinopsidaPinalesCupressaceae

Sequoia sempervirens

Kingdoms of Life

Single Celled - prokaryotes and eukaryotes

• Archaea (“extremophiles”)

• Bacteria (“germs” & blue-green algae)

• Protista (one-celled eukaryotes)

Metazoans - multicellular, eukaryotes

• Fungi

• Plantae

Extremophiles (Archea)

Cryophiles

Bacteria

Protista

Fungi

Plantae

• Arthropoda (Crabs, Insects, Spiders)

• Annelida (Segmented Worms)

• Mollusca (Clams, Snails, Cephalopods)

• Echonodermata (Starfish, Sea Urchins)

• Chordata (Fish, Birds, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals)

Porifera & Cnideria

Flatworms &

Arthropoda

Annelida & Mollusca

Echondermata

& Chordata