Microorganisms, Viruses, and Kingdoms: A Biology Overview
MICROORGANISMS
Microorganisms belong to the Monera, Protist, and Fungi kingdoms. Examples include *Escherichia coli*, *Amoeba*, and *Amanita*.
They are harmful or beneficial to humans.
Beneficial microorganisms:
- Some perform photosynthesis, providing food for other living things and releasing O2.
- Some decompose organic matter.
- Some provide us with antibiotics (which destroy harmful microorganisms such as bacteria).
- Some help plants obtain certain nutrients (bacteria as well).
- Others are used in the creation
Cereal Grains, Legumes, and Oils: Composition and Uses
Grains, Legumes, and Oils: Nutritional Significance
Grains are the most consumed food group worldwide, representing the primary source of calories for humans. In less affluent areas, they also serve as the main source of protein.
Legumes provide higher quality protein than cereals. They are rich in lysine, although they are poor in sulfur-containing amino acids. Legumes are a good complement to cereals.
Oilseeds: Their main function is oil production. They also contain protein, even more than the other
Read MoreOptical Microscopy and Cell Biology: A Practical Approach
Practice 1. First Part: Use of the Optical Microscope for the Observation of Biological Samples
The microscope’s function is threefold: 1) to produce a magnified image, 2) to separate the details, and 3) to make the details visible. The microscope includes a group of instruments that includes those made up of multiple lenses (compound microscopes) and elementary devices such as the magnifying glass (simple microscope). A typical simple microscope consists of a single biconvex lens that produces a
Read MoreGenetic Engineering and Biotechnology: Advances and Applications
Genetic Development and its Mechanisms
Genetic development has made it possible to decipher the rules governing developmental processes, such as the transformation of a fertilized ovule into an adult organism. Two Spanish scientists have helped to establish the genetic basis of this field. One of their discoveries was how animals are built in a modular form: they discovered compartments in which certain selector genes are expressed exclusively.
The development of an organism involves an initial cell
Read MoreDNA Replication and Protein Synthesis
Stages of DNA Replication
Introduction
The primosome primases open strands and start helicases, unwinding the double helix. The rest of the replisome gets together with the polymerase, forming replication forks. After opening, the DNA strands bind to SSB proteins that prevent the DNA from renaturing or forming secondary structures. Other enzymes called topoisomerases prevent kinks and the formation of super-enrollments. The DNA polymerase catalyzes the first phosphodiester bond.
Elongation
In this
Environmental Systems and Societies: Key Concepts
Definitions: Test 1
- Open system: A system that exchanges energy and matter with its surroundings.
- Closed system: A system that exchanges only energy with its surroundings.
- Isolated system: A system that doesn’t exchange anything with its surroundings.
- Transfer: Movement of energy or matter from one place to another.
- Transformation: When energy changes from one form to another.
- 1st Law of Thermodynamics: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.
- 2nd Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy increases