Bio 10: Intro to BiologyInstructor: Paul Nagami

Laney College

August 28, 2013

The What, How, and Whyof Biology

(Image credit: Public domainvia Wikipedia)

(Image credit: Jewish Chronicle Archive/

Heritage Images)

Sign-In Sheet• A sign-in sheet is going around now! If

you are enrolled in the Wednesday lab section, print your name in that column. If you are enrolled in the Friday lab section, print your name in that column.

• If you are not enrolled, you may write your name on a waiting list.

• I won’t be able to hand out add permits today! My Peralta e-mail isn’t working yet.

Introduce Yourselves!• At every table, you’ll find an index card.• Please write the following on your card:– Your name–Where you were born– Your preferred e-mail address– Are you enrolled in the class already?– One cool/unique fact about youThen share your name and fact with a

neighbor!

What Does Biology Have to Do with Life?

Rosalind Franklin, 1920-1958

“You look at science (or at least talk of it) as some sort of demoralizing invention of man, something apart from real life, and which must be cautiously guarded and kept separate from everyday existence. But science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated. Science, for me, gives a partial explanation for life.”

What do we mean by “life?”

Too Many Dead TreesYou should have the following:

• Course Syllabus• Biology Writing Assessment Grading Chart

• Checklist of things to do• Due next week!

• Essay Outline Page

• Grading Sheet

Which of the following is/are alive?

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A

B

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CD

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E

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Structure and FunctionStructure:

How the pieces of an organism are arranged

Function:What those pieces do

Living things have order and are made of

cells.

Living things contain DNA.

Living things take in and release energy.

Living things reproduce and evolve.

Living things respond to their environment.

Living things regulate themselves (perform

homeostasis)

“Life as an event lies in a combination of chemical stuffs exhibiting physical properties; and it is in this combination, i.e., its behavior and activities, and in it alone that we can seek life."

Ernest Everett Just, 1883-1941

The Organization of LifeTry to organize the following from smallest to largest:

A) A human egg cell

B) A molecule of sugar

C) HIV

D) The protein hemoglobin

E) An E. coli bacterium

F) A molecule of water

G) An atom of hydrogen

H) The world’s smallest adult insect

Atoms are made of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Molecules are made of atoms.

Proteins and DNA are big molecules.

Viruses and cells contain many proteins.

Animals contain many cells.

The GostakThe gostak distims the doshes.

What is a gostak?

A) A fnorgle of unusual vaxillosity.

B) Something that gloobs.

C) What distims the doshes.

D) None of the above.

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Learn the vocab, but…

…if all you’re

learning is vocab, you’re

a gostakologist

.

Don’t get trapped in the golden

cage of shiny words!

The Organization of Life

This course moves from the smallest

levels of organization

to the largest!

What is “science?”How do we do science?

Science is…

•The study of the universe• Collecting and comparing information• A way of testing hypotheses• Coming up with explanations• A set of rules for how things work

Hypotheses:

People got sick because of contaminated water….?Perhaps because of radioactivity? Or other A-Bomb contamination?

Oil?New virus?

Transmissible cat disease?New mutation?

What were the fish eating?Mercury?

A Striking Observation: The Dancing Cats of Minamata

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Symptoms included numbness in limbs and lips, followed by slurred speech, and constricted vision. Some people developed serious brain damage and lapsed into unconsciousness or suffered from involuntary movements. Some victims developed acute dementia and shouted uncontrollably. Children born to mothers that ate fish were deformed and mentally impaired. People also thought the local house cats were going insane as well when they witnessed so called "cat suicides" in which cats seemingly jumped into the ocean and drowned.”(Source: http://www.hgtech.com/Information/Minamata_Japan.html, accessed August 25, 2011)

What caused this disease?

Work with your neighbors to come up with several possible hypotheses.

In this class, a hypothesis should be a “because” statement – an educated guess as to why something happened.

From Hypotheses to Predictions

If your hypotheses are testable, it should be possible to make falsifiable predictions based on them.

Testable: “A pollutant in the air caused the disease; air filters would stop it.”

Untestable: “It happened just because.” “Undetectable causes, such as ghosts.”

From Prediction to Experiment!

Why Work this Way?• It helps keep us from fooling ourselves!

• Allows us to learn even (or especially) when our hypothesis is wrong. Lets us develop theories (models that explain lots of data.)

• Not a guarantee against bad experiments…

Know Biology to Know Yourselves!

But ultimately…• It isn’t the place of science to answer the most personal “why” questions.