Chapter. 1 Subject and tasks of general biology. Levels of organization of living matter. Topic 1. 1. General biology as a science, methods of studying connections with other sciences, its achievements. Objectives: u show the relevance of biological knowledge, identify the significance of general biology, its place in the system of biological knowledge; u introduce students to research methods in biology; u consider the sequence of the experiment; u identify the difference between a hypothesis and a law or theory.

. BIOLOGY is the science of life, its patterns and forms of manifestation, its existence and distribution in time and space. She explores the origins of life and its essence, development, interconnections and diversity. Biology refers to natural sciences. The word “biology” is literally translated as “the science (logos) of life (bio).”

Engels: “Life is a way of existence of protein bodies, the essential point of which is the constant exchange of substances with the nature surrounding them, and with the cessation of this metabolism, life also ceases, which leads to the decomposition of proteins. " Wolkenstein: "Living bodies exist on Earth, they are open, self-regulating and self-reproducing systems, built from biopolymers - proteins and nucleic acids. »

Properties of living systems 1. Metabolism - metabolism. Metabolism and energy Absorption Conversion + assimilation Release into the external environment

3. Heredity is the ability of organisms to transmit their characteristics and properties from generation to generation. Based on carriers of genetic information (DNA, RNA) 4. Variability is the ability of organisms to acquire new characteristics and properties. The basis is a change in DNA.

5. Growth and development. Growth is always accompanied by development. Development of a living form of matter Ontogenesis Individual development Phylogeny Historical development

7. Discreteness - each biological system consists of separate but interacting parts that form a structural and functional unity. 8. Self-regulation is the ability of organisms living in constantly changing environmental conditions to maintain the constancy of their chemical composition and the intensity of physiological processes - homeostasis.

9. Rhythmicity - periodic changes in the intensity of physiological functions with different periods of fluctuations (daily and seasonal) 10. Energy dependence - living bodies are systems open to the flow of energy. 11. Unity of chemical composition.

GENERAL BIOLOGY is a complex science that studies the most general properties and patterns of living matter, manifested at different levels of organization, and combines a number of special biological sciences.

Biological sciences and the aspects they study 1. Botany - studies the structure, mode of existence, distribution of plants and the history of their origin. Includes: u Mycology - the science of mushrooms u Bryology - the science of mosses u Geobotany - studies the patterns of distribution of plants over the land surface u Paleobotany - studies the fossil remains of ancient plants 2. Zoology - studies the structure, distribution and history of the development of animals. Includes: u Ichthyology - the study of fish u Ornithology - the study of birds u Ethology - the study of animal behavior

3. Morphology – studies the features of the external structure of living organisms. 4. Physiology - studies the characteristics of the life of living organisms. 5. Anatomy - studies internal structure living organisms. 6. Cytology is the science of cells. 7. Histology is the science of tissues. 8. Genetics is a science that studies the patterns of heredity and variability of living organisms. 9. Microbiology – studies the structure, mode of existence and distribution of microorganisms (bacteria, single-celled organisms) and viruses. 10. Ecology is the science of the relationships of organisms with each other and with environmental factors.

Frontier sciences: u Biophysics – explores biological structures and functions of organisms by physical methods. u Biochemistry – explores the basics of life processes and phenomena chemical methods on biological objects. u Biotechnology – studies the possibilities of using microorganisms of economic importance as raw materials, as well as the use of their special properties in production.

Research methods. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Observation (description of biological phenomena). Comparison (finding patterns). Experiment or experience (studying the properties of an object under controlled conditions). Modeling (imitation of processes that are not directly observable). Historical method. Instrumental.

Scientific research takes place in several stages: Observation of an object based on data, a hypothesis is put forward, a scientific experiment is conducted (with a control experiment), the tested hypothesis can be called a theory or law.

Levels of organization of living matter. Important properties of living systems are multilevel and hierarchical organization. The identification of levels of life organization is conditional, since they are closely related to each other and flow from one another, which speaks of the integrity of living nature.

Levels of organization Biological system Elements that form the system Molecular Organelles Atoms and molecules Cellular Cell Organoids Tissue Tissue Cells Organ Organ Tissue Organism Organism Organ systems Population Individuals Population-species Biogeocenotic Biosphere Biogeocenosis (ecosystem) Biosphere Populations Biogeocenoses (ecosystems)

Organic substances are compounds containing carbon (except carbonates). Single or double bonds arise between carbon atoms, on the basis of which carbon chains are formed. (draw - linear, branched, cyclic) Most organic matter– polymers consisting of repeating particles – monomers. Regular biopolymers are substances consisting of identical monomers, irregular biopolymers are substances consisting of different monomers. BIOPOLYMERS are natural high-molecular compounds (proteins, nucleic acids, fats, saccharides and their derivatives) that serve as structural parts of living organisms and play an important role in life processes.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Biopolymers consist of numerous units - monomers, which have a fairly simple structure. Each type of biopolymer is characterized by a specific structure and function. Biopolymers can consist of the same or different monomers. The properties of polymers appear only in a living cell. All biopolymers are a combination of only a few types of monomers, which provide all the diversity of life on Earth.

Biology (from Greek. bios- life and logo- doctrine) is the science of life. The term was proposed in 1802 by the French scientist J.B. Lamarck.

The subject of biology is life in all its manifestations: physiology, structure, individual development(ontogenesis), behavior, historical development (phylogeny, evolution), relationships between organisms and environment.

Modern biology is a complex, a system of sciences. Depending on the object of study, biological sciences are distinguished such as: the science of viruses - virology, the science of bacteria - bacteriology, the science of fungi - mycology, the science of plants - botany, the science of animals - zoology, etc. Almost each of these sciences are divided into smaller ones: the science of algae - algology, the science of mosses - bryology, the science of insects - entomology, the science of mammals - mammaliology, etc. The theoretical foundation of medicine is human anatomy and physiology. The most universal properties and patterns of development and existence of organisms and their groups are studied by general biology.

Sciences have emerged that study the general laws of life: genetics - the science of variability and heredity, ecology - the science of the relationships of organisms with each other and their environment, evolutionary science - the science of patterns historical development living matter, paleontology studies extinct organisms.

In different areas of biology, everything higher value have disciplines that connect biology with other sciences: physics, chemistry, etc. Sciences such as biophysics, biochemistry, bionics, and biocybernetics emerge. Biocybernetics (from the Greek bios - life, cybernetics - the art of control) is the science of the general laws of control and transmission of information in living systems.

Biological sciences are the basis for the development of crop production, animal husbandry, biotechnology, medicine, etc. With their help, it is possible to solve such important tasks, as providing humanity with food, overcoming diseases, stimulating body renewal processes, genetic correction of defects in people with hereditary diseases, for the introduction and acclimatization of organisms, for obtaining biologically active and medicinal substances, for the development of biological plant protection products, etc.

Stages of development of biology

Outstanding biologists: Aristotle, Theophrastus, Theodor Schwann, Matthias Schleiden, Karl M. Baer, ​​Claude Bernard, Louis Pasteur, D. I. Ivanovsky

Biology as a science arose with the need to systematize knowledge about nature, to explain accumulated knowledge and experience about the life of plants and animals. The famous ancient Greek scientist is considered the founder of biology Aristotle (384-322 BC), who laid the foundation for taxonomy, described many animals, and solved some questions of biology. His student Theophrastus (372-287 BC) founded botany.

Systematic research nature began with the Renaissance. With the accumulation of specific knowledge about nature, with the idea of ​​the diversity of organisms, the idea of ​​the unity of all living things arose. The stages of development of biology are a chain of great discoveries and generalizations that confirm this idea and reveal its content.

Development of microscopic technology since the end of the 16th century. led to the discovery of cells and tissues of living organisms. The cell theory became an important scientific evidence of the unity of living things. T. Schwanna And M. Schleiden (1839). All organisms consist of cells, which, although they have certain differences, are generally built and function the same. K. M. Baer (1792-1876) developed the theory of germinal similarity, which laid the basis for scientific explanation patterns of embryonic development. K. Bernard (1813-1878) studied the mechanisms that ensure the constancy of the internal environment of the animal body. A French scientist proved the impossibility of spontaneous generation of microorganisms L. Pasteur (1822-1895). In 1892, Russian scientists D. I. Ivanovsky (1864-1920) viruses were discovered.

Outstanding biologists: Gregor Mendel, Hugo De Vries, Karl Correns, Erich Cermak, Thomas Morgan, James Watson, Francis Crick, J. B. Lamarck

The discovery of the laws of heredity belongs to G. Mendel (1865), G. De Vries, K. Corrensu, E . Chermak (1900), T. Morgan (1910-1916). Discovery of the structure of DNA - J. Watson And F. Kriku (1953).

Outstanding biologists: Charles Darwin, A. N. Severtsov, N. I. Vavilov, Ronald Fisher, S. S. Chetverikov, N. V. Timofeev-Resovsky, I. I. Shmalgauzen

The creator of the first evolutionary doctrine was a French scientist J.B. Lamarck (1744-1829). Basics modern theory evolution was developed by an English scientist C. Darwin (1858). It received further development thanks to the achievements of genetics and population biology in scientific works A. N. Severtsova, N. I. Vavilov, R. Fischer, S. S. Chetverikova, N. V. Timofeev-Resovsky, I. I. Shmalhausen. The emergence and development of mathematical biology and biological statistics determined the work of the English biologist R. Fisher (1890-1962).

At the end of the 20th century, biotechnology, that is, the use of living organisms and biological processes in industry.

Outstanding biologists

Outstanding biologists: M. A. Maksimovich, I. M. Sechenov, K. A. Timiryazev, I. I. Mechnikov, I. P. Pavlov, S. G. Navashin, V. I. Vernadsky, D. K. Zabolotny

Wonderful scientists dedicated their lives to the development of biology.

M. A. Maksimovich (1804-1873)- founder of botany.

I. M. Sechenov (1829-1905)- founder of the physiological school, who substantiated the reflex nature of conscious and unconscious activity, creator of objective psychology of behavior, comparative and evolutionary physiology.

K. A. Timiryazev (1843-1920)- an outstanding naturalist who revealed the laws of photosynthesis as the process of using light to form organic substances in a plant.

I. I. Mechnikov (1845-1916)- one of the founders of comparative pathology, evolutionary embryology, the creator of a scientific school, who developed the phagocytic theory of immunity.

I. P. Pavlov (1849-1936)- an outstanding physiologist, creator of the doctrine of higher nervous activity, author of classic works on the theory of digestion and blood circulation.

V. I. Vernadsky (1863-1945)- founder of biogeochemistry, the study of living matter, biosphere, noosphere.

D. K. Zabolotny (1866-1929)- an outstanding microbiologist, researcher of especially dangerous infections and others.

Introduction

1. Introduction to the science of biology

2. Definition and properties of life

Introduction to the science of biology

Term biology(from Greek bios - life, logos - science) introduced into early XIX V. independently of each other J.-B. Lamarck and G. Treviranus to designate the science of life as a special natural phenomenon. Currently, it is used in a different sense, referring to groups of organisms, down to species (biology of microorganisms, biology of reindeer, human biology), biocenoses (biology of the Arctic basin), and individual structures (cell biology). Life is specific property certain systems called "living". Biology is the science of living systems.

Subject biology like academic discipline serves life in all its manifestations: structure, physiology, behavior, individual (ontogenesis) and historical (evolution, phylogeny) development of organisms, their relationship with each other and with the environment.

Modern biology is a complex, a system of sciences. Individual biological sciences or disciplines arose as a result of the process of differentiation, the gradual separation of relatively narrow areas of study and knowledge of living nature.

Biology is a science by objects of study: about animals - zoology; about plants - botany; human anatomy and physiology as the basis of medical science. Within each of these sciences there are narrower disciplines. For example, in zoology there are protozoology, entomology, helminthology and others.

Biology is classified according to the disciplines that study morphology(building) and physiology(functions) of organisms. Morphological sciences include, for example, cytology, histology, anatomy. Physiological sciences are the physiology of plants, animals and humans.

To understand the biological basis of development, life activity and ecology of specific representatives of animals and flora inevitable appeal to general issues the essence of life, the levels of its organization, the mechanisms of the existence of life in time and space. The most universal properties and patterns of development and existence of organisms and their communities are studied by general biology.

The information obtained by each of the sciences is combined, complementing and enriching each other, and is manifested in a generalized form, in patterns known by man, which either directly or with some originality (due to the social character of people) extend their effect to man.

Modern biology is characterized by complex interaction with other sciences (chemistry, physics, mathematics) and the emergence of new complex disciplines.

The second half of the 20th century is called the century of biology. Such an assessment of the role of biology in the life of mankind seems even more justified in the coming 21st century. To date, life science has obtained important results in the field of studying heredity, photosynthesis, fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by plants, synthesis of hormones and other regulators of life processes. Already in the foreseeable future, by using genetically modified plant and animal organisms and bacteria, the problems of providing people with food, medicines necessary for medicine and agriculture, biologically active substances and energy in sufficient quantities can be solved, despite population growth and a decrease in natural fuel reserves. Research in the field genomics And genetic engineering, cell biology and cellular engineering, the synthesis of growth substances open up prospects for replacing defective genes in individuals with hereditary diseases, stimulating restoration processes, controlling the reproduction and physiological death of cells and, therefore, influencing malignant growth.

Biology is one of the leading branches of natural science. A high level of its development is a necessary condition for the progress of medical science and healthcare.

The importance of biology for medicine is great. Biology - theoretical basis medicine. Doctor ancient Greece Hippocrates (460-374 BC) believed that "it is necessary that every physician should understand nature." All theoretical and practical medical sciences use general biological generalizations.

Theoretical research held in various areas biology, allow the data obtained to be used in the practical activities of medical workers. For example, the discovery of the structure of viruses that cause infectious diseases (smallpox, measles, influenza and others), and the methods of their transmission, allowed scientists to create a vaccine that prevents the spread of these diseases or reduces the risk of death from these severe infections.

Biological training plays a fundamental and increasingly important role in the structure of medical education. Being a fundamental natural science discipline, biology reveals the laws of origin and development, as well as necessary conditions preserving life as a special natural phenomenon of our planet. Man, distinguished by his undoubted originality in comparison with other living forms, nevertheless represents a natural result and stage in the development of life on Earth, therefore his very existence directly depends on general biological (molecular, cellular, systemic) mechanisms of life.

The connection between people and wildlife is not limited to historical kinship. Man has been and remains an integral part of this nature, influences it and at the same time experiences the influence of the environment. The nature of such bilateral relations affects human health.

The development of industry, agriculture, transport, population growth, intensification of production, information overload, and the complication of relationships in families and at work give rise to serious social and environmental problems: chronic psycho-emotional stress, hazardous pollution of the living environment, destruction of forests, destruction of natural communities of plant and animal organisms, reduction in the quality of recreational areas. Finding effective ways to overcome these problems is impossible without understanding the biological patterns of intraspecific and interspecific relationships of organisms, the nature of the interaction of living beings, including humans, and their habitat. What has already been noted is enough to understand that many branches of life science, even in its classical format, have obvious applied medical significance.

In fact, in our time, in solving problems of health protection and disease control, biological knowledge and “high biotechnologies” (genetic, cellular engineering) are beginning to occupy not just an important, but a truly decisive place. Indeed, the past 20th century, along with the fact that it, in accordance with the main directions scientific and technological progress, characterized by chemicalization, technicalization, and computerization of medicine, was also the century of the transformation of the latter into biomedicine.

An idea of ​​the stages of the named transformation, which started in late XIX- the beginning of the 20th century is given by the metaphor of the change of “generations of hunters”, belonging to the 1959 Nobel Prize laureate for the discovery of the mechanism of biological synthesis of nucleic acids, Arthur Kornberg. At each of the successive stages, biology enriched the world with outstanding fundamental discoveries or technologies, the further development and use of which in the interests of medicine allowed healthcare to achieve decisive successes in one or another area of ​​combating human ailments.

In the first decades of the last century, according to A. Kornberg, the leading role belonged to “hunters” of microbes, whose research results are associated with amazing achievements in global and domestic health care in solving the problem of controlling infections, especially especially dangerous ones.

In the second quarter of the 20th century, the leading position passed to “hunters” of vitamins, in the 50-60s - to enzymes, at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries - to “hunters” of genes. The above list can also be supplemented by generations of “hunters” for hormones, tissue growth factors, receptors for biologically active molecules, cells participating in the immunological surveillance of the protein and cellular composition of the body, and others. However long this list may be, it is obvious that the “hunt” for genes has a qualitatively special place in it.

These days main task such a “hunt”, which has already formed into an independent scientific and practical discipline - genomics, consists of finding out the order of nucleotide pairs in DNA molecules or, in other words, reading the DNA texts of the genomes of people (the “human genome project”) and other organisms. It is not difficult to see that research in this direction gives doctors access to the content of primary genetic information contained in the genome of each individual person ( gene diagnostics), which, in fact, determines the features of the process of individual development of the organism, many of its properties and qualities in adulthood. This access creates the prospect of targeted changes in information in order to combat diseases or predisposition to them ( gene therapy, gene prevention), as well as providing each person with biologically based recommendations for choosing, for example, the optimal region for living, type of diet, gender labor activity, in a broad sense, to designing a lifestyle in accordance with the personal genetic constitution in the interests of one’s own health.

Biology is the science of life as a special phenomenon in all its spatiotemporal manifestations.

The subject of studying biology is all manifestations of life, namely:

1. Life as a special phenomenon, the evolution of living objects

2. Iconic biological units (gene, cell, individual)

3. Natural groups of organisms (population, species)

4. Historically established communities of organisms different types(biocenosis)

5. Man as a biological object

6. The diversity of extinct and living creatures now inhabiting the Earth, their origin, individual development

7. Biotechnological designs (gene, tissue, organ engineering; therapeutic cloning)

The objectives of biology are to study general and particular patterns inherent in life at all its levels, in all its manifestations and properties: metabolism and energy, reproduction, heredity and variability, growth and development, irritability, discreteness, self-regulation, movement, etc.

At the same time, biology uses a number of methods characteristic of the natural sciences.

The main methods of biology include:

OBSERVATION to describe a biological phenomenon:

1. With the naked eye or using optical and other instruments (magnifying glass, microscope, electron microscope, differential centrifugation, X-ray diffraction analysis);

2. Visualization of living structures and processes (radiation diagnostic methods - X-ray, ultrasound, tomography).

AN EXPERIMENT during which a researcher artificially creates a situation that allows one to identify deep-lying (hidden) properties of biological objects:

1. In Vivo – used living creature. Feature – ethical problems;

2. In Vitro – living biological objects (cells, tissues, organ structures) grown outside the body under cultural conditions are used. Feature – problems of interpretation;

3. Natural “experiments” - mutations (N.I. Vavilov’s law of homologous series), deformities.

MODELING:

1. mathematical;

2. computer (drug design, including on nanocarriers);

3. biological (creation of living forms (cells, organisms) with specified properties - knock in, knock out technologies, etc.).

METHODS OF RESEARCH

comparative, which makes it possible to find patterns common to different phenomena;

historical method, allowing, based on data on modern world living things and their past, to reveal the laws of the development of living nature.

Biology is a system of sciences that can be classified in various ways.

1. Subject of study: botany, zoology, microbiology, etc.

2. By general properties living organisms:

Genetics (patterns of heredity);

Biochemistry (transformations of matter and energy);

Ecology (the relationship of living beings and their natural communities with the environment), etc.;

3. According to the level of organization of living matter, at which living systems are considered:

Molecular Biology;

Cytology;

Histology, etc.

The above classifications, of course, are not absolute. For example, the study of cells (cytology) is currently unthinkable without studying the biochemistry of the cell. A number of possible differentiations of biology as a science can be seen in the example below.

Simultaneously with this interpretation of biology, biology can also be considered as an integrative science.

We can also talk about three main directions of biology:

1. Traditional or naturalistic biology. Its object of study is wildlife in its natural state and undivided integrity - the “Temple of Nature,” as Erasmus Darwin called it. The origins of traditional biology go back to the Middle Ages, although it is quite natural to recall here the works of Aristotle, who considered issues of biology, biological progress, and tried to systematize living organisms (“the ladder of Nature”). Registration of biology in independent science– naturalistic biology dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The first stage of naturalistic biology was marked by the creation of classifications of animals and plants. These include the well-known classification of C. Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), which is a traditional systematization of the plant world, as well as the classification of J.-B. Lamarck, who applied an evolutionary approach to the classification of plants and animals. Traditional biology has not lost its importance even today. As evidence, they cite the position of ecology among the biological sciences, as well as throughout natural science. Its position and authority are currently extremely high, and it is primarily based on the principles of traditional biology, since it studies the relationships of organisms with each other (biotic factors) and with the environment (abiotic factors).

2. Functional chemical biology. A feature of physicochemical biology is the widespread use of experimental methods that make it possible to study living matter at the submicroscopic, supramolecular and molecular levels, which brings biology closer to the exact physical and chemical sciences. One of the most important branches of physical and chemical biology is molecular biology- a science that studies the structure of macromolecules that underlie living matter. Biology is often called one of the leading sciences of the 21st century.

3. Evolutionary biology. This branch of biology studies the patterns of historical development of organisms. Currently, the concept of evolutionism has become, in fact, a platform on which a synthesis of heterogeneous and specialized knowledge takes place. The basis of modern evolutionary biology is Darwin's theory. It is also interesting that Darwin in his time managed to identify such facts and patterns that have universal significance, i.e. the theory created by him is applicable to the explanation of phenomena occurring not only in living, but also inanimate nature. Currently, the evolutionary approach has been adopted by all natural sciences. At the same time, evolutionary biology– an independent field of knowledge, with its own problems, research methods and development prospects.

Currently, attempts are being made to synthesize these three areas of biology and form an independent discipline - theoretical biology.

4. Theoretical biology. The goal of theoretical biology is to understand the most fundamental and general principles, laws and properties underlying living matter. The basis of theoretical biology in any case is the development of the evolutionary approach, and thus theoretical biology can be considered as a further development of evolutionary biology.

Biology is based on 4 axioms that characterize life and distinguish it from “non-life”.

Axiom 1

All living organisms must consist of a phenotype and a program for its construction (genotype), which is inherited from generation to generation. It is not the structure that is inherited, but the description of the structure and instructions for its manufacture. Life based on only one genotype or one phenotype is impossible, because in this case, it is impossible to ensure either the self-reproduction of the structure or its self-maintenance. (D. Neumann, N. Wiener)

Axiom 2

Genetic programs do not arise anew, but are replicated in a matrix manner. The gene of the previous generation is used as a template on which the gene of the future generation is built. Life is a matrix copying followed by self-assembly of copies. (N.K. Koltsov)

Axiom 3

In the process of transmission from generation to generation, genetic programs, as a result of many reasons, change randomly and undirectedly, and only by chance these changes turn out to be adaptive. The selection of random changes is not only the basis of the evolution of life, but also the reason for its formation, because without mutations selection does not operate.

Axiom 4

During the formation of the phenotype, random changes in genetic programs are amplified many times over, which makes their selection possible by factors external environment. Due to the increase in random changes in phenotypes, the evolution of living nature is fundamentally unpredictable. (N.V. Timofeev-Resovsky)

The question of the essence of life is still one of the central questions of natural science, the answer to which varies depending on the point of view. However, all researchers recognize one common integral property of living things - its systemic nature, or systematicity

A biological (living) system is understood as a set of interacting elements that forms an integral object that has new qualities that are not characteristic of the qualities of the elements included in the system.

Thus, a living, holistic system has the following qualities:

· multiplicity of elements,

· the presence of connections between elements and with the environment,

· coordinated organization of relationships between elements both in space and time, aimed at implementing the functions of the system.

Taking into account all that has been said, we can say that