1A Themes in Biology

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DNA

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Deoxyribonucleic acid: a long linear polymer shaped like a double helix; contains genetic information cells can use to make proteins; can be replicated and inherited

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Emergent properties

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New properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases.

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Evolution

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Descent with modification; a change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation.

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Eukaryotic Cell

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A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with eukaryotic cells (protists, plants, fungi, and animals) are called eukaryotes.

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Prokaryotic Cell

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A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with prokaryotic cells (bacteria and archaea) are called prokaryotes.

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Biosphere

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The entire portion of Earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet's ecosystems.

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Ecosystems

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All the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact; one or more communities and the physical environment around them.

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Community

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All the organisms that inhabit a particular area; an assemblage of populations of different species living close enough together for potential interaction.

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Population

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A group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area and interbreed, producing fertile offspring.

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Organism

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A creature such as a plant, animal or a single-celled life form, or something that has interdependent parts and that is being compared to a living creature.