INTRODUCTION TO

MODERN BIOLOGY
• SCIENTIFIC METHOD
• CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
• APPLICATION OF BIOLOGY TO ENGINEERING
FIELD

LECTURE 1
 SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Scientific Inquiry in Summary

• Observations and Hypotheses

• Collection of Data
• Forming and Testing of Hypothesis
Data are recorded observations of items of information
- Qualitative data are simply descriptions.
- Quantitative data are recorded measurements
Hypothesis is a tentative answer to a query which can
lead to predictions that can be tested by
observation or experimentation.

LECTURE 1a
 Introduction
• A biology investigation usually starts with an
observation—that is, something that catches
the biologist’s attention.
• For instance, a cancer biologist might notice
that a certain kind of cancer can't be treated
with chemotherapy and wonder why this is
the case. A marine ecologist, seeing that the
coral reefs of her field sites are
bleaching—turning white—might set out to
understand why.

Observations and Hypotheses

LECTURE 1a
 The scientific method
A hypothesis is a potential answer to the question, one that can
somehow be tested. With correct collection of data the hypothesis
can be proven/disproven.

Collection of Data

LECTURE 1a
 The scientific method
Data collection is a systematic process of gathering observations or
measurements. Whether you are performing research for business,
governmental or academic purposes, data collection allows you to
gain first-hand knowledge and original insights into your research
problem.

To collect high-quality data that is relevant to your purposes, follow

these four steps

LECTURE 1a Collection of Data

 The scientific method
Before you start the process of data collection, you need to identify
exactly what you want to achieve. You can start by writing a problem
statement: what is the practical or scientific issue that you want to
address and why does it matter?

FORMULATE one or more research questions that precisely define

what you want to find out. Depending on your research questions,
you might need to collect quantitative or qualitative data

Collection of Data
LECTURE 1a /Forming and Testing of Hypothesis
 The scientific method

LECTURE 1a Quantitative or Qualitative data

 The scientific method
The results of a test may either support or refute—oppose or
contradict—a hypothesis. Results that support a hypothesis can’t
conclusively prove that it’s correct, but they do mean it’s likely to be
correct. On the other hand, if results contradict a hypothesis, that
hypothesis is probably not correct. Unless there was a flaw in the
test—a possibility we should always consider—a contradictory result
means that we can discard the hypothesis and look for a new one.

LECTURE 1a Hypothesis
 ACTIVITY
Consider this 2 example:
1. A farmer wants to maximize his/her tomato crop yield
2. Sheldon Cooper cooking the perfect fried egg
3. Suggest a research you can do at home

1. Identify independent and dependent variables

2. Provide suggestions for independent variable
3. Suggest possible positive and negative controls
4. Determine the controls will produce Qualitative or
Quantitative data.
5. Sketch a graph for this experiment
6. Suggest a follow-up experiment with a research question,
hypothesis, independent, dependent, and control variables.

>PS .Provide sources

LECTURE 1a - activity
 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
In broadest sense, biology is the study of living
things. It can be also called as the science of life from
its objective standpoint. All living things or living
organisms are studied under this division of science. It
pays attention and study on the things related to living
organisms such as organization of life, their functions,
patterns and order of organisms, growth and
development of living organisms and so on. Living
things have variety of shapes, forms and functions, and
biologists study life in many different ways from the
cell at the smallest and ecosystems at large

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
Properties of life
Biologists have identified various traits common to all
the living organisms we know of. Although nonliving
things may show some of these characteristic traits,
only living things show all of them.

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
Organization
Living things are highly organized, meaning they contain
specialized, coordinated parts. All living organisms are
made up of one or more cells, which are considered the
fundamental units of life.
Even unicellular organisms are complex! Inside each
cell, atoms make up molecules, which make up cell
organelles and structures. In multicellular organisms,
similar cells form tissues. Tissues, in turn, collaborate to
create organs (body structures with a distinct function).
Organs work together to form organ systems.

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
Organization
Living things are highly organized, meaning they contain specialized,
coordinated parts. All living organisms are made up of one or
more cells, which are considered the fundamental units of life.
Even unicellular organisms are complex! Inside each cell, atoms
make up molecules, which make up cell organelles and structures. In
multicellular organisms, similar cells form tissues. Tissues, in turn,
collaborate to create organs (body structures with a distinct
function). Organs work together to form organ systems.

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
Metabolism
Life depends on an enormous number of interlocking chemical
reactions. These reactions make it possible for organisms to do
work—such as moving around or catching prey—as well as growing,
reproducing, and maintaining the structure of their bodies. Living
things must use energy and consume nutrients to carry out the
chemical reactions that sustain life. The sum total of the biochemical
reactions occurring in an organism is called its metabolism.
Metabolism can be subdivided into anabolism and catabolism.

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
Homeostasis
Living organisms regulate their internal environment to maintain the
relatively narrow range of conditions needed for cell function. For
instance, your body temperature needs to be kept relatively close to
98.6^\circ∘degreesF (37^\circ∘degreesC). This maintenance of a
stable internal environment, even in the face of a changing external
environment, is known as homeostasis.

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
Reproduction
Living organisms can reproduce themselves to create new
organisms. Reproduction can be either asexual, involving a single
parent organism, or sexual, requiring two parents. Single-celled
organisms, like the dividing bacterium shown in the left panel of the
image at right, can reproduce themselves simply by splitting in two!

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
Response
Living organisms show “irritability,” meaning that they respond to
stimuli or changes in their environment. For instance, people pull
their hand away—fast!—from a flame; many plants turn toward the
sun; and unicellular organisms may migrate toward a source of
nutrients or away from a noxious chemical.

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
Response
Living organisms show “irritability,” meaning that they respond to
stimuli or changes in their environment. For instance, people pull
their hand away—fast!—from a flame; many plants turn toward the
sun; and unicellular organisms may migrate toward a source of
nutrients or away from a noxious chemical.

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
Evolution
Populations of living organisms can undergo evolution, meaning
that the genetic makeup of a population may change over time. In
some cases, evolution involves darwins theory of
evolution natural selection, in which a heritable trait, such as
darker fur color or narrower beak shape, lets organisms survive and
reproduce better in a particular environment. Over generations, a
heritable trait that provides a fitness advantage may become
more and more common in a population, making the
population better suited to its environment. This process is
called adaptation.

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
ACTIVITY

• Draw LIFE and atleast 6 EXAMPLE of characteristics of

life ( 1 example for each)
Can be virtual or handwork.

LECTURE 1b Characteristics of Life

 APPLICATION OF BIOLOGY TO
ENGINEERING FIELD
Bioengineering, the application of engineering knowledge to the
fields of medicine and biology. The bioengineer must be well
grounded in biology and have engineering knowledge that is broad,
drawing upon electrical, chemical, mechanical, and other
engineering disciplines.

LECTURE 1c Bioengineering
 APPLICATION OF BIOLOGY TO
ENGINEERING FIELD
Bioengineering, the application of engineering knowledge to the
fields of medicine and biology. The bioengineer must be well
grounded in biology and have engineering knowledge that is broad,
drawing upon electrical, chemical, mechanical, and other
engineering disciplines.

LECTURE 1c Bioengineering
Medical engineering. Medical engineering concerns the
application of engineering principles to medical problems,
including the replacement of damaged organs,
instrumentation, and the systems of health care, including
diagnostic applications of computers.
Agricultural engineering. This includes the application of
engineering principles to the problems of biological
production and to the external operations
and environment that influence this production.

Bionics. Bionics is the study of living systems so that the

knowledge gained can be applied to the design of physical
systems.
Biochemical engineering. Biochemical engineering includes
fermentation engineering, application of engineering
principles to microscopic biological systems that are used
to create new products by synthesis, including the
production of protein from suitable raw materials.

Human-factors engineering. This concerns the application

of engineering, physiology, and psychology to the
optimization of the human–machine relationship.
Environmental health engineering. Also called
bioenvironmental engineering, this field concerns the
application of engineering principles to the control of the
environment for the health, comfort, and safety of human
beings. It includes the field of life-support systems for the
exploration of outer space and the ocean.

Genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is concerned

with the artificial manipulation, modification, and
recombination of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or
other nucleic acid molecules in order to modify an
organism. The techniques employed in this field have led to
the production of medically important products, including
human insulin, human growth hormone, and hepatitis
B vaccine.
QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK
1. Why does the scientific inquiry involves more of the inductive reasoning
rather than
deductive reasoning?
2. Which statements below are examples of inductive reasoning?Why?
a. All flying birds and insects have wings. Birds and insects flap their wings as
they
move through the air.
b. Insects generally survive mild winters better than harsh ones.Therefore,
insect
pests will become more problematic if global temperatures increase.
c. Chromosomes, the carriers of DNA, separate into daughter cells during
cell
division. Therefore,DNA is the genetic material.
d. Animals as diverse as humans, insects , and wolves all exhibit social
behavior.
Therefore, social behavior must have an evolutionary advantage.
3. What are some of the important applications of biology in the engineering
field? Cite
at least three (3) examples and why?