Biology, Karl Irvin Baguio [the speed reading book txt] 📗

in water. Plants often store fats in their seeds, and animals store fats in large, clear globules in the cells of adipose tissue. The fats in adipose tissue contain much concentrated energy. Hence, they serve as a reserve energy supply to the organism. The enzyme lipase breaks down fats into fatty acids and glycerol in the human digestive system.

 

 

Figure 2-3     A fat molecule is constructed by combining a glycerol molecule with three fatty acid molecules. (Two saturated fatty acids and one unsaturated fatty acid are shown for comparison.) The constructed molecule is at the bottom.

 

 

Proteins

 

Proteins, among the most complex of all organic compounds, are composed of amino acids (see Figure 2-4), which contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. Certain amino acids also have sulfur atoms, phosphorus, or other trace elements such as iron or copper.

 

 

 

Figure 2-4     The structure and chemistry of amino acids. When two amino acids are joined in a dipeptide, the –OH of one amino acid is removed, and the –H of the second is removed. So, water is removed. A dipeptide bond (right) forms to join the amino acids together

 

Many proteins are immense and extremely complex. However, all proteins are composed of long chains of relatively simple amino acids. There are 20 kinds of amino acids. Each amino acid (see the left illustration in Figure 2-4) has an amino (–NH2) group, a carboxyl (–COOH) group, and a group of atoms called an –R group (where R stands for radical). The amino acids differ depending on the nature of the –R group, as shown in the middle illustration of Figure 2-4. Examples of amino acids are alanine, valine, glutamic acid, tryptophan, tyrosine, and histidine.

 

The removal of water molecules links amino acids to form a protein. The process is called dehydration synthesis, and a by-product of the synthesis is water. The links forged between the amino acids are peptide bonds, and small proteins are often called peptides.

 

All living things depend on proteins for their existence. Proteins are the major molecules from which living things are constructed. Certain proteins are dissolved or suspended in the watery substance of the cells, while others are incorporated into various structures of the cells. Proteins are also found as supporting and strengthening materials in tissues outside of cells. Bone, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments are all composed of proteins.

 

One essential function of proteins is as an enzyme. Enzymes catalyze the chemical reactions that take place within cells. They are not used up in a reaction; rather, they remain available to catalyze succeeding reactions.

 

Every species manufactures proteins unique to that species. The information for synthesizing the unique proteins is located in the nucleus of the cell. The so-called genetic code specifies the amino acid sequence in proteins. Hence, the genetic code regulates the chemistry taking place within a cell. Proteins also can serve as a reserve source of energy for the cell. When the amino group is removed from an amino acid, the resulting compound is energy-rich.

 

Nucleic acids

 

Like proteins, nucleic acids are very large molecules. The nucleic acids are composed of smaller units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a carbohydrate molecule (sugar), a phosphate group, and a nitrogen-containing molecule that, because of its properties, is a nitrogenous base.

 

Living organisms have two important nucleic acids. One type is deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. The other is ribonucleic acid, or RNA. DNA is found primarily in the nucleus of the cell, while RNA is found in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm, a semiliquid substance that composes the volume of the cell (see Chapter 3).

 

DNA and RNA differ from one another in their components. DNA contains the carbohydrate deoxyribose, while RNA has ribose. In addition, DNA contains the base thymine, while RNA has uracil.

 

Elements and Atoms

 

For many centuries, biology was the study of the natural world. Biologists searched for unidentified plants and animals, classified them, and studied their anatomy and how they acted in nature. Then in the 1700s, scientists discovered the chemical and physical bases of living things. They soon realized that the chemical organization of all living things is remarkably similar.

 

Elements

 

All living things on Earth are composed of fundamental building blocks of matter called elements. More than 100 elements are known to exist, including those that are man-made. An element is a substance that cannot be chemically decomposed. Oxygen, iron, calcium, sodium, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen are examples of elements.

 

Atoms

 

Each element is composed of one particular kind of atom. An atom is the smallest part of an element that can enter into combinations with atoms of other elements.

 

Atoms consist of positively charged particles called protons surrounded by negatively charged particles called electrons. A third type of particle, a neutron, has no electrical charge; it has the same weight as a proton. Protons and neutrons adhere tightly to form the dense, positively charged nucleus of the atom. Electrons spin around the nucleus.

 

The electron arrangement in an atom plays an essential role in the chemistry of the atom. Atoms are most stable when their outer shell of electrons has a full quota. The first electron shell has a maximum of two electrons. The second and all other outer shells have a maximum of eight electrons. Atoms tend to gain or lose electrons until their outer shells have a stable arrangement. The gaining or losing of electrons, or the sharing of electrons, contributes to the chemical reactions in which an atom participates.

 

 

 

Chapter 3: Bilogy of Cells

  Cells Defined

 

One of the basic tenets of biology is that all living things are composed of one or more cells. Some organisms consist of a single cell, while others have multiple cells organized into tissues, and tissues organized into organs. In many living things, organs function together as an organ system. However, even in these complex organisms, the basic biology revolves around the activities of the cell.

 

One of the first scientists to observe cells was Englishman Robert Hooke. In the mid-1600s, Hooke examined a thin slice of cork through the newly developed microscope. The microscopic compartments in the cork impressed him and reminded him of rooms in a monastery, known as cells. He therefore referred to the units as cells. Later in that century, Anton Van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch merchant, made further observations of plant, animal, and microorganism cells. In 1838, German botanist Matthias Schleiden proposed that all plants are composed of cells. A year later, his colleague, anatomist Theodor Schwann, concluded that all animals are also composed of cells. In 1858, biologist Rudolf Virchow proposed that all living things are made of cells and that all cells arise from preexisting cells. These premises have come down to us as the cell theory.

 

 

 

 

Movement through the Plasma Membrane

 

In order for the cell cytoplasm to communicate with the external environment, materials must be able to move through the plasma membrane. This movement occurs through several mechanisms.

 

Diffusion

 

One method of movement through the membrane is diffusion. Diffusion is the movement of molecules from a region of higher concentration to one of lower concentration. This movement occurs because the molecules are constantly colliding with one another. The net movement of the molecules is away from the region of high concentration to the region of low concentration.

 

Diffusion is a random movement of molecules down the pathway called the concentration gradient. Molecules are said to move down the concentration gradient because they move from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. A drop of dye placed in a beaker of water illustrates diffusion as the dye molecules spread out and color the water.

 

Osmosis

 

Another method of movement across the membrane is osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of water from a region of higher concentration to one of lower concentration. Osmosis occurs across a membrane that is semipermeable. A semipermeable membrane lets only certain molecules pass through while keeping other molecules out. Osmosis is really a type of diffusion involving only water molecules.

 

Facilitated diffusion

 

A third mechanism for movement across the plasma membrane is facilitated diffusion. Certain proteins in the membrane assist facilitated diffusion by permitting only certain molecules to pass across the membrane. The proteins encourage movement in the direction that diffusion would normally take place, from a region with a higher concentration of molecules to a region of lower concentration.

 

Active transport

 

A fourth method for movement across the membrane is active transport. When active transport is taking place, a protein moves a certain material across the membrane from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration. Because this movement is happening against the concentration gradient, the cell must expend energy that is usually derived from a substance called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP (see Chapter 4). An example of active transport occurs in human nerve cells. Here, sodium ions are constantly transported out of the cell into the external fluid bathing the cell, a region of high concentration of sodium. (This transport of sodium sets up the nerve cell for the impulse that will occur within it later.)

 

Endocytosis and exocytosis

 

The final mechanism for movement across the plasma membrane into the cell is endocytosis, a process in which a small patch of plasma membrane encloses particles or tiny volumes of fluid that are at or near the cell surface. The membrane enclosure then sinks into the cytoplasm and pinches off from the membrane, forming a vesicle that moves into the cytoplasm. When the vesicle contains solid particulate matter, the process is called phagocytosis. When the vesicle contains droplets of fluid, the process is called pinocytosis. Along with the other mechanisms for transport across the plasma membrane, endocytosis ensures that the internal cellular environment will be able to exchange materials with the external environment and that the cell will continue to thrive and function. Exocytosis is the reverse of endocytosis, where internally produced substances are enclosed in vesicles and fuse with the cell membrane, releasing the contents to the exterior of the cell.

 

 

The Structure of Prokaryote and Eukaryote Cells

During the 1950s, scientists developed the concept that all organisms may be classified as prokaryotes or eukaryotes. The cells of all prokaryotes and eukaryotes possess two basic features: a plasma membrane, also called a cell membrane, and cytoplasm. However, the cells of prokaryotes are simpler than those of eukaryotes. For example, prokaryotic cells lack a nucleus, while eukaryotic cells have a nucleus. Prokaryotic cells lack internal cellular bodies (organelles), while eukaryotic cells possess them. Examples of prokaryotes are bacteria and archaea. Examples of eukaryotes are protists, fungi, plants, and animals (everything except prokaryotes).

 

Plasma membrane

 

All prokaryote and eukaryote cells have plasma membranes. The plasma membrane (also known as the cell membrane) is the outermost cell surface, which separates the cell from the external environment. The plasma membrane is composed primarily of proteins and lipids, especially phospholipids. The lipids occur in two layers (a bilayer). Proteins embedded in the bilayer appear to float within the lipid, so the membrane is constantly in flux. The membrane is therefore referred to as a fluid mosaic structure. Within the fluid mosaic structure, proteins carry out most of the membrane’s functions.

 

The “Movement through the Plasma Membrane” section later in this chapter describes the process by which materials pass between the interior and exterior of a cell.

 

Cytoplasm and organelles

 

All prokaryote and eukaryote cells also have cytoplasm (or cytosol), a semiliquid substance that composes the volume