Spring2013_Lab2

Administrative notes:

Worksheet 1 is due Tuesday by the end of class, and quiz 1 will happen at the beginning of class on Tuesday.

Lecture notes:


 * **Cellular theory** of life!
 * The functional unit of living things is: "The Cell".
 * A cell is fluid filled and surrounded by a membrane that is doulbe-walled and made of fat (the lipid bilayer).
 * If something is alive, then it has cells
 * Note: we haven't actually talked about "what is life" (see at the bottom of these notes).
 * This is also a hypothesis (a prediction or educated guess)!
 * Are there any exceptions to this rule?
 * **Types of living things:**
 * Prokaryotes. (pronounced "pro-carry-oats")
 * Prokaryotes are complex,but their physiology is usually simple and repetetive. They usually reproduce relatively quickly, compared to some eukaryotes.
 * All prokaryotes lack a nucleus that is surrounded by a lipid membrane
 * Eukaryotes. ("yew-carry-oats")
 * Some eukaryotes are similar in structure to prokaryotes, and some are not (e.g., we are eukaryotes).
 * Eukaryotes have a nucleus with a membrane.
 * Other
 * Archea are a group of single-celled organisms that share some of the characterisitcs of prokaryotes, and some of the characteristics of eukaryotes.
 * They usually live in extreme environements (e.g., thermal vents in the deep ocean).
 * **Organelles**= "little organs"
 * Organelles perform specific functions for the cell, similar to how different departments in a corporate factory perform different functions to support the life of the company.
 * Note the structure of the different organelles that we saw in class after we stained the cells.
 * **Biological life** (insofar as this class is concerned) requires the ability to acquire resources for the //current// generation (usually the individual themselves) (e.g., food, shelter), and acquire resources for the //next//generation (e.g., cloning, sexual reproduction)
 * Without resources for the current generation (food, shelter, etc.), individuals will die.
 * Without resources for the next generation (viable eggs/sperm in sexually reproducing parents, food/energy for the offspring, enough cytoplasm for budding in yeast), then the species may go extinct, if enough individuals can't reproduce.
 * Note: These are also hypotheses, but written in a different way.

Symbiotic relationships. There are many types of symbiotic relationships, and the lab book explains them on page 27. Here, it describes a "symbiont" and a "host". When two species interact into a symbiotic relationship, usually one initiates the relationship. In the lab book, the species which initiates the relationship is called the "symbiont", and the other species is the "host". Types of symbiotic relationships included predation/parasitism, mutualism and commensuralism. Each of these types of symbiotic relationships has different effects on the symbiont and the host. Know these different kinds of relationships and how to differentiate one from the other, based on the chart on page 27.

- Cool video of a sea slug incorporating chlorophyll into it's body!