Created by: CK-12/Adapted by: Christine Miller

Figure 1.2.1 Getting vaccinated.

Ouch!

The person in Figure 1.2.1 is getting a flu vaccine. You probably know that getting a vaccine can hurt — but it’s usually worth it. A vaccine contains dead or altered forms of germs that normally cause a disease, such as flu or measles. The germs in vaccines have been inactivated or weakened so they can no longer cause illness, but are still “noticed” by the immune system.

They stimulate the immune system to produce chemicals that can kill the actual germs if they enter the body, thus preventing future disease. How was such an ingenious way to prevent disease discovered? The short answer is more than two centuries of science.

Figure 1.2.2 A young child in Bangladesh is covered with skin lesions from smallpox. Until it was eradicated, this highly contagious infection caused many deaths, and those that survived were often severely scarred for life.

Science as Process

You may think of science as a large and detailed body of knowledge, but science is also the process by which this knowledge is obtained. Science uses experimentation, evidence, and logic to continuously test ideas. Over time and through repeated experimentation and testing, scientific knowledge advances.

We’ve been accumulating knowledge of vaccines for more than two centuries. The discovery of the first vaccine, as well as the process of vaccination, dates back to 1796. An English doctor named Edward Jenner observed that people who became infected with cowpox did not get sick from smallpox, a similar but much more severe disease (Figure 1.2.2). Jenner decided to transmit cowpox to a young boy to see if it would protect him from smallpox. He gave the boy cowpox by scratching liquid from cowpox sores into the boy’s skin. Then, six weeks later, he scratched liquid from smallpox sores into the boy’s skin. As Jenner predicted, the boy did not get sick from smallpox. Jenner had discovered the first vaccine, although additional testing was needed to show that it really was effective.

Almost a century passed before the next vaccine was discovered, a vaccine for cholera in 1879. Around the same time, French chemist Louis Pasteur found evidence that many human diseases are caused by germs, which earned him the title of “father of germ theory.” Since Pasteur’s time, vaccines have been discovered for scores of additional diseases caused by germs, and scientists are currently researching vaccines for many others.

Medical advances such as the discovery of vaccines are one of the most important benefits of science, but science and scientific knowledge are also crucial for most other human endeavors. Science is needed to design safe cars, predict storms, control global warming, develop new technologies of many kinds, help couples have children, and put humans on the moon. Clearly, the diversity of applications of scientific knowledge is vast!

Attributions

Figure 1.2.1

Vacina, centro de vacinação, by Hyttalo Souza on Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license). 

Figure 1.2.2

Child with Smallpox/ID#3265, by CDC/ James Hicks, from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

References

TED-Ed. (2013, October 28). How we conquered the deadly smallpox virus – Simona Zompi.  YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqUFy-t4MlQ&feature=youtu.be

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, August 9). Edward Jenner. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edward_Jenner&oldid=971970576

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, August 5). Louis Pasteur. In Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louis_Pasteur&oldid=971330056

Science is a distinctive way of gaining knowledge about the natural world that starts with a question and then tries to answer the question using evidence and logic. It is an exciting exploration of all the whys and hows that any curious person might ask about the world. You can be part of that exploration! Besides your curiosity, all you need is a basic understanding of how scientists think and how science is done. In this concept, you’ll learn how to think like a scientist.

Thinking Like a Scientist

Thinking like a scientist rests on certain underlying assumptions. Scientists assume that:

Nature Is Understandable

Scientists think of nature as a single system controlled by natural laws. By discovering natural laws, scientists strive to increase their understanding of the natural world. Laws of nature are expressed as scientific laws. A scientific law is a statement that describes what always happens under certain conditions in nature.

Scientific Ideas Are Open to Change

Science is both a process and body of knowledge. Scientific knowledge is generated through systematic processes, such as observation and experimentation. Scientists are always testing and revising their ideas, and as new observations are made, existing ideas may be challenged. Ideas may be replaced with new ideas that better fit the facts, but more often, existing ideas are simply revised. Through many new discoveries over time, scientists gradually build an increasingly accurate and detailed understanding of the natural world.

Scientific Knowledge May Be Long Lasting

Many scientific ideas have stood the test of time. About 200 years ago, the scientist John Dalton proposed atomic theory — the theory that all matter is made of tiny particles called atoms. This theory is still valid today. During the two centuries since the theory was first proposed, scientists have learned a lot more about atoms and the even smaller particles that compose them. Nonetheless, the idea that all matter consists of atoms remains valid. There are many other examples of basic scientific ideas that have been tested repeatedly and proven sound. You will learn about many of them as you study human biology.

Not All Questions Can be Answered by Science

Science rests on evidence and logic, and evidence comes from observations. Therefore, science deals only with things that can be observed. An observation is anything that is detected through human senses or with instruments or measuring devices that extend human senses. Things that cannot be observed or measured by current means — such as supernatural beings or events — are outside the bounds of science. Consider these two questions about life on Earth:

• Did life on Earth evolve over time?
• How did life on Earth originate?

The first question can be answered by science on the basis of scientific evidence (such as fossils and logical arguments). The second question could be a matter of belief, but no evidence can be gathered to support or refute it. Therefore, it is outside the realm of science.

Science is as much about doing as knowing. Scientists are always trying to learn more and gain a better understanding of the natural world. There are basic methods of gaining knowledge that are common to all of science. At the heart of science is the scientific investigation. A scientific investigation is a systematic approach to answering questions about the physical and natural world. Scientific investigations can be observational —  for example, observing a cell under a microscope and recording detailed descriptions. Other scientific investigations are experimental — for example, treating a cell with a drug while recording changes in the behavior of the cell.

The flow chart below shows the typical steps followed in an experimental scientific investigation. The series of steps shown in the flow chart is frequently referred to as the scientific method. Science textbooks often present this simple, linear “recipe” for a scientific investigation. This is an oversimplification of how science is actually done, but it does highlight the basic plan and purpose of an experimental scientific investigation: testing ideas with evidence. Each of the steps in the flow chart is discussed in greater detail below.

Figure 1.4.1 The Scientific Method is a never ending cycle.

Science is actually a complex endeavor that cannot be reduced to a single, linear sequence of steps, like the instructions on a package of cake mix. Real science is nonlinear, iterative (repetitive), creative, unpredictable, and exciting. Scientists often undertake the steps of an investigation in a different sequence, or they repeat the same steps many times as they gain more information and develop new ideas. Scientific investigations often raise new questions as old ones are answered. Successive investigations may address the same questions, but at ever deeper levels. Alternatively, an investigation might lead to an unexpected observation that sparks a new question and takes the research in a completely different direction.

Knowing how scientists “do” science can help you in your everyday life, even if you aren’t a scientist. Some steps of the scientific process — such as asking questions and evaluating evidence — can be applied to answering real-life questions and solving practical problems.

Figure 1.4.2 Health professionals use many tools in order to make observations.

Testing an idea typically begins with observations. An observation is anything that is detected through human senses or with instruments or measuring devices that enhance human senses. We usually think of observations as things we see with our eyes, but we can also make observations with our sense of touch, smell, taste, or hearing. In addition, we can extend and improve our own senses with instruments such as thermometers and microscopes. Other instruments can be used to sense things that human senses cannot detect at all, such as ultraviolet light or radio waves.

Figure 1.4.3 Alexander Fleming examining bacterial growth.

Sometimes, chance observations lead to important scientific discoveries. One such observation was made by the Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming (pictured below) in the 1920s. Fleming’s name may sound familiar to you because he is famous for a major discovery. Fleming had been growing a certain type of bacteria on glass plates in his lab when he noticed that one of the plates was contaminated with mold. On closer examination, Fleming observed that the area around the mold was free of bacteria.

Asking Questions

Observations often lead to interesting questions. This is especially true if the observer is thinking like a scientist. Having scientific training and knowledge is also useful. Relevant background knowledge and logical thinking help make sense of observations so the observer can form particularly salient questions. Fleming, for example, wondered whether the mold — or some substance it produced — had killed bacteria on the plate. Fortunately for us, Fleming didn’t just throw out the mold-contaminated plate. Instead, he investigated his question and in so doing, discovered the antibiotic penicillin.

Typically, the next step in a scientific investigation is to form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a possible answer to a scientific question. But it isn’t just any answer. A hypothesis must be based on scientific knowledge. In other words, it shouldn’t be at odds with what is already known about the natural world. A hypothesis also must be logical, and it is beneficial if the hypothesis is relatively simple. In addition, to be useful in science, a hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable. In other words, it must be possible to subject the hypothesis to a test that generates evidence for or against it. It must also be possible to make observations that would disprove the hypothesis if it really is false.

For example, Fleming’s hypothesis might have been: “A particular kind of bacteria growing on a plate will die when exposed to a particular kind of mold.” The hypothesis is logical and based directly on observations. The hypothesis is also simple, involving just one type each of mold and bacteria growing on a plate. In addition, hypotheses are subject to “if/then” conditions. Thus, Fleming might have stated, “If a certain type of mold is introduced to a particular kind of bacteria growing on a plate, then the bacteria will die.” This makes the hypothesis easy to test and ensures that it is falsifiable. If the bacteria were to grow in the presence of the mold, it would disprove the hypothesis (assuming the hypothesis is really false).

Hypothesis testing is at the heart of the scientific method. How would Fleming test his hypothesis? He would gather relevant data as evidence. Evidence is any type of data that may be used to test a hypothesis. Data (singular, datum) are essentially just observations. The observations may be measurements in an experiment or just something the researcher notices. Testing a hypothesis then involves using the data to answer two basic questions:

1. If my hypothesis is true, what would I expect to observe?
2. Does what I actually observe match what I expected to observe?

A hypothesis is supported if the actual observations (data) match the expected observations. A hypothesis is refuted if the actual observations differ from the expected observations.

The scientific method is employed by scientists around the world, but it is not always conducted in the order above. Sometimes, hypothesis are formulated before observations are collected; sometimes observations are made before hypothesis are created. Regardless, it is important that scientists record their procedures carefully, allowing others to reproduce and verify the experimental data and results. After many experiments provide results supporting a hypothesis, the hypothesis becomes a theory. Theories remain theories forever, and are constantly being retested with every experiment and observation. Theories can never become fact or law.

In science, a law is a mathematical relationship that exists between observations under a given set of conditions. There is a fundamental difference between observations of the physical world and explanations of the nature of the physical world. Hypotheses and theories are explanations, whereas laws and measurements are observational

References

TED-Ed. (2012, Mar 13). How simple ideas lead to scientific discoveries. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8UFGu2M2gM

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, July 7). Alexander Fleming. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexander_Fleming&oldid=966489433

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by: Christine Miller

What Is a Scientific Theory?

Germ theory, which is described in detail below, is one of several scientific theories you will read about in human biology. A scientific theory is a broad explanation for events. Scientific theories are widely accepted by the scientific community. To become a theory, an explanation must be strongly supported by a great deal of evidence.

People commonly use the word theory to describe a guess or hunch about how or why something happens. For example, you might say, “I think a woodchuck dug this hole in the ground, but it’s just a theory.” Using the word theory in this way is different from the way it is used in science. A scientific theory is not just a guess or hunch that may or may not be true. In science, a theory is an explanation that has a high likelihood of being correct because it is so well supported by evidence.

What is the difference between a scientific law and theory? by Matt Anticole, TEDEd, 2015

Germ Theory: A Human Biology Example

Figure 1.5.1 Girolamo Fracastoro made the first clear statement of the germ theory of disease.

The germ theory of disease states that contagious diseases are caused by germs, or microorganisms, which are organisms that are too small to be seen without magnification. Microorganisms which cause disease are called pathogens. Human pathogens include bacteria and viruses, among other microscopic entities. When pathogens invade humans or other living hosts, they grow, reproduce, and make their hosts sick. Diseases caused by germs are contagious because the microorganisms that cause them can spread from person to person.

First Statement of Germ Theory

Germ theory was first clearly stated by an Italian physician named Girolamo Fracastoro (pictured in Figure 1.5.1) in the mid-1500s. Fracastoro proposed that contagious diseases are caused by transferable “seed-like entities,” which we now call germs. According to Fracastoro, germs spread through populations through direct or indirect contact between individuals, making people sick.

Fracastoro’s idea, though essentially correct, was disregarded by other physicians. Instead, Hippocrates‘ and Galen’s idea of miasma remained the accepted explanation for the spread of disease for another 300 years. However, evidence for Fracastoro’s idea accumulated during that time. Some of the earliest evidence was provided by the Dutch lens and microscope maker Anton van Leeuwenhoek, who is considered by many to be the father of microbiology. By the 1670s, van Leeuwenhoek had directly observed many different types of microorganisms, including bacteria.

Evidence from Puerperal Fever

One of the first physicians to demonstrate that a microorganism is the cause of a specific human disease was the Hungarian obstetrician Ignaz Semmelweis in the 1840s. The disease was puerperal fever, an often-fatal infection of the female reproductive organs. Puerperal fever is also called childbed fever, because it usually affects women who have just given birth.

Figure 1.5.2 Semmelweis showed how deaths from puerperal fever increased after doctors began doing autopsies at Wien Maternity Clinic (first vertical line) and decreased after doctors started disinfecting their hands (red box).

Semmelweis observed that deaths from puerperal fever occurred much more often when women had been attended by doctors at his hospital than by midwives at home. Semmelweis also noticed that doctors often came directly from autopsies to the beds of women about to give birth. From his observations, Semmelweis inferred that puerperal fever was a contagious disease caused by some type of matter carried to pregnant patients on the hands of doctors from autopsied bodies. As a consequence, Semmelweis urged doctors and medical students at his hospital to wash their hands with chlorinated lime water before examining pregnant women. After this change, the hospital’s death rate for women who had just given birth fell from 18 to 2 per cent, which was a 90 per cent reduction. Some of Semmelweis’ findings are presented in the graph above-right.

Semmelweis published his results, but they were derided by the medical profession. The idea that doctors themselves were the carriers of a fatal disease was taken as a personal affront by his fellow physicians. One of Semmelweis’ peers protested indignantly that doctors are gentlemen and that gentlemen’s hands are always clean. As a result of attitudes such as this, Semmelweis became the target of a vicious smear campaign. Eventually, Semmelweis had a mental breakdown and was committed to a mental hospital, where he died.

Father of Germ Theory

Figure 1.5.3 Pasteur discovered that the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes causes puerperal fever.

Figure 1.5.4 Louis Pasteur investigated the causes of diseases, such as puerperal fever.

Throughout the later 1800s, more formal investigations were conducted about the relationship between germs and disease. Some of the most important were undertaken by Louis Pasteur. Pasteur (right) was a French chemist who did careful experiments to show that fermentation, food spoilage, and certain diseases are caused by microorganisms. He discovered the cause of puerperal fever in 1879. He determined it was an infection caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes, shown under magnification (Figure 1.5.3).

Although Pasteur was not the first person to propose germ theory, his investigations clearly supported it. He also became a strong proponent of the theory and managed to convince most of the scientific community of its validity. For these reasons, Pasteur is often regarded as the father of germ theory.

Attributions

Figure 1.5.1

Fracastoro, Girolamo, 1478-1553,. by Francesco Redenti 1820-1876, from Wellcome Library Record no. 3120i, is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 1.5.2

Puerperal fever yearly mortality rates, 1833-1858, by Power.corrupts, has been released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 1.5.3

Streptococcus pyogenes 01, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Image Library (PHIL), ID #2110, is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 1.5.4

Albert Edelfelt – Louis Pasteur – 1885, photograph by Ondra Havala, is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

References

Semmelweis Orvostörténeti Múzeum. (2013, October 31). Sammelweiz. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPiW6Y_oDJo&feature=emb_logo

TEDEd. (2015). What’s the difference between a scientific law and a theory? – Matt Anticole. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyN2RhbhiEU&t=91s

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, August 3). Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. In Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antonie_van_Leeuwenhoek&oldid=970998908

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, July 28). Galen. In Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Galen&oldid=969901897

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, July 1). Girolamo Fracastoro. In Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Girolamo_Fracastoro&oldid=965417568

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, July 30). Hippocrates. In Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hippocrates&oldid=970254565

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, July 21). Ignaz Semmelweis. In Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ignaz_Semmelweis&oldid=968773367

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, August 5). Louis Pasteur. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louis_Pasteur&oldid=971330056

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, August 5). Miasma theory. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Miasma_theory&oldid=971286379

In order to truly understand the concept of  Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), it is important to gather as many definitions as possible- this gives us an accurate breadth of the term with all its nuances.  Click through the images below to read several descriptions of TEK.

Value

People who have lived in a community for generations are often the first to notice any signs of environmental change.  Information about a particular region’s climate and ecology is retained when the people from the region take on location as part of their cultural identity across generations.  This traditional knowledge is passed from generation to generation through story telling and mentorship.

TEK shares some similarities with what is termed “Western Science”.  Both recognize that knowledge is always growing and changing and that observations are critical to recognizing patterns and causalities in nature.  In addition, both TEK and Western Science recognize interdependence in biological systems and the need to treat ecology as  a complex system.  TEK differs in some ways from Western Science: knowledge is passed on orally, partly through metaphor and story, and this learned knowledge is embedded into daily living.  TEK also differs from Western Science in that TEK is tied in to morality, spirituality and individual identity, making it more than just knowledge; it is sacred knowledge.

Examples

Figure 1.6.1 Avalanche Lily in bloom.

People who are indigenous to the province of British Columbia have been managing natural resources in this area for time immemorial.  Numerous examples of sustainable harvesting methods can be found across the province, but our example, harvesting and management of the Avalanche Lily, comes from the Secwepemc peoples of the interior of British Columbia.  Many thanks to Nancy Turner, Marianne Boelscher Ignace and Ronald Ignace for their documentation of these practices in their paper: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wisdom of Aboriginal Peoples in British Columbia

The Avalanche Lily is a yellow-flowered member of the lily family native to Western North America.  This flower grows from an edible  bulb which ranges in size from 3-5 centimetres.  The Secwepemc people have harvested these bulbs as an important food source for generations.  Oral transmission of knowledge allowed the Secwepemc people to use thousands of years of accumulated data around growing cycles, seasons and management practices to harvest these plants effectively while maintaining a healthy population of lilies for future use.  Very intentional conservation strategies were/are practiced when harvesting the bulbs:

• Bulbs were harvested according to elevation in order to collect bulbs in the right stage of maturity and to spread out harvesting and yield over several months.  Bulbs picked early in the season were too soft, and bulbs picked late were too watery.
• Only the largest bulbs were selected by choosing stems with multiple fruiting bodies.
• As bulbs were harvested, smaller bulbs were replanted, seeds were scattered and the soil was tilled by the harvesters.
• Areas which had been extensively harvested were often left for several years to allow the lily population time to recover.

The two videos below show how knowledge of a particular ecosystem is handed down through the traditions of mentorship and storytelling:

Modern science, native knowledge, by The Nature Conservancy, 2015

First Stories – Nganawendaanan Nde’ing (I Keep Them in My Heart), by Shannon Letande, 2006

TEK is Part of Place

The Traditional Ecological Knowledge held by Indigenous communities often includes very location specific knowledge.  There are many diverse groups of First Peoples in British Columbia, each with expert knowledge about the ecology of their specific ancestral regions.  The link to the map from the Native Land Digital website shows some of the traditional boundaries of the Indigenous people in British Columbia. Click on the areas to see where First Nations communities are located.

Attributions

Definitions of Traditional Ecological Knowledge

• Kamloops, BC, Canada by Louis Paulin on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license). 
• The Totem Poles of Capilano, Vancouver by Udayaditya Barua on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license). 
• Alouette Lake by Chloe Evans on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license). 

Figure 1.6.1

Erythronium grandiflorum 5077, by Walter Siegmund on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) license.

References

Herkes, J. (n.d.). Continuing studies: Traditional ecological knowledge. University of Northern British Columbia. Retrieved from https://www.unbc.ca/continuing-studies/courses/traditional-ecological-knowledge

Inglis, J. T. (1993). Traditional ecological knowledge: Concepts and cases (p. vi). Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Letande, S. (2006). First Stories – Nganawendaanan Nde’ing (I keep them in my heart). https://www.nfb.ca/film/first_stories_nganawendaanan_ndeing/

Minerals Management Service (n.d.). What is Traditional Knowledge [online]. Government of Alaska.https://web.archive.org/web/20030328053734/http://www.mms.gov/alaska/native/tradknow/tk_mms2.htm

TEDx-TC. (2012, March 4). TEDxTC – Winona LaDuke – Seeds of our ancestors, seeds of life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHNlel72eQc&feature=youtu.be

The Nature Conservancy. (2015, February 25). Modern science, native knowledge. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QRpnHoGivk

Turner, N., Ignace, M., & Ignace, R. (2000, October 1). Traditional ecological knowledge and wisdom of Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia. Ecological Applications, 10(5), 1275-1287. doi:10.2307/2641283

Wakefield, A.J. (1999, September 11). MMR vaccination and autism. Lancet, 354(9182), 949-950.  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(05)75696-8/fulltext doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)75696-8

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by: Christine Miller

What Is Pseudoscience?

Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice that is presented as scientific but does not adhere to the standards and methods of science. True science is based on repeated evidence-gathering and testing of falsifiable hypotheses. Pseudoscience does not adhere to these criteria. In addition to phrenology, some other examples of pseudoscience include astrology, extrasensory perception (ESP), reflexology, reincarnation, and Scientology,

Characteristics of Pseudoscience

Whether a field is actually science or just pseudoscience is not always clear. However, pseudoscience generally exhibits certain common characteristics. Indicators of pseudoscience include:

• The use of vague, exaggerated, or untestable claims: Many claims made by pseudoscience cannot be tested with evidence. As a result, they cannot be falsified, even if they are not true.
• An over-reliance on confirmation rather than refutation: Any incident that appears to justify a pseudoscience claim is treated as proof of the claim. Claims are assumed true until proven otherwise, and the burden of disproof is placed on skeptics of the claim.
• A lack of openness to testing by other experts: Practitioners of pseudoscience avoid subjecting their ideas to peer review. They may refuse to share their data and justify the need for secrecy with claims of proprietary or privacy.
• An absence of progress in advancing knowledge: In pseudoscience, ideas are not subjected to repeated testing followed by rejection or refinement, as hypotheses are in true science. Ideas in pseudoscience may remain unchanged for hundreds — or even thousands — of years. In fact, the older an idea is, the more it tends to be trusted in pseudoscience.
• Personalization of issues: Proponents of pseudoscience adopt beliefs that have little or no rational basis, so they may try to confirm their beliefs by treating critics as enemies. Instead of arguing to support their own beliefs, they attack the motives and character of their critics.
• The use of misleading language: Followers of pseudoscience may use scientific-sounding terms to make their ideas sound more convincing. For example, they may use the formal name dihydrogen monoxide to refer to plain old water.

Persistence of Pseudoscience

Despite failing to meet scientific standards, many pseudosciences survive. Some pseudosciences remain very popular with large numbers of believers. A good example is astrology.

Astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a means for divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events. Many ancient cultures attached importance to astronomical events, and some developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Throughout most of its history in the West, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition and was common in academic circles. With the advent of modern Western science, astrology was called into question. It was challenged on both theoretical and experimental grounds, and it was eventually shown to have no scientific validity or explanatory power.

Figure 1.7.1 Zodiac signs.

Today, astrology is considered a pseudoscience, yet it continues to have many devotees. Most people know their astrological sign, and many people are familiar with the personality traits supposedly associated with their sign. Astrological readings and horoscopes are readily available online and in print media, and a lot of people read them, even if only occasionally. About a third of all adult Americans actually believe that astrology is scientific. Studies suggest that the persistent popularity of pseudosciences such as astrology reflects a high level of scientific illiteracy. It seems that many Americans do not have an accurate understanding of scientific principles and methodology. They are not convinced by scientific arguments against their beliefs.

Dangers of Pseudoscience

Belief in astrology is unlikely to cause a person harm, but belief in some other pseudosciences might — especially in health care-related areas. Treatments that seem scientific but are not may be ineffective, expensive, and even dangerous to patients. Seeking out pseudoscientific treatments may also delay or preclude patients from seeking scientifically-based medical treatments that have been tested and found safe and effective. In short, irrational health care may not be harmless.

Pseudoscience is not the only way that science may be misused. Scientific hoaxes, frauds, and fallacies may misdirect the pursuit of science, put patients at risk, or mislead and confuse the public. An example of each of these misuses of science and its negative effects is described below.

The Piltdown Hoax

Figure 1.7.2 This reconstruction of Piltdown Man’s head was based on jaw and skull bone fragments.

Piltdown Man (see picture left) was a paleontological hoax in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilized remains of a previously unknown early human. These fragments consisted of parts of a skull and jawbone, reported to have been found in 1908 in a gravel pit at Piltdown, East Sussex, England. The significance of the specimen remained the subject of controversy until it was exposed in 1953 as a hoax. It eventually came to light that the specimen consisted of the lower jawbone of an orangutan deliberately combined with skull bones of a modern human. The Piltdown hoax is perhaps the most infamous paleontological hoax ever perpetrated, both for its impact on the direction of research on human evolution and for the length of time between its “discovery” and its full exposure as a forgery.

Figure 1.7.3 A replica of the infamous Piltdown skull.

In 1912, the head of the geological department at the British Museum proposed that Piltdown man represented an evolutionary missing link between apes and humans. With its human-like cranium and ape-like jaw, it seemed to support the idea then prevailing in England that human evolution began with the brain. The Piltdown specimen led scientists down a blind alley in the belief that the human brain increased in size before the jaw underwent size reductions to become more like the modern human jaw. This belief confused and misdirected the study of human evolution for decades, and actual fossils of early humans were ignored because they didn’t support the accepted paradigm.

The Vaccine-Autism Fraud

You may have heard that certain vaccines put the health of young children at risk. This persistent idea is not supported by scientific evidence or accepted by the vast majority of experts in the field. It stems largely from an elaborate medical research fraud that was reported in a 1998 article published in the respected British medical journal, The Lancet. The main author of the article was a British physician named Andrew Wakefield. In the article, Wakefield and his colleagues described case histories of 12 children, most of whom were reported to have developed autism soon after the administration of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine.

Several subsequent peer-reviewed studies failed to show any association between the MMR vaccine and autism. It also later emerged that Wakefield had received research funding from a group of people who were suing vaccine manufacturers. In 2004, ten of Wakefield’s 12 coauthors formally retracted the conclusions in their paper. In 2010, editors of The Lancetretracted the entire paper. That same year, Wakefield was charged with deliberate falsification of research and barred from practicing medicine in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, by then, the damage had already been done. Parents afraid that their children would develop autism had refrained from having them vaccinated. British MMR vaccination rates fell from nearly 100 per cent to 80 per cent in the years following the study. The consensus of medical experts today is that Wakefield’s fraud put hundreds of thousands of children at risk because of the lower vaccination rates and also diverted research efforts and funding away from finding the true cause of autism.

Correlation-Causation Fallacy

Many statistical tests used in scientific research calculate correlations between variables. Correlation refers to how closely related two data sets are, which may be a useful starting point for further investigation. Correlation, however, is also one of the most misused types of evidence, primarily because of the logical fallacy that correlation implies causation. In reality, just because two variables are correlated does not necessarily mean that either variable causes the other.

A few simple examples, illustrated by the graphs below, can be used to demonstrate the correlation-causation fallacy. Assume a study found that both per capita consumption of mozzarella cheese and the number of Civil Engineering doctorates awarded are correlated; that is, rates of both events increase together. If correlation really did imply causation, then you could conclude from the second example that the increase in age of Miss America causes an increase in murders of a specific type or vice versa.

Figure 1.7.4 Spurious Correlations [Causation Fallacy] – Consumption of mozzarella cheese and awarded Doctorates

Figure 1.7.5 Spurious Correlations (Causation Fallacy)- Miss America and Murder

An actual example of the correlation-causation fallacy occurred during the latter half of the 20th century. Numerous studies showed that women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat menopausal symptoms also had a lower-than-average incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD). This correlation was misinterpreted as evidence that HRT protects women against CHD. Subsequent studies that controlled other factors related to CHD disproved this presumed causal connection. The studies found that women taking HRT were more likely to come from higher socio-economic groups, with better-than-average diets and exercise regimens. Rather than HRT causing lower CHD incidence, these studies concluded that HRT and lower CHD were both effects of higher socio-economic status and related lifestyle factors.

Check out this “Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science” infographic from Compound Interest:

Figure 1.7.6 A Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science.

Attributions

Figure 1.7.1

Zodiac Signs Cancer Aquarius Aries Gemini Leo from Max Pixel, is used under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en).

Figure 1.7.2

Piltdown Man – McGregor model, by James Howard McGregor on Wikimedia Commons is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 1.7.3

Sterkfontein Piltdown man, by Anrie  on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) license.

Figure 1.7.4

Spurious Correlations (Causation Fallacy) – Consumption of mozzarella cheese and awarded Doctorates by Tyler Vigen on Tylervigen.com is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) license.

Figure 1.7.5

Spurious Correlations (Causation Fallacy) – Miss America and Murder, by Tyler Vigen, is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) license.

Figure 1.7.6

A rough guide to spotting bad science, by Compound Interest, is used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/ca/) license

References

TED-Ed. (2017, July 6). How to spot a misleading graph – Lea Gaslowitz. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E91bGT9BjYk&feature=youtu.be

Wakefield, A.J., Murch, S.H., Anthony, A., Linnell, J., Casson, D.M., Malik, M., et al. (1998). Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Lancet, 351: 637–41.

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 18). Andrew Wakefield. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrew_Wakefield&oldid=963243135

Created by CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

As you read in the beginning of this chapter, new parents Samantha and Aki left their pediatrician’s office still unsure whether or not to vaccinate baby James. Dr. Rodriguez gave them a list of reputable sources where they could look up information about the safety of vaccines, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Samantha and Aki read that the consensus within the scientific community is that there is no link between vaccines and autism. They find a long list of studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals that disprove any link. Additionally, some of the studies are “meta-analyses” that analyzed the findings from many individual studies. The new parents are reassured by the fact that many different researchers, using a large number of subjects in numerous well-controlled and well-reviewed studies, all came to the same conclusion.

Figure 1.8.1 Do your research!

Samantha also went back to the web page that originally scared her about the safety of vaccines. She found that the author was not a medical doctor or scientific researcher, but rather a self-proclaimed “child wellness expert.” He sold books and advertising on his site, some of which were related to claims of vaccine injury. She realized that he was both an unqualified and potentially biased source of information.

Samantha also realized that some of his arguments were based on correlations between autism and vaccines, but, as the saying goes, “correlation does not imply causation.” For instance, the recent rise in autism rates may have occurred during the same time period as an increase in the number of vaccines given in childhood, but Samantha could think of many other environmental and social factors that have also changed during this time period. There are just too many variables to come to the conclusion that vaccines, or anything else, are the cause of the rise in autism rates based on that type of argument alone. Also, she learned that the age of onset of autism symptoms happens to typically be around the time that the MMR vaccine is first given, so the apparent association in the timing may just be a coincidence.

Finally, Samantha came across news about  a measles outbreak in Vancouver, British Columbia in the winter of 2019. Measles wasn’t just a disease of the past! She learned that measles and whooping cough, which had previously been rare thanks to widespread vaccinations, are now on the rise, and that people choosing not to vaccinate their children seems to be one of the contributing factors. She realized that it is important to vaccinate her baby against these diseases, not only to protect him from their potentially deadly effects, but also to protect others in the population.

In their reading, Samantha and Aki learn that scientists do not yet know the causes of autism, but they feels reassured by the abundance of data that disproves any link with vaccines. Both parents think that the potential benefits of protecting their baby’s health against deadly diseases outweighs any unsubstantiated claims about vaccines. They will be making an appointment to get baby James his shots soon.

Attribution

Figure 1.8.1

[Photo of person sitting in front of personal computer] by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Created by CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Case Study: Our Invisible Inhabitants

Figure 2.1.1 Lanying has the flu. Can she stop taking her antibiotics once she starts feeling better?

Lanying is suffering from a fever, body aches, and a painful sore throat that feels worse when she swallows. She visits her doctor, who examines her and performs a throat culture. When the results come back, he tells her that she has strep throat, which is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes. He prescribes an antibiotic that will either kill the bacteria or stop it from reproducing, and advises her to take the full course of the treatment even if she is feeling better earlier. Stopping early can cause an increase in bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

Lanying takes the antibiotic as prescribed. Toward the end of the course, her throat is feeling much better — but she can’t say the same for other parts of her body! She has developed diarrhea and an itchy vaginal yeast infection. She calls her doctor, who suspects that the antibiotic treatment has caused both the digestive distress and the yeast infection. He explains that our bodies are home to many different kinds of microorganisms, some of which are actually beneficial to us because they help us digest our food and minimize the population of harmful microorganisms. When we take an antibiotic, many of these “good” bacteria are killed along with the “bad,” disease-causing bacteria, which can result in diarrhea and yeast infections.

Lanying’s doctor prescribes an antifungal medication for her yeast infection. He also recommends that she eat yogurt with live cultures, which will help replace the beneficial bacteria in her gut. Our bodies contain a delicate balance of inhabitants that are invisible without a microscope, and changes in that balance can cause unpleasant health effects.

As you read the rest of this book, you’ll learn more amazing facts about the human organism, and you’ll get a better sense of how biology relates to your health. Human biology is the scientific study of the human species, which includes the fascinating story of human evolution and a detailed account of our genetics, anatomy, physiology, and ecology. In short, the study focuses on how we got here, how we function, and the role we play in the natural world. This helps us to better understand human health, because we can learn how to stay healthy and how diseases and injuries can be treated. Human biology should be of personal interest to you to the extent that it can benefit your own health, as well as the health of your friends and family. This branch of science also has broader implications for society and the human species as a whole.

Attribution

Figure 2.1.1

Photo (face mask) by Michael Amadeus, on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash license (https://unsplash.com/license).

Reference

Mayo Clinic Staff (n.d.). Strep throat [online article]. MayoClinic.org. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/strep-throat/symptoms-causes/syc-20350338

Created by CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

The Thinker

Figure 2.2.1 The Thinker by Auguste Rodin.

You’ve probably seen this famous statue created by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Rodin’s skill as a sculptor is especially evident here because the statue — which is made of bronze — looks so lifelike. How does a bronze statue differ from a living, breathing human being or other living organism? What is life? What does it mean to be alive? Science has answers to these questions.

To be classified as a living thing, most scientists agree that an object must have all seven of the traits listed below. Humans share these characteristics with other living things.

1. Homeostasis
2. Organization
3. Metabolism
4. Growth
5. Adaptation
6. Response to stimuli
7. Reproduction

Homeostasis

All living things are able to maintain a more-or-less constant internal environment. Regardless of the conditions around them, they can keep things relatively stable on the inside. The condition in which a system is maintained in a more-or-less steady state is called homeostasis. Human beings, for example, maintain a stable internal body temperature. If you go outside when the air temperature is below freezing, your body doesn’t freeze. Instead, by shivering and other means, it maintains a stable internal temperature.

Figure 2.2.2 Homeostasis of body temperature.

Living things have multiple levels of organization. Their molecules are organized into one or more cells. A cell is the basic unit of the structure and function of living things. Cells are the building blocks of living organisms. An average adult human being, for example, consists of trillions of cells. Living things may appear very different from one another on the outside, but their cells are very similar. Compare the human cells and onion cells in Figures 2.2.3 and 2.2.4. What similarities do you see?

Figure 2.2.3 Human cheek cells.

Figure 2.2.4 Onion cells.

Metabolism

All living things can use energy. They require energy to maintain internal conditions (homeostasis), to grow, and to execute other processes. Living cells use the “machinery” of metabolism, which is the building up and breaking down of chemical compounds. Living things can transform energy by building up large molecules from smaller ones. This form of metabolism is called anabolism. Living things can also break down, or decompose, large organic molecules into smaller ones. This form of metabolism is called catabolism.

Consider weight lifters who eat high-protein diets. A protein is a large molecule made up of several small amino acids. When we eat proteins, our digestive system breaks them down into amino acids (catabolism), so that they are small enough to be absorbed by the digestive system and into the blood. From there, amino acids are transported to muscles, where they are converted back to proteins (anabolism).

Figure 2.2.5 Humans grow and develop.

Growth

All living things have the capacity for growth. Growth is an increase in size that occurs when there is a higher rate of anabolism than catabolism. A human infant, for example, has changed dramatically in size by the time it reaches adulthood, as is apparent from the image below. In what other ways do we change as we grow from infancy to adulthood?

 Adaptations and Evolution

An adaptation is a characteristic that helps living things survive and reproduce in a given environment. It comes about because living things have the ability to change over time in response to the environment. A change in the characteristics of living things over time is called evolution. It develops in a population of organisms through random genetic mutations and natural selection.

Response to Stimuli

All living things detect changes in their environment and respond to them. These stimuli can be internal or external, and the response can take many forms, from the movement of a unicellular organism in response to external chemicals (called chemotaxis) to complex reactions involving all the senses of a multicellular organism. A response is often expressed by motion; for example, the leaves of a plant turning toward the sun (called phototropism).

Click through the images below: the venus fly trap, the cat, and the flower are all showing response to a stimuli.

Figure 2.2.6 Examples of responses to environmental stimuli. 

Reproduction

All living things are capable of reproduction, the process by which living things give rise to offspring. Reproduction may be as simple as a single cell dividing to form two daughter cells, which is how bacteria reproduce. Reproduction in human beings and many other organisms, of course, is much more complicated. Nonetheless, whether a living thing is a human being or a bacterium, it is normally capable of reproduction.

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://humanbiology.pressbooks.tru.ca/?p=419#h5p-5

Feature: Myth vs. Reality

Myth: Viruses are living things.

Reality: The traditional scientific view of viruses is that they originate from bits of DNA or RNA shed from the cells of living things, but that they are not living things themselves. Scientists have long argued that viruses are not living things because they do not exhibit most of the defining traits of living organisms. A single virus, called a virion, consists of a set of genes (DNA or RNA) inside a protective protein coat, called a capsid. Viruses have organization, but they are not cells, and they do not possess the cellular “machinery” that living things use to carry out life processes. As a result, viruses cannot undertake metabolism, maintain homeostasis, or grow.

Figure 2.2.7 Transmission electron micrograph of multiple bacteriophages attached to a bacterial cell wall; the magnification is approximately 200,000.

They do not seem to respond to their environment, and they can reproduce only by invading and using “tools” inside host cells to produce more virions. The only traits viruses seem to share with living things is the ability to evolve adaptations to their environment. In fact, some viruses evolve so quickly that it is difficult to design drugs and vaccines against them! That’s why maintaining protection from the viral disease influenza, for example, requires a new flu vaccine each year.

Within the last decade, new discoveries in virology (the study of viruses) suggest that this traditional view about viruses may be incorrect, and that the “myth” that viruses are living things may be the reality. Researchers have discovered giant viruses that contain more genes than cellular life forms, such as bacteria. Some of the genes code for proteins needed to build new viruses, which suggests that these giant viruses may be able — or were once able — to reproduce without a host cell. Some of the strongest evidence that viruses are living things comes from studies of their proteins, which show that viruses and cellular life share a common ancestor in the distant past. Viruses may have once existed as primitive cells, but at some point they lost their cellular nature and became modern viruses that require host cells to reproduce. This idea is not so far-fetched when you consider that many other species require a host to complete their life cycle.

Attributions

Figure 2.2.1

The Thinker MET 131262, by Auguste Rodin, 1910, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 2.2.2

Homeostasis: Figure 4, by OpenStax College, Biology is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) license. Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/04fdb865-17a1-43d8-bb33-36f821ddd119@7.

Figure 2.2.3

Human cheek cells, by Joseph Elsbernd, 2012, on Flickr, is used under a CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/) license.

Figure 2.2.4

Onion cells 2, by Umberto Salvagnin, 2009, on Flickr, is used under a CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) license.

Figure 2.2.5

Photo (family) by Jakob Owens on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 2.2.6

• Trap of Dionaea muscipula by che on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en) license.
• Plants leaning towards the sunlight from Pxhere is used under a CC0 1.0 universal
  public domain dedication license (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).
• Surprised young cat by Watchduck (a.k.a. Tilman Piesk) on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) license.

Figure 2.2.7

Bacteriophages, by Dr. Graham Beards, is used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) license.

References

Ameoba Sisters. (2017, October 26). Characteristics of life. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQPVXrV0GNA&feature=youtu.be

OpenStax. (2016, March 23). Figure 4 The body is able to regulate temperature in response to signals from the nervous system. In OpenStax, Biology (Section 33.3). OpenStax CNX. http://cnx.org/contents/185cbf87-c72e-48f5-b51e-f14f21b5eabd@10.8.

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 14). Adaptation. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adaptation&oldid=962556016

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 21). Auguste Rodin. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Auguste_Rodin&oldid=963668399

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 22). Chemotaxis. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chemotaxis&oldid=963884872

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 22). Evolution. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Evolution&oldid=963929880

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 20). Phototropism. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phototropism&oldid=963567791

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 22). Virus. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virus&oldid=963829311

Created by CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Why Are Humans Such Sweaty Animals?

Figure 2.3.1 Humans sweat to lower their body temperature.

Combine exercise and a hot day, and you get sweat — and lots of it. Sweating is one of the adaptations humans have evolved to maintain homeostasis, or a constant internal environment. When sweat evaporates from the skin, it uses up some of the excess heat energy on the skin, thus helping to reduce the body’s temperature. Humans are among the sweatiest of all species, with a fine-tuned ability to maintain a steady internal temperature, even at very high outside temperatures.

All living things have mechanisms for homeostasis. Homeostasis is one of four basic principles or theories that explain the structure and function of all species (including our own). Whether biologists are interested in ancient life, the life of bacteria, or how humans could live on Mars, they base their understanding of biology on these unifying principles:

• Cell theory
• Gene theory
• Homeostasis
• Evolutionary theory

Cell Theory

According to cell theory, all living things are made of cells, and living cells come only from other living cells. Each living thing begins life as a single cell. Some living things, including bacteria, remain single-celled. Other living things, including plants and animals, grow and develop into many cells. Your own body is made up of an amazing 100 trillion cells. But even you — like all other living things — began life as a single cell.

Watch this TED-Ed video about the origin of cell theory:

The Wacky History of Cell Theory – Lauren Royal-Woods, TED-Ed, 2012

Gene Theory

Gene theory is the idea that the characteristics of living things are controlled by genes, which are passed from parents to their offspring. Genes are located on larger structures called chromosomes. Chromosomes are found inside every cell, and they consist of molecules of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Those molecules of DNA are encoded with instructions that “tell” cells how to behave.

Homeostasis

Homeostasis, or the condition in which a system is maintained in a more-or-less steady state, is a characteristic of individual living things, like the human ability to sweat. Homeostasis also applies to the entire biosphere, wherever life is found on Earth. Consider the concentration of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere. Oxygen makes up 21 per cent of the atmosphere, and this concentration is fairly constant. What maintains this homeostasis in the atmosphere? The answer is living things.

Most living things need oxygen to survive, so they remove oxygen from the air. On the other hand, many living things, including plants, give off oxygen when they convert carbon dioxide and water to food in the process of photosynthesis. These two processes balance out so the air maintains a constant level of oxygen.

Evolutionary Theory

Figure 2.3.2 A chameleon exhibits its colour changing adaptation to match its background.

Evolution is a change in the characteristics of populations of living things over time. Evolution can occur by a process called natural selection, which results from random genetic mutations in a population. If these mutations lead to changes that allow the living things to better survive, then their chances of surviving and reproducing in a given environment increase. They will then pass more genes to the next generation. Over many generations, this can lead to major changes in the characteristics of those living things. Evolution explains how living things are changing today, as well as how modern living things descended from ancient life forms that no longer exist on Earth.

Traits that help living things survive and reproduce in a given environment are called adaptations. You can see an obvious adaptation in the image below. The chameleon is famous for its ability to change its colour to match its background as camouflage. Using camouflage, the chameleon can hide in plain sight.

Feature: Myth vs. Reality

Misconceptions about evolution are common. They include the following myths:

Attributions

Figure 2.3.1

Photo(perspiration), by Hans Reniers on Unsplash. is used under the Unsplash license (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 2.3.2

Mediterranean Chameleon Reptile Lizard, by user:1588877 on Pixabay, is used under the Pixabay license (https://pixabay.com/de/service/license/).

References

TED-Ed. (2012, June 4). The wacky history of cell theory – Lauren Royal-Woods. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OpBylwH9DU&feature=youtu.be

TED-Ed. (2013, July 8). Myths and misconceptions about evolution – Alex Gendler. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZt1Gn0R22Q&t=10s

Created by CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

So Many Species!

Figure 2.4.1 The classification of species from each of the six kingdoms.

The collage shows a single species in each of the six kingdoms into which all of Earth’s living things are commonly classified. How many species are there in each kingdom? In a word: millions. A total of almost two million living species have already been identified, and new species are being discovered all the time. Scientists estimate that there may be as many as 30 million unique species alive on Earth today! Clearly, there is a tremendous variety of life on Earth.

What Is Biodiversity?

Biological diversity, or biodiversity, refers to all of the variety of life that exists on Earth. Biodiversity can be described and measured at three different levels: species diversity, genetic diversity, and ecosystem diversity.

• Species diversity refers to the number of different species in an ecosystem or on Earth as a whole. This is the most common way to measure biodiversity. Current estimates for Earth’s total number of living species range from 5 to 30 million species.
• Genetic diversity refers to the variation in genes within all of these species.
• Ecosystem diversity refers to the variety of ecosystems on Earth. An ecosystem is a system formed by populations of many different species interacting with each other and their environment.

Biodiversity is most often measured by counting species, but what is a species? The answer to that question is not as straightforward as you might think. Formally, a species is defined as a group of actually or potentially interbreeding organisms. This means that members of the same species are similar enough to each other to produce fertile offspring together. By this definition of species, all human beings alive today belong to one species, Homo sapiens. All humans can potentially interbreed with each other, but not with members of any other species.

In the real world, it isn’t always possible to make the observations necessary to determine whether or not different organisms can interbreed. For one thing, many species reproduce asexually, so individuals never interbreed — even with members of their own species. When studying extinct species represented by fossils, it is usually impossible to know if different organisms could interbreed. Keep in mind that 99 per cent of all species that have ever existed are now extinct! In practice, many biologists and virtually all paleontologists generally define species on the basis of morphology, rather than breeding behavior. Morphology refers to the form and structure of organisms. For classification purposes, it generally refers to relatively obvious physical traits. Typically, the more similar to one another different organisms appear, the greater the chance that they will be classified in the same species.

People have been trying to classify the tremendous diversity of life on Earth for more than two thousand years. The science of classifying organisms is called taxonomy. Classification is an important step in understanding the present diversity and past evolutionary history of life on Earth. It helps us make sense of the overwhelming diversity of living things.

Linnaean Classification

All modern classification systems have their roots in the Linnaean classification system, which was developed by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in the 1700s. He tried to classify all living things known in his time by grouping together organisms that s

Figure 2.4.2 Classification of life.

hared obvious morphological traits, such as number of legs or shape of leaves. For his contribution, Linnaeus is known as the “father of taxonomy.”

The Linnaean system of classification consists of a hierarchy of groupings, called taxa (singular, taxon).  In the original system, taxa ranged from the kingdom to the species. The kingdom (ex. plant kingdom, animal kingdom) is the largest and most inclusive grouping. It consists of organisms that share just a few basic similarities. The species is the smallest and most exclusive grouping. Ideally, it consists of organisms that are similar enough to interbreed, as discussed above. Similar species are classified together in the same genus (plural, genera), then similar genera are classified together in the same family, and so on, all the way up to the kingdom.

A phrase to help you remember the order of the groupings is shown below.  The first letter of each word is the first letter of the level of classification.

Dad Keeps Pots Clean Or Family Gets Sick

Binomial Nomenclature

Perhaps the single greatest contribution Linnaeus made to science was his method of naming species. This method, called binomial nomenclature, gives each species a unique, two-word Latin name consisting of the genus name followed by a specific species identifier. An example is Homo sapiens, the two-word Latin name for humans. It literally means “wise human.” This is a reference to our big brains.

Why is having two names so important? It is similar to people having a first and a last name. You may know several people with the first name Michael, but adding Michael’s last name usually pins down exactly which Michael you mean. In the same way, having two names for a species helps to uniquely identify it.

Revisions in the Linnaean Classification

Linnaeus published his classification system in the 1700s. Since then, many new species have been discovered. Scientists can also now classify organisms on the basis of their biochemical and genetic similarities and differences, and not just their outward morphology. These changes have led to revisions in the original Linnaean system of classification.

Figure 2.4.3 The three domains of life and major groups within.

A major change to the Linnaean system is the addition of a new taxon called the domain. The domain is a taxon that is larger and more inclusive than the kingdom, as shown in the figure above. Most biologists agree that there are three domains of life on Earth: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya . Both the Bacteria and the Archaea domains consist of single-celled organisms that lack a nucleus. This means that their genetic material is not enclosed within a membrane inside the cell. The Eukarya domain, in contrast, consists of all organisms whose cells do have a nucleus, so that their genetic material is enclosed within a membrane inside the cell. The Eukarya domain is made up of both single-celled and multicellular organisms. This domain includes several kingdoms, including the animal, plant, fungus, and protist kingdoms.

Linnaeus classified organisms based on morphology. Basically, organisms were grouped together if they looked alike. After Darwin published his theory of evolution in the 1800s, scientists looked for a way to classify organisms that accounted for phylogeny. Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a group of related organisms. It is represented by a phylogenetic tree, or some other tree-like diagram, like the one shown above to illustrate the three domains. A phylogenetic tree shows how closely related different groups of organisms are to one another.  Each branching point represents a common ancestor of the branching groups.

Attributions

Figure 2.4.1 (6 Kingdoms collage)

• Salmonella, by unknown/ NIAID on Wikimedia Commons is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).
• Fern from pxhere, is used under a CC0 1.0 universal public domain dedication license (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en).
• Photo [squirrel] , by Radoslaw Prekurat on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).
• Blood Milk Mushroom by Hans on Pixabay is used under the Pixabay License (https://pixabay.com/de/service/license/).
• Fungi by Ste Wright on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).
• EscherichiaColi NIAID [adapted], by Rocky Mountain Laboratories, ca:NIAID, ca:NIH on Wikimedia Commons is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 2.4.2

Biological classification, by Pengo [Peter Halasz] on Wikimedia Commons is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 2.4.3

The three domains of life and major groups within, by C. Miller, 2019, is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

References

Amoeba Sisters. (2017, March 8). Classification. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVouQRAKxYo&feature=youtu.be

A-Z Animals. (2008, December 1). Animal classification. https://a-z-animals.com/reference/animal-classification/

TED-Ed. (2015, April 20). Why is biodiversity so important? – Kim Preshoff. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK_vRtHJZu4

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 21). Carl Linnaeus. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carl_Linnaeus&oldid=963767022

Created by CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 2.5.1 Selfie!

Primate Pals

Figure 2.5.1 Humans and monkeys share an evolutionary past.  Humans belong to the animal kingdom, which includes small organisms — like insects — and larger organisms, like humans and monkeys. From genes to morphology to behavior, humans and monkeys are similar in many ways because they share an evolutionary past. Humans and monkeys also both belong to the order Primate, which means they have more traits in common with each other than with insects.

Figure 2.5.2 This taxonomic diagram shows how our Homo sapiens species is classified.

You probably know that modern humans are members of the species Homo sapiens. But what is our place in nature? How is our species classified? A simple classification is represented in the taxonomic diagram below, along with some representative characteristics.

Living members of the primate order include monkeys, apes, and humans. At some point in the distant past, we shared ape-like ancestors with all of these modern groups of primates. We share between 93 and 99 per cent of our DNA sequences with them, which provides hard evidence that we have relatively recent common ancestors. Besides genes, what traits do we share with other primates?

Primates are considered generalists among the mammals. A generalist is an organism that can thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions. Generalists also make use of a variety of different resources; for example, they consume many types of food. Although primates exhibit a wide range of characteristics, there are several traits shared by most primates.

Primate Traits

Figure 2.5.3 The capuchin monkey shows manual dexterity common to primates.

Primates have pentadactylism, or five digits (fingers or toes) on each extremity (hand or foot). The fingers and toes have nails instead of claws and are covered with sensitive tactile pads. The thumbs (and in many species, the big toes, as well) are opposable, which means they can be brought into opposition with the other digits, allowing both a power grasp and a precision grip. You can see these features of the primate extremities in the capuchin monkey pictured in Figure 2.15.

The primate body is generally semi-erect or erect, and primates have one of several modes of locomotion, including walking on all four legs (quadrupedalism), vertical clinging and leaping, swinging from branch to branch in trees (brachiation), or walking on two legs (bipedalism, which today only applies to humans). The primate shoulder girdle has a collar bone (clavicle), which is associated with a wide range of motion of the upper limbs.

Relative to other mammals, primates rely less on their sense of smell. They have a reduced snout and relatively small area in the brain for processing olfactory (odor) information. Primates rely more on their sense of vision, which shows several improvements over that of other mammals. Most primates can see in colour. Primates also tend to have large eyes with forward placement in a relatively flat face. This results in an overlap of the visual fields of the two eyes, allowing stereoscopic (or three-dimensional) vision. Other indications of the importance of vision to primates is the protection given the eyes by a complete bony eye socket and the large size of the occipital lobe of the brain, where visual information is processed.

Figure 2.5.4 Crab-eating macaques use a variety of stones as tools to kill and crush crabs in order to get the meat inside the shells.

Primates are noted for their relatively large brains, high degree of intelligence, and complex behaviors. The part of the brain that is especially enlarged in primates is the cerebrum, which analyzes and synthesizes sensory information and transforms it to motor behaviors appropriate to the environment. Primates tend to have longer lifespans than most other mammals. In particular, there is a lengthening of the prenatal period and the postnatal period during which infants depend on adults, providing an extended opportunity for learning among juveniles. Most primates live in social groups. In fact, primates are among the most social of animals. Depending on the species, adult nonhuman primates may live in mated pairs or in groups with hundreds of members. Humans and some nonhuman primates can also make and use tools. The crab-eating macaques pictured below provide examples of tool use in nonhuman primates.

Figure 2.5.5 Primates evolved adaptations which suited them to life in the trees.

Scientists think that many primate traits are adaptations to an arboreal (or tree-dwelling) lifestyle. Primates are thought to have evolved in trees, and the majority of primates still live in trees. For life in the trees, the sense of vision trumps the sense of smell, and three-dimensional (3D) vision is especially important for grasping the next branch or limb. Having mobile limbs, a good grip, and manual dexterity are matters of life and death when one lives high above the ground. While some modern primates are mainly terrestrial (ground dwelling) rather than arboreal, all primates possess adaptations for life in the trees.

Figure 2.5.6 This map shows the present worldwide distribution of nonhuman primates.

The map to the left shows the present distribution of nonhuman primates around the world. Tropical forests in Central and South America are home to many species of monkeys, including the squirrel monkey pictured above. Old World tropical forests in Africa and Asia are home to many other species of monkeys, including the crab-eating macaque pictured above, as well as all modern apes.

Figure 2.5.7 Orangutan mother and child.

Who are our closest relatives in the primate order? We are placed in the family called Hominidae. Any member of this family is called a hominid. Hominids include four living genera: chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and humans. Among these four genera are just seven living species: two in each genera, except humans, with our sole living species, Homo sapiens. The orangutan mother pictured cradling her child shows how similar these hominids are to us.

Hominids are relatively large, tailless primates, ranging in size from the bonobo (or pygmy chimpanzee) — which may weigh as little as 30 kg (66 lb) — to the eastern gorilla, which may weigh over 200 kg (440 lb). Most modern humans fall somewhere within that range. In all species of hominids, males are somewhat larger and stronger, on average, than females, but the differences may not be significant. Except for humans, hominids are mainly quadrupedal, although they can get around bipedally if need be to gather food or nesting materials. Humans are the only habitually bipedal species of living hominids.

The Human Genus

Within the hominid family, our species is placed in the genus Homo. Our species, Homo sapiens, is the only living species in this genus. Several earlier species of Homo existed, but have since gone extinct, including the species Homo erectus.

Figure 2.5.8 Turkana Boy is the name given to a nearly complete skeleton of a Homo erectus (Homo ergaster) youth who lived at c. 1.5 to 1.6 million years ago. This specimen is the most complete early human skeleton ever found.

During the roughly 2.8 million years of the evolution of the Homo genus, the remaining features of Homo sapiens evolved. These features include:

• Small front teeth (incisors and canines) with relatively large molars, at least compared to other primates.
• A decrease in the size of the jaws and face and an increase in the size of the cranium, forming a nearly vertical forehead.
• A tremendous enlargement of the brain, especially in the cerebrum, which is the site of higher intellectual functions.

The increase in brain size occurred very rapidly as far as evolutionary change goes, between about 800 thousand and 100 thousand years ago. During this period, the size of the brain increased from about 600 cm³ to about 1400 cm³ when the earliest Homo sapiens appeared. This was also a period of rapid climate change, and many scientists think that climate change was a major impetus for the evolution of a larger, more complex brain. In this view, as the environment became more unpredictable, bigger and “smarter” brains helped our ancestors survive. Running parallel to the biological evolution of the brain was the development of culture and technology, which were adapted for the purpose of exploiting the environment. These developments, made possible by a big brain, allowed modern humans and their recent ancestors to occupy virtually the entire world and become the dominant land animals.

Our species Homo sapiens is the most recent iteration of the basic primate body plan. Because of our big, complex brain, we clearly have a much greater capacity for abstract thought and technological advances than any other primate — even chimpanzees, who are our closest living relatives. However, it is important to recognize that in other ways, we are not as adept as other living hominids around the world. We are physically weaker than gorillas, far less agile than orangutans, and arguably less well-mannered than bonobos.

Imagine squeezing through a 7-inch slit in rock to enter a completely dark cave full of lots and lots of old bones. It might sound like a nightmare to most people, but it was a necessary part of a recent exploration of human origins in South Africa as reported in the New York Times in September 2015. The cave and its bones were actually first discovered by spelunkers in 2013, who reported it to paleontologists. An international research project was soon launched to explore the cave. The researchers would eventually conclude that the cave was a hiding place for the dead of a previously unknown early species of Homo, whom they called Homo naledi. Members of this species lived in South Africa around 2.5 to 2.8 million years ago.

Figure 2.5.9 Comparison of skull features of Homo naledi and other early human species.

Homo naledi individuals were about 5 feet (about 1.5 metres) tall and weighed around 100 pounds (about 45 kilograms), so they probably had no trouble squeezing into the cave. Modern humans are considerably larger on average. In order to retrieve the fossilized bones from the cave, six slender researchers had to be found on social media. They were the only ones who could fit through the crack to access the cave. The work was difficult and dangerous, but also incredibly exciting. The site constitutes one of the largest samples of any extinct early Homo species anywhere in the world, and the fossils represent a completely new species of that genus. The site also suggests that early members of our genus were intentionally depositing their dead in a remote place. This behavior was previously thought to be limited to later humans.

Like other early Homo species, Homo naledi exhibits a mosaic of old and modern traits. From the neck down, these early hominins were well-adapted for upright walking. Their feet were virtually indistinguishable from modern human feet  and their legs were also long like ours. Homo naledi had relatively small front teeth, but also a small brain, no larger than an average orange. Clearly, the spurt in brain growth in Homo did not occur in this species. The image to the left shows the different morphology of early human skulls.

Watch the news for more exciting updates about this early species of our genus. Paleontologists researching the cave site estimate that there are hundreds — if not thousands — of fossilized bones still remaining in the cave. There are sure to be many more discoveries reported in the news media about this extinct Homo species.

Attributions

Figure 2.5.1

Macaca nigra self-portrait on Wikimedia Commons is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain). (As the work was created from a non-human animal, it has no human author in whom copyright is vested – See the Wtop.com news article.)

Figure 2.5.2

Classification of the human species, by Christopher Auyeung (based on original image from Peter Halasz on Wikimedia Commons), CK-12 Foundation, is used under a CC BY-NC 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/) license. (Original image in public domain).

©CK-12 Foundation Licensed under  • Terms of Use • Attribution

Figure 2.5.3

Stone tool use by a capuchin monkey, by Tiago Falótico , is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) license.

Figure 2.5.4

Macaca fascicularis aurea stone tools, by Haslam M, Gumert MD, Biro D, Carvalho S, Malaivijitnond S, Figure 2, PLOS One, 2013, is used under a CC BY 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/) license.

Figure 2.5.5

Squirrel monkey, on Max Pixel, is used under a CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en) universal public domain dedication license.

Figure 2.5.6

Non-human primate range [map], by Jackhynes, 2008, is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 2.5.7

Baby Orangutan 3, by Tony Hisgett, 2012, on Flickr, is used under a CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) license.

Figure 2.5.8

Homo erectus, by Emőke Dénes, is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) license.

Figure 2.5.9

Comparison of skull features of Homo naledi and other early human species, by Chris Stringer, Natural History Museum, United Kingdom, 2015, is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) license.

References

BUToday. (2009, October 5). Helping hands: matching capuchins with those in need. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRzp9O9Qc1o&feature=youtu.be

Kelleher, C. (2014, August 22). Monkey ‘selfie’ copyright issue settled [online article]. WTOP.com/News. https://wtop.com/news/2014/08/monkey-selfie-copyright-issue-settled/

National Geographic. (2015, September 5). New human ancestor discovered: homo naledi (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO) | National Geographic. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxgnlSbYLSc&feature=youtu.be

Created by CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 2.6.1 A photomicrograph of Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria.

As you may recall from the beginning of the chapter, Lanying’s strep throat was caused by Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria, the species shown in the photomicrograph in Figure 2.6.1. She took antibiotics to treat the S. pyogenes infection, but this also affected her “good” bacteria, throwing off the balance of microorganisms living inside her and resulting in diarrhea and a yeast infection.

After reading this chapter, you should know that microorganisms such as bacteria and yeast that live in humans are also similar to us in many ways. They are living organisms, so we share the traits of homeostasis, organization, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli, and reproduction. Like us, microorganisms contain genes, consist of cells, and have the ability to evolve. Lanying’s beneficial gut bacteria help digest her food as part of their metabolic processes. Lanying got a yeast infection likely because the growth and reproductive rates of the yeast living on her body were not held in check by beneficial bacteria after she took the antibiotics. You can see there are many ways in which an understanding of the basic characteristics of all life can directly apply to your own.

You also learned how living organisms are classified, from bacteria that are in the Bacteria domain, to yeast (fungus kingdom) and humans (animal kingdom) which are both in the Eukarya domain. You probably now recognize that Streptococcus pyogenes is the binomial nomenclature for this species, and the fact that Streptococcus refers to the genus name.

As Lanying’s doctor told her, there are many different species of microorganisms living in the human digestive system. You should recognize this type of biodiversity is called species diversity. This diversity is maintained in a balance, or homeostasis, that can be upset when one type of organism is killed, for instance, by antibiotics.

Lanying’s doctor advised her to complete the entire course of antibiotics because stopping too early would kill or inhibit the bacteria that are most susceptible to the antibiotic, while leaving the bacteria that are more resistant to the antibiotic alive. This difference in susceptibility to antibiotics is an example of genetic diversity. Over time, the surviving antibiotic-resistant bacteria will have increased survival and reproductive rates compared to the more susceptible bacteria, and the trait of antibiotic resistance will become more common in the population. In this way, bacteria can evolve and become better adapted to its environment — at a major cost to our health, because our antibiotics will no longer be effective! Improper use of antibiotics leading to increased antibiotic resistance is an issue of major concern to public health experts.

Figure 2.6.2 Yogurt contains probiotics, including lactobacillus acidophilus, which is important for vaginal health.

Lanying’s doctor suggested that she also take some probiotics — food or supplements that contain “good microorganisms.”  These good bacteria help our bodies digest food and keep out “bad microorganisms.”  Specifically, lactobacillus acidophilus could help combat her yeast infection and help restore normal gut function.

After reading this chapter, you know how humans are classified, and you’ve learned some characteristics of humans and other closely related species. Beyond our more obvious features of big brains, intelligence, and the ability to walk upright, we also serve as a home to many different microorganisms that may be invisible to the naked eye but play a big role in maintaining our health.

Attributions

Figure 2.6.1

A photomicrograph of Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria, by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Image Library (PHIL) ID#2109, is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 2.6.2

 Yogurt, by Sara Cervera, 2019, is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

References

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, April 3). Lactobacillus acidophilus. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lactobacillus_acidophilus&oldid=948947925

Created by CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Case Study: Diet Dilemma

Figure 3.1.1 Diabetes requires careful monitoring and adjustment of blood sugar.

Joseph is a college student who has watched his father suffer from complications of type 2 diabetes for the past few years. For people with type 2 diabetes, the hormone insulin does not transmit its signal sufficiently. Insulin normally removes sugar from the bloodstream and brings it into the body’s cells. Diabetes prevents blood sugar levels from being properly regulated, and this can cause damage to the cells.

Diabetes can be treated with insulin injections, as shown above, as well as with dietary modifications, but complications can still occur. Joseph’s father has some nerve damage (or neuropathy) in his feet which makes his feet numb. He didn’t notice when he developed minor injuries to his feet which caused some serious infections.

Figure 3.1.2 A healthy diet and exercise can prevent Type 2 Diabetes.

Joseph is obese and knows that his weight — along with a family history of diabetes — increases his risk of getting the disease himself. He wants to avoid the health issues that his father suffered, so he begins walking every day for exercise and starts to lose  weight. Joseph also wants to improve his diet in order to lose more weight, lower his risk of diabetes, and improve his general health, but he is overwhelmed with all of the different dietary advice he reads online and hears from his friends and family.

Joseph’s father tells him to limit refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and rice, because that is what he does to help keep his blood sugar at an acceptable level, but Joseph’s friend tells him that eating a diet high in carbohydrates and low in fat is a good way to lose weight. Joseph reads online that “eating clean” by eating whole, unprocessed foods and avoiding food with “chemicals” can help with weight loss. One piece of advice that everyone seems to agree on is that drinking enough water is good for overall health.

All this dietary advice may sound confusing, but you can better understand health conditions, such as diabetes, and the role of diet and nutrition by understanding chemistry. Chemistry is much more than chemical reactions in test tubes in a lab — it is the atoms, molecules, and reactions that make us who we are and keep us alive and functioning properly. Our diets are one of the main ways our bodies take in raw materials that are needed for the important chemical reactions that take place inside of us.

Attributions

Figure 3.1.1

Diabetes-equipment by Steve Buissinne [stevepb] on Pixabay is used under the Pixabay License (https://pixabay.com/de/service/license/).

Figure 3.1.2

Early Morning Hike, by Luke Pamer on Unsplash, is used under the Unsplash license (https://unsplash.com/license).

References

Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Peripheral neuropathy [online article]. MayoClinic.org. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/peripheral-neuropathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20352061

Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Type 2 diabetes [online article]. MayoClinic.org. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20351193

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

What Are You Made of?

Figure 3.2.1 What are we?

Your entire body is made of cells and cells are made of molecules.If you look at your hand, what do you see? Of course, you see skin, which consists of cells. But what are skin cells made of? Like all living cells, they are made of matter. In fact, all things are made of matter. Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass. Matter, in turn, is made up of chemical substances. A chemical substance is matter that has a definite composition that is consistent throughout. A chemical substance may be either an element or a compound.

Elements and Atoms

An element is a pure substance. It cannot be broken down into other types of substances. Each element is made up of just one type of atom.

Structure of an Atom

Figure 3.2.2 An atom consists of three subatomic components: protons, neutrons and electrons.

An atom is the smallest particle of an element that still has the properties of that element. Every substance is composed of atoms. Atoms are extremely small, typically about a ten-billionth of a metre in diametre. However, atoms do not have well-defined boundaries, as suggested by the atomic model shown below.

Protons have a positive electric charge and neutrons have no electric charge. Virtually all of an atom’s mass is in the protons and neutrons in the nucleus. Electrons surrounding the nucleus have almost no mass, as well as a negative electric charge. If the number of protons and electrons in an atom are equal, then an atom is electrically neutral, because the positive and negative charges cancel each other out. If an atom has more or fewer electrons than protons, then it has an overall negative or positive charge, respectively, and it is called an ion.

The negatively-charged electrons of an atom are attracted to the positively-charged protons in the nucleus by a force called electromagnetic force, for which opposite charges attract. Electromagnetic force between protons in the nucleus causes these subatomic particles to repel each other, because they have the same charge. However, the protons and neutrons in the nucleus are attracted to each other by a different force, called nuclear force, which is usually stronger than the electromagnetic force. Nuclear force repels the positively-charged protons from each other.

Periodic Table of the Elements

There are almost 120 known elements. As you can see in the Periodic Table of the Elements shown below, the majority of elements are metals. Examples of metals are iron (Fe) and copper (Cu). Metals are shiny and good conductors of electricity and heat. Nonmetal elements are far fewer in number. They include hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). They lack the properties of metals.

Figure 3.2.3 The Periodic Table of Elements.

Compounds and Molecules

A compound is a unique substance that consists of two or more elements combined in fixed proportions. This means that the composition of a compound is always the same. The smallest particle of most compounds in living things is called a molecule.

Figure 3.2.4 A molecule of water consists of one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen connected by covalent bonds.

Consider water as an example. A molecule of water always contains one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen. The composition of water is expressed by the chemical formula H₂O. A model of a water molecule is shown in Figure 3.2.4.

What causes the atoms of a water molecule to “stick” together? The answer is chemical bonds. A chemical bond is a force that holds together the atoms of molecules. Bonds in molecules involve the sharing of electrons among atoms. New chemical bonds form when substances react with one another. A chemical reaction is a process that changes some chemical substances into others. A chemical reaction is needed to form a compound, and another chemical reaction is needed to separate the substances in that compound.

Attributions

Figure 3.2.1

Man Sitting, by Gregory Culmer, on Unsplash, is used under the Unsplash license (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 3.2.2

Lithium Atom diagram, by AG Caesar, is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

Figure 3.2.3

Periodic Table Armtuk3, by Armtuk, is used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) license.

Figure 3.2.4

Water molecule, by Sakurambo, is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

References

TED-Ed. (2012, April 16). Just how small is an atom. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQP4UJhNn0I&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 3.3.1 Carbo-licious!

Carbs Galore

What do all of these foods have in common? All of them consist mainly of large compounds called carbohydrates, often referred to as “carbs.” Contrary to popular belief, carbohydrates are an important part of a healthy diet. They are also one of four major classes of biological macromolecules.

Figure 3.3.2 The individual beads represent monomers, and when the beads are connected to form the bracelet, it represents a polymer.

The compounds found in living things are known as biochemical compounds or biological molecules. Biochemical compounds make up the cells and other structures of organisms. They also carry out life processes. Carbon is the basis of all biochemical compounds, so carbon is essential to life on Earth. Without carbon, life as we know it could not exist.

Carbon is so basic to life because of its ability to form stable bonds with many elements, including itself. This property allows carbon to create a huge variety of very large and complex molecules. In fact, there are nearly 10 million carbon-based compounds in living things!

Most biochemical compounds are very large molecules called polymers. A polymer is built of repeating units of smaller compounds called monomers. Monomers are like the individual beads on a string of beads, and the whole string is the polymer. The individual beads (monomers) can do some jobs on their own, but sometimes you need a larger molecule, so the monomers can be connected to form polymers.

Although there are millions of different biochemical compounds in Earth’s living things, all biochemical compounds contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Some contain only these elements, while others contain additional elements, as well. The vast number of biochemical compounds can be grouped into just four major classes: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Carbohydrates

Figure 3.3.3 Glucose is a common monosaccharide which can form large polymers including starch, glycogen and cellulose.

Carbohydrates include sugars and starches. These compounds contain only the elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. In living things, carbohydrates provide energy to cells, store energy, and form certain structures (such as the cell walls of plants). The monomer that makes up large carbohydrate compounds is called a monosaccharide. The sugar glucose, represented by the chemical model in Figure 3.3.2, is a monosaccharide. It contains six carbon atoms (C), along with several atoms of hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). Thousands of glucose molecules can join together to form a polysaccharide, such as starch.

Lipids

Figure 3.3.4 Fats and oils are examples of lipids

Lipids include fats and oils. They primarily contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, although some lipids contain additional elements, such as phosphorus. Lipids function in living things to store energy, form cell membranes, and carry messages. Lipids consist of repeating units that join together to form chains called fatty acids. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number (generally between 4 and 28) of carbon atoms.

Proteins

Figure 3.3.5 There are many sources of dietary protein.

Proteins include enzymes, antibodies, and many other important compounds in living things. They contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. Functions of proteins are very numerous. They help cells keep their shape, compose muscles, speed up chemical reactions, and carry messages and materials. The monomers that make up large protein compounds are called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids that combine into long chains (called polypeptides) to form the building blocks of a vast array of proteins in living things.

Nucleic Acids

Nucleic acids include the molecules DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA(ribonucleic acid). They contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Their functions in living things are to encode instructions for making proteins, to help make proteins, and to pass instructions between parents and offspring. The monomer that makes up nucleic acids is the nucleotide.  All nucleotides are the same, except for a component called a nitrogen base. There are four different nitrogen bases, and each nucleotide contains one of these four bases. The sequence of nitrogen bases in the chains of nucleotides in DNA and RNA makes up the code for protein synthesis, which is called the genetic code. The animation in Figure 3.3.5 represents the very complex structure of DNA, which consists of two chains of nucleotides.

Figure 3.3.6 DNA is a polymer made of many monomers called nucleotides. DNA carries all the instructions a cell needs to carry out metabolism.

3.3 Review Questions

1. Why is carbon so important to life on Earth?
2. What are biochemical compounds?
3. Describe the diversity of biochemical compounds and explain how they are classified.
4. Identify two types of carbohydrates. What are the main functions of this class of biochemical compounds?
5. What roles are played by lipids in living things?
6. The enzyme amylase is found in saliva. It helps break down starches in foods into simpler sugar molecules. What type of biochemical compound do you think amylase is?
7. Explain how DNA and RNA contain the genetic code.
8. What are the three elements present in every class of biochemical compound?
9. Classify each of the following terms as a monomer or a polymer:
   1. Nucleic acid
   2. Amino acid
   3. Monosaccharide
   4. Protein
   5. Nucleotide
   6. Polysaccharide
10. Match each  of the above monomers with its correct polymer and identify which class of biochemical compound is represented by each monomer/polymer pair.
11. Is glucose a monomer or a polymer? Explain your answer.
12. What is one element contained in proteins and nucleic acids, but not in carbohydrates?
13. Describe the relationship between proteins and nucleic acids.
14. Why do you think it is important to eat a diet that contains a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats?
15. Examine the picture of the meal in Figure 3.3.6.  What types of biochemical compounds can you identify?

Figure 3.3.7 Which biomolecules do you see represented here?

3.3 Explore More

One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://humanbiology.pressbooks.tru.ca/?p=438#oembed-2

Biomolecules (updated), by the Amoeba Sisters, 2016.

Attributions

Figure 3.3.1

• Cinnamon buns by adamkontor on Pixabay is used under the Pixabay License (https://pixabay.com/de/service/license/).
• Sugar by Bru-nO on Pixabay is used under the Pixabay License (https://pixabay.com/de/service/license/).
• Potatoes by HolgersFotografie on Pixabay is used under the Pixabay License (https://pixabay.com/de/service/license/).
• Blueberries; oatmeal by iha31 on Pixabay is used under the Pixabay License (https://pixabay.com/de/service/license/).
• Bread by pics_pd on Pixnio is used under a public domain certification (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/).
• Spaghetti by RitaE on Pixabay is used under the Pixabay License (https://pixabay.com/de/service/license/).

Figure 3.3.2
jewellery_beads_stones_necklace-1200668 on Pxhere, is used under a CC0 1.0 universal public domain dedication license (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).

Figure 3.3.3
Glucose; Structure of beta-D-glucopyranose (Haworth projection), by NEUROtiker on Wikimedia Commons, has been released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 3.3.4
Lipid Examples; Butter and Oil, by Bill Branson (photographer), on Wikimedia Commons is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 3.3.5
Protein-rich_Foods, by Smastronardo on Wikimedia Commons, is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) license.

Figure 3.3.6
Bdna_cropped [gif], by Jahobr on Wikimedia Commons, is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain) (This is a derivative work from Bdna.gif by Spiffistan.)

Figure 3.3.7Dinner by Quốc Trung [@boeing] on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Reference

Amoeba Sisters. (2016, February 11).  Biomolecules (updated). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO244P1e9QM&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

The Cellulose of Our Lives

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Where would we be without our jeans? They have been the go-to pants for many people for decades, and they are still as popular as ever. Jeans are made of denim, a type of cotton

Where would we be without our jeans? They have been the go-to pants for many people for decades, and they are still as popular as ever. Jeans are made of denim, a type of cotton fabric. Cotton is a soft, fluffy fibre that grows in a protective case around the seeds of cotton plants. The fibre is almost pure cellulose. Cellulose is the single most abundant biochemical compound found in Earth’s living things, and it’s one of several types of carbohydrates.

What Are Carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are the most common class of biochemical compounds. They include sugars and starches. Carbohydrates are used to provide or store energy, among other uses. Like most biochemical compounds, carbohydrates are built of small repeating units, or monomers, which form bonds with each other to make larger molecules, called polymers. In the case of carbohydrates, the small repeating units are known as monosaccharides. Each monosaccharide consists of six carbon atoms, as shown in the model of the monosaccharide glucose shown in Figure 3.4.2.

Figure 3.4.2 A model of the monosaccharide glucose. 

Sugars are the general name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, which are found in many foods. Their function in living things is to provide energy. The simplest sugars consist of a single monosaccharide. They include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Glucose is a simple sugar that is used for energy by the cells of living things. Fructose is a simple sugar found in fruits, and galactose is a simple sugar found in milk. Their chemical structures are shown in Figure 3.4.3. All monosaccharides have the formula C₆H₁₂O₆.

Figure 3.4.3 Five important monosaccharides.

Some carbohydrates consist of hundreds — or even thousands! — of monosaccharides bonded together in long chains. These carbohydrates are called polysaccharides (“many saccharides”). Polysaccharides are also referred to as complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates that are found in living things include starch, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin. Each type of complex carbohydrate has different functions in living organisms, but they generally either store energy or make up certain structures in living things.

Starch

Figure 3.4.4 Potatoes store glucose made via photosynthesis in the form of starch.

Starch is a complex carbohydrate that is made by plants to store energy. For example, the potatoes pictured in Figure 3.4.4 are packed full of starches that consist mainly of repeating units of glucose and other simple sugars. The leaves of potato plants make sugars by photosynthesis, and the sugars are carried to underground tubers where they are stored as starch. When we eat starchy foods such as potatoes, the starches are broken down by our digestive system into sugars, which provide our cells with energy. Starches are easily and quickly digested with the help of digestive enzymes such as amylase, which is found in the saliva. If you chew a starchy saltine cracker for several minutes, you may start to taste the sugars released as the starch is digested.

Animals do not store energy as starch. Instead, animals store extra energy as the complex carbohydrate glycogen. Glycogen is a polysaccharide of glucose. It serves as a form of energy storage in fungi (as well as animals), and it is the main storage form of glucose in the human body. In humans, glycogen is made and stored primarily in the cells of the liver and muscles. When energy is needed from either storage area, the glycogen is broken down to glucose for use by cells. Muscle glycogen is converted to glucose for use by muscle cells, and liver glycogen is converted to glucose for use throughout the rest of the body. Glycogen forms an energy reserve that can be quickly mobilized to meet a sudden need for glucose, but one that is less compact than the energy reserves of lipids, which are the primary form of energy storage in animals.

Glycogen plays a critical part in the homeostasis of glucose levels in the blood. When blood glucose levels rise too high, excess glucose can be stored in the liver by converting it to glycogen. When glucose levels in the blood fall too low, glycogen in the liver can be broken down to glucose and released into the blood.

Figure 3.4.5 Your liver plays an important role in balancing blood sugar levels. Glycogen in your liver can either collect glucose out of your blood stream to lower blood sugar, or release glucose into the bloodstream to increase blood sugar.

Cellulose

Figure 3.4.6 Cotton fibres represent the purest natural form of cellulose, containing more than 90 per cent of this polysaccharide.

Cellulose is a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of linked glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the cell walls of plants and many algae. Human uses of cellulose include the production of cardboard and paper, which consist mostly of cellulose from wood and cotton. The cotton fibres pictured are about 90 per cent cellulose.

Chitin

Figure 3.4.7 Chitin is an important structural component in fungal cell walls and the exoskeletons of insects.

Chitin is a long-chain polymer of a derivative of glucose. It is found in many living things. For example, it is a component of the cell walls of fungi; the exoskeletons of arthropods, such as crustaceans and insects ; and the beaks and internal shells of animals, such as squids and octopuses. The structure of chitin is similar to that of cellulose.

The Right Molecule for the Job

Starch, glycogen, cellulose and chitin are all made from the monomer glucose.  So how are they all so different?  Their difference in structure and function is related to how they are linked together.  Starch is linked in long chains with a small amount of branching, glycogen is linked in many branching chains, and chitin and cellulose form long single chains that pack together tightly.  Each of these variations of linking the same monomer, glucose, together creates a different way the molecule can be used.  As shown in the Figure 3.4.8 diagram, starch and glycogen have many exposed “ends” of their chains.  These are areas where a glucose molecule can easily be removed for use as energy, whereas cellulose does not.  For this reason, glycogen and starch are well-suited for energy storage in organisms while cellulose is not.  Conversely, cellulose packs many monomers together in a sort of mesh that is very strong — this is why it is a great option for building strong cell walls.

Figure 3.4.8 Starch, glycogen and cellulose are all made of many linked monomers of glucose. The shape and bonding of these monomers affects the function of the molecule.

Feature: My Human Biology

You probably know that you should eat plenty of fibre, but do you know how much fibre you need, how fibre contributes to good health, or which foods are good sources of fibre? Dietary fibre consists mainly of cellulose, so it is found primarily in plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Dietary fibre can’t be broken down and absorbed by your digestive system. Instead, it passes relatively unchanged through your gastrointestinal tract and is excreted in feces (otherwise known as poop). That’s how it helps keep you healthy.

Figure 3.4.9 Beans are an excellent source of both soluble and insoluble fibre.

Fibre in food is commonly classified as either soluble or insoluble fibre.

• Soluble fibre dissolves in water to form a gel-like substance as it passes through the gastrointestinal tract. It lowers blood levels of cholesterol and glucose, which is beneficial for your health. Good sources of soluble fibre include whole oats, peas, beans, and apples.
• Insoluble fibre does not dissolve in water. This type of fibre increases the bulk of feces in the large intestine, and helps keep food wastes moving through, which may help prevent or correct constipation. Good sources of insoluble fibre include whole wheat, wheat bran, beans, and potatoes.

Use food labels like the one shown below in Figure 3.4.10 and online fibre counters to find out how much total fibre you eat in a typical day. Are you consuming enough fibre for good health? If not, consider ways to increase your intake of this important substance. For example, substitute whole grains for refined grains, eat more legumes (such as beans), and try to consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

Figure 3.4.10 You can determine how much dietary fibre is in your food by reading the nutrition label.

Table 3.4.2

Carbohydrate Comparison

Figure 3.4.4

Potatoes by Jean Beaufort, on Public Domain Pictures.net, is used under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).

Figure 3.4.6

Cotton by David Nance for Agricultural Research Service, the research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, on Wikimedia Commons, is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 3.4.7

Ladybug on a mushroom /Fungi in the Woods by Benjamin Balázs on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 3.4.8

Carbohydrate structure comparison [Three Important Polysaccharides] by OpenStax College is on Wikimedia Commons, used under a CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) license.

Figure 3.4.9

Beans by Milada Vigerova on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 3.4.10

FDA Nutrition Facts Label 2014, by US Food and Drug Administration, on Wikimedia Commons is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Table 3.4.1

Recommended Daily Fibre Intake for Males and Females is from OpenStax, used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) license..

Table 3.4.2

Carbohydrate Comparison is from OpenStax. used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) license.

References

Betts, J.G., Young, K.A., Wise, J.A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D.H., Korol, O., Johnson, J.E., Womble, M., DeSaix, P. (2013, April 25). Figure 2.18. Five important monosaccharides [image]. In Anatomy and Physiology.  OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction

Betts, J.G., Young, K.A., Wise, J.A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D.H., Korol, O., Johnson, J.E., Womble, M., DeSaix, P. (2013, April 25). Figure 2.20. Three important polysaccharides [image]. In Anatomy and Physiology.  OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction

Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Lactose intolerance [online article]. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lactose-intolerance/symptoms-causes/syc-20374232

TED-Ed. (2016, January 11). How do carbohydrates impact your health? – Richard J. Wood. YouTube. https://youtu.be/wxzc_2c6GMg

TED-Ed. (2020, January 23). Why is cotton in everything? – Michael R. Stiff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKLJ6KQAcjI

Figure 3.5.1 Lipids can be unhealthy if consumed in large quantities.

It glistens with fat, from the cheese to the fries. Both cheese and fries are typically high-fat foods, so this meal is definitely not recommended if you are following a low-fat diet. We need some fats in our diet for good health, but too much of a good thing can be harmful to our health, no matter how delicious it tastes. What are fats? And why do we have such a love-hate relationship with them? Read on to find out.

Lipid molecules consist mainly of repeating units called fatty acids. There are two types of fatty acids: saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids. Both types consist mainly of simple chains of carbon atoms bonded to one another and to hydrogen atoms. The two types of fatty acids differ in how many hydrogen atoms they contain and the number of bonds between carbon atoms.

3.5 Cultural Connection: Fats in Tanning

Figure 3.5.2 The Plains First Nations used buffalo brains to tan their buffalo hides. These tanned hides where soft, flexible, and waterproof.

Ancient civilizations all over the world have used fats in the hide tanning process.  If raw hides (animal skins) aren’t tanned, they get very brittle and can breakdown.  Tanning results in a hide that is soft, flexible, and resists decay.

One method of tanning is called “brain tanning”.  It’s name is quite self-explanatory — a mixture of boiled animal brains is used to tan a hide.  A type of fat in the brain, called lecithin, is a natural tanning agent.  Once the hide has been rubbed with the brain mixture, it is smoked and then it is ready for use!

Brain tanning is preferred in many cultures because it creates hides which are waterproof and it doesn’t create environmentally harmful byproducts.

Saturated Fatty Acids

In saturated fatty acids, carbon atoms are bonded to as many hydrogen atoms as possible. All the carbon-to-carbon atoms share just single bonds between them. This causes the molecules to form straight chains, as shown in the figure below. The straight chains can be packed together very tightly, allowing them to store energy in a compact form. Saturated fatty acids have relatively high melting points, which explains why they are solids at room temperature. Animals use saturated fatty acids to store energy.  Some dietary examples of saturated fats include butter and lard.

Figure 3.5.3 Fatty acids can be saturated, monounsaturated, or unsaturated. This affects their state (solid or liquid) at room temperature.

Unsaturated Fatty Acids

In unsaturated fatty acids, some carbon atoms are not bonded to as many hydrogen atoms as possible. Instead, they form double or even triple bonds with other carbon atoms. This causes the chains to bend (see Figure 3.5.3). The bent chains cannot be packed together very tightly. Unsaturated fatty acids have relatively low melting points, which explains why they are liquids at room temperature. Plants use unsaturated fatty acids to store energy.

Monounsaturated fatty acids contain one less hydrogen atom than the same-length saturated fatty acid chain. Monounsaturated fatty acids are liquids at room temperature, but start to solidify at refrigerator temperatures. Good food sources of monounsaturated fats include olive oils, peanut oils, and avocados.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids contain at least two fewer hydrogen atoms than the same-length saturated fatty acid chain. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are liquids at room temperature and remain in the liquid state in the refrigerator. Good food sources of polyunsaturated fats include safflower oils, soybean oils, and many nuts and seeds.

Lipids may consist of fatty acids alone, or they may contain other chemical components, as well. For example, some lipids contain alcohol or phosphate groups. Types of lipids include triglycerides, phospholipids, and steroids. Each type has different functions in living things.

Triglycerides

Triglycerides are formed by combining a molecule of glycerol with three fatty acid molecules, as shown below. Glycerol (also called glycerine) is a simple compound known as a sugar alcohol. It is a colourless, odorless liquid that is sweet tasting and nontoxic. Triglycerides are the main constituent of body fat in humans and other animals. They are also found in fats derived from plants. There are many different types of triglycerides, with the main division being between those that contain saturated fatty acids and those that contain unsaturated fatty acids.

Figure 3.5.4 Triglycerides consist of a glycerol molecule (along the left side) with three attached fatty acids (coming off the right side). This diagram shows a saturated fatty acid, the storage form of fat in animals.

In the human bloodstream, triglycerides play an important role in metabolism as energy sources and transporters of dietary fat. They contain more than twice as much energy as carbohydrates, the other major source of energy in the diet. When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn’t need to use right away into triglycerides, which are stored in your fat cells. When you need energy between meals, hormones trigger the release of some of these stored triglycerides back into the bloodstream.

Phospholipids

Figure 3.5.5 A phospholipid is made up of a phosphate group connected to glycerol, which is connected to two fatty acids.

Phospholipids are a major component of the cell membranes of all living things. Each phospholipid molecule has a “tail” consisting of two long fatty acids, and a “head” consisting of a phosphate group and glycerol molecule (see Figure 3.5.5). The phosphate group is a small, negatively-charged molecule causing it to be hydrophilic, or attracted to water. The fatty acid tail of the phospholipid is hydrophobic, or repelled by water. These properties allow phospholipids to form a two-layered cell membrane, which is also called a bilayer.

As shown in Figure 3.5.6, a phospholipid bilayer forms when many phospholipid molecules line up tail to tail, forming an inner and outer surface of hydrophilic heads. The hydrophyilic heads point toward both the watery extracellular space and the watery inside space (lumen) of the cell.  The hydrophobic fatty acids are nestled in the inner space of the bilayer.

Figure 3.5.6 Cell membranes consist of a double layer of phospholipid molecules.

 

Figure 3.5.7 Progesterone is an example of a steroid.

Steroids

Steroids are lipids with a ring structure. Each steroid has a core of 17 carbon atoms, which are arranged in four rings of five or six carbons each (pictured in Figure 3.5.7). Steroids vary by the other components attached to this four-ring core. Hundreds of steroids are found in plants, animals, and fungi, but most steroids have one of just two principal biological functions. Some steroids (such as cholesterol) are important components of cell membranes, while many other steroids are hormones, which are messenger molecules. In humans, steroid hormones include cortisone — a fight-or-flight hormone — and the sex hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

During a routine checkup with your family doctor, your blood was collected for a lipid profile. The results are back, and your triglyceride level is 180 mg/dL. Your doctor says this is a little high. A blood triglyceride level of 150 mg/dL or lower is considered normal. Higher levels of triglycerides in the blood have been linked to an increased risk of atherosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke.

Figure 3.5.8 Changing your diet can help keep blood lipid levels healthy.

If a blood test reveals that you have high triglycerides, the levels can be lowered through healthy lifestyle choices and/or prescription medications. Healthy lifestyle choices to control triglyceride levels include:

• Weight loss: If you are overweight, losing even 5 or 10 pounds (about 2.2 to 4.5 kg) may help lower your triglyceride level.
• Calorie reduction: Extra calories are converted to triglycerides and stored as fat, so reducing your calories should also reduce your triglyceride level.
• Reduction in sugars and refined foods: Simple carbohydrates, such as sugars and foods made with white flour, can increase triglyceride levels.
• Healthier fats: Trade saturated fats found in animal foods for healthier unsaturated fats found in plants and oily fish. For example, substitute olive oil for butter and salmon for red meat.
• Cut back on alcohol: Alcohol is high in calories and sugar. It has a strong effect on triglyceride levels.
• Regular exercise: Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most or all days of the week.

If healthy lifestyle changes aren’t enough to bring down high triglyceride levels, drugs prescribed by your doctor are likely to help.

3.5 Summary

• Lipids are a major class of biochemical compounds that includes oils and fats. Organisms use lipids for storing energy and for making cell membranes and hormones, which are chemical messengers.
• Lipid molecules consist mainly of repeating units called fatty acids. Depending on the proportion of hydrogen atoms they contain, fatty acids may be saturated or unsaturated. Animals store fat as saturated fatty acids, while plants store fat as unsaturated fatty acids.
• Types of lipids include triglycerides, phospholipids, and steroids. Each type consists of fatty acids and certain other molecules. Each also has different functions.
• Triglycerides contain glycerol (an alcohol), in addition to fatty acids. Humans and other animals store fat as triglycerides in fat cells.
• In addition to fatty acids, phospholipids contain phosphate and glycerol. They are the main component of cell membranes in all living things.
• Steroids are lipids with a four-ring structure. Some steroids (such as cholesterol) are important components of cell membranes. Many other steroids are hormones. An example of a human hormone is cortisone, which is the fight-or-flight hormone.

3.5 Review Questions

1. What are lipids?

2. An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
   https://humanbiology.pressbooks.tru.ca/?p=442#h5p-52

3. Compare and contrast saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.
4. Identify three major types of lipids. Describe differences in their structures.
5. How do triglycerides play an important role in human metabolism?
6. Explain how phospholipids form cell membranes.
7. What is cholesterol? What is its major function?
8. Give three examples of steroid hormones in humans.
9. Which type of fatty acid do you think is predominant in the cheeseburger and fries shown above? Explain your answer.
10. Which type of fat would be the most likely to stay liquid in colder temperatures: bacon fat, olive oil, or soybean oil? Explain your answer.
11. Why do you think that the shape of the different types of fatty acid molecules affects how easily they solidify?  Can you think of an analogy for this?
12. High cholesterol levels in the bloodstream can cause negative health effects. Explain why we wouldn’t want to get rid of all of the cholesterol in our bodies.

3.5 Explore More

One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://humanbiology.pressbooks.tru.ca/?p=442#oembed-3

Cortisone and Healing – An overview of the science, by Sportology and OrthoCarolina, 2015

One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://humanbiology.pressbooks.tru.ca/?p=442#oembed-4

What is fat? – George Zaidan, TED-Ed, 2013

Attributions

Figure 3.5.1

cheeseburger by kayleigh harrington on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 3.5.2

Buffalo_Hide_Beaded_Guncase by Unknown onWikimedia Commons, is used under the Missouri History Museum‘s MHS Open Access Policy. Image is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 3.5.3

Fatty acids by CK-12 Foundation is used under a CC BY-NC 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) license.

©CK-12 Foundation Licensed under  • Terms of Use • Attribution

Figure 3.5.4 

Fat_triglyceride_shorthand_formula by Wolfgang Schaefer on Wikimedia Commons, is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 3.5.5

Phospholipid_Structure by OpenStax on Wikimedia Commons, is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) license.

Figure 3.5.6

Phospholipid_Bilayer by OpenStax on Wikimedia Commons, is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) license.

Figure 3.5.7

Progesterone, 5alpha-Dihydroprogesterone 3D ball by Jynto is used under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en).

Figure 3.5.8

Healthy plate by Edgar Castrejon on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

References

Betts, J.G., Young, K.A., Wise, J.A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D.H., Korol, O., Johnson, J.E., Womble, M., DeSaix, P. (2013, April 25). Figure 3.2. Phospholipid structure [digital image]. In Anatomy and Physiology. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/3-1-the-cell-membrane

Betts, J.G., Young, K.A., Wise, J.A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D.H., Korol, O., Johnson, J.E., Womble, M., DeSaix, P. (2013, April 25). Figure 3.3. Phospolipid bilayer [digital image]. In Anatomy and Physiology. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/3-1-the-cell-membrane

Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Arteriosclerosis / atherosclerosis [online article]. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/arteriosclerosis-atherosclerosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350569

Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Heart disease [online article]. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20353118

Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Stroke [online article]. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/stroke/symptoms-causes/syc-20350113

Sportology/OrthoCarolina. (2015, February 26). Cortisone and healing – An overview of the science. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqSoyaDu4b0&feature=youtu.be

TED-Ed. (2013, May 22). What is fat? – George Zaidan. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhUrc4BnPgg&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Protein Shake

Figure 3.6.1 Protein shakes vary in quality based on which amino acids they contain.

Drinks like this shake contain a lot of protein. Muscle tissue consists mainly of protein, so such drinks are popular with people who want to build muscle. Making up muscles is just one of a plethora of functions of this amazingly diverse class of biochemicals.

Proteins are a major class of biochemical compounds made up of small monomer molecules called amino acids. More than 20 different amino acids are typically found in the proteins of living things. Small proteins may contain just a few hundred amino acids, while large proteins may contain thousands.

When amino acids bind together, they may form short chains of two or just a few amino acids. These short chains are called peptides. When amino acids form long chains, the chains are called polypeptides. A protein consists of one or more polypeptides.

Proteins may have up to four levels of structure, from primary to quaternary.  As a result, they can have tremendous diversity. Here are some additional details about the levels of protein structure:

Figure 3.6.2 Four protein structures.

The diversity of protein structures explains why this class of biochemical compounds can play so many important roles in living things. What are the roles of proteins?

• Some proteins have structural functions. They may help cells keep their shape or make up muscle tissues.
• Many proteins are enzymes that speed up chemical reactions in cells. Enzymes are usually highly specific and accelerate only one or a few chemical reactions. Thousands of different biochemical reactionsare known to be catalyzed by enzymes, including most of the reactions involved in metabolism. A reaction without an enzyme might take millions of years to complete, whereas with the proper enzyme, it may take just a few milliseconds!
• Other proteins are antibodies, which bind to specific foreign substances, like proteins on the surface of bacterial cells. This process targets the cells for destruction.
• Still other proteins carry messages or materials. Myoglobin, for example, is an oxygen-binding protein found in the muscle tissues of most mammals (including humans).

The chief characteristic of proteins that allows their diverse set of functions is their ability to bind to other molecules so specifically and tightly. Myoglobin can bind specifically and tightly with oxygen. The region of a protein responsible for binding with another molecule is known as the binding site. This site is often a depression on the molecular surface, determined largely by the tertiary structure of the protein.

Proteins are necessary in the diets of humans and other animals. We cannot make all the different amino acids we need, so we must obtain some of them from the foods we consume. In the process of digestion, we break down the proteins in food into free amino acids that can then be used to synthesize our own proteins. Protein synthesis from amino acid monomers takes place in all cells and is controlled by genes. Once new proteins are synthesized, they generally do not last very long before they are degraded and their amino acids are recycled. A protein’s lifespan in mammalian cells is generally just a day or two.

Structures of Protein by OpenStax, on Wikimedia Commons, is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) license.

References

Amoeba Sisters. (2018, September 24). Protein structure and folding. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hok2hyED9go

OpenStax. (2012, Aug 22). Figure 9. The four levels of protein structure can be observed in these illustrations. (credit: modification of work by National Human Genome Research Institute). In Biology. OpenStax CNX. © Rice University. https://cnx.org/contents/GFy_h8cu@10.53:2zzm1QG9@7/Proteins (last revised May 27, 2016).

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Who’s Who?

Figure 3.7.1 Identical twins show clearly the importance of genes in making us who we are. Genes would not be possible without nucleic acids.

Nucleic acids are the class of biochemical compounds that includes DNA and RNA. These molecules are built of small monomers called nucleotides. Many nucleotides bind together to form a chain called a polynucleotide. The nucleic acid DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) consists of two polynucleotide chains or strands. Thus, DNA is sometimes called double-stranded. The nucleic acid RNA (ribonucleic acid) consists of just one polynucleotide chain or strand, so RNA is sometimes called single-stranded.

Each nucleotide consists of three smaller molecules:

1. A sugar molecule (the sugar deoxyribose in DNA and the sugar ribose in RNA)
2. A phosphate group
3. A nitrogen base

The nitrogen bases in a nucleic acid stick out from the backbone. There are four different nitrogen bases: cytosine, adenine, guanine, and either thymine (in DNA) or uracil (in RNA). In DNA, bonds form between bases on the two nucleotide chains and hold the chains together. Each type of base binds with just one other type of base: cytosine always binds with guanine, and adenine always binds with thymine. These pairs of bases are called complementary base  pairs.

Figure 3.7.2 A short section of DNA showing complementary base pairing.

Figure 3.7.3 DNA is a polymer made of many monomers called nucleotides. DNA carries all the instructions a cell needs to carry out metabolism.

The binding of complementary bases causes DNA molecules automatically to take their well-known double helix shape, which is shown in the animation in Figure 3.7.3. A double helix is like a spiral staircase. It forms naturally and is very strong, making the two polynucleotide chains difficult to break apart.

DNA Molecule. Hydrogen bonds between complementary bases help form the double helix of a DNA molecule. The letters A, T, G, and C stand for the bases adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. The sequence of these four bases in DNA is a code that carries instructions for making proteins. Shown is a representation of how the double helix folds into a chromosome.

DNA makes up genes, and the sequence of bases in DNA makes up the genetic code. Between “starts” and “stops,” the code carries instructions for the correct sequence of amino acids in a protein. RNA uses the information in DNA to assemble the correct amino acids and help make the protein. The information in DNA is passed from parent cells to daughter cells whenever cells divide, and it is also passed from parents to offspring when organisms reproduce. This is how inherited characteristics are passed from one generation to the next.

Figure 3.7.4 ATP (adenosine TRI phosphate) can be converted to ADP (adenosine DI phosphate) to release the energy stored in the chemical bonds between the second and third phosphate group.

ATP is Energy

There is one type of specialized nucleic acid that exists only as a monomer.  It stands apart from the other nucleic acids because it does not code for, or help create, proteins.   This molecule is ATP, which stands for adenosine triphosphate.  It consists of a sugar, adenosine, and three phosphate groups.  It’s primary role is as the basic energy currency in the cell.  The way ATP works is all based on the phosphates.  As shown in Figure 3.7.4, a large amount of energy is stored in the bond between the second and third phosphate group.  When this bond is broken, it functions as an exothermic reaction and this energy can be used to power other processes taking place in the cell.

Reference

TED-Ed. (2012, November 26). DNA: The book of you – Joe Hanson. YouTube, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeAL6xThfL8&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Is It Magic?

Figure 3.8.1 Chlorine gas in high concentration.

The harmless-looking bottle in Figure 3.8.1 contains a greenish-yellow, poisonous gas. The gas is chlorine, which is also used as bleach and to keep the water in pools and hot tubs free of germs. Chlorine can kill just about anything. Would you breathe in chlorine gas or drink liquid chlorine? Of course not, but you often eat a compound containing chlorine. You probably eat this chlorine compound just about every day. Can you guess what it is? It’s table salt.

Figure 3.8.2 Table salt contains the elements sodium and chloride.

Table salt is actually sodium chloride (NaCl), which forms when chlorine and sodium (Na) combine in certain proportions. How does the toxic green chemical chlorine change into the harmless white compound we know as table salt? It isn’t magic — it’s chemistry, and it happens in a chemical reaction.

A chemical reaction is a process that changes some chemical substances into others. A substance that starts a chemical reaction is called a reactant, and a substance that forms as a result of a chemical reaction is called a product. During the reaction, the reactants are used up to create the products.

The burning of methane gas, as shown in the picture below, is a chemical reaction. In this reaction, the reactants are methane (CH₄) and oxygen (O₂), and the products are carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O). As this example shows, a chemical reaction involves the breaking and forming of chemical bonds, which are forces that hold together the atoms of a molecule. When methane burns, for example, bonds break within the methane and oxygen molecules, and new bonds form in the molecules of carbon dioxide and water.

Figure 3.8.3 Flames from methane burning.

Chemical reactions can be represented by chemical equations. A chemical equation is a symbolic way of showing what happens during a chemical reaction. The burning of methane, for example, can be represented by the chemical equation:

CH₄ + 2O₂ → CO₂ + 2H₂O

The arrow in a chemical equation separates the reactants from the products, and shows the direction in which the reaction proceeds. If the reaction could occur in the opposite direction as well, two arrows pointing in opposite directions would be used. The number 2 in front of O₂ and H₂O, called the coefficient, shows that two oxygen molecules and two water molecules are involved in the reaction. If just one molecule is involved, no number is placed in front of the chemical symbol. Note the subscript of 2 for the oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H) atoms in the oxygen and water molecules, respectively. That tells you that each oxygen molecule is made up of two oxygen atoms. If there is no subscript, then there is a single atom. Thus, one water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. In order for this chemical reaction to take place, one methane molecule reacts with two oxygen molecules to form one carbon dioxide molecule and two water molecules.

Figure 3.8.4 Antoine Lavoisier is known as “the father of modern chemistry.”

Conservation of Mass

In a chemical reaction, the quantity of each element does not change. There is the same amount of each element in the products as there was in the reactants. Mass is always conserved. According to the law of conservation of mass — which was first demonstrated convincingly by French chemist Antoine Lavoisier in 1785 — mass is neither created nor destroyed during a chemical reaction. Therefore, during a chemical reaction, the total mass of products is equal to the total mass of reactants. The conservation of mass is reflected in a reaction’s chemical equation. The same number of atoms of each element appears on each side of the arrow. In the chemical equation above, there are four hydrogen atoms on each side of the arrow. Can you find all four of them on each side of the equation?

Many processes that happen all around us on a daily basis involve chemical reactions. Not every change, however, is a chemical change. Some changes are simply physical and do not involve chemical reactions. Physical changes include change in size of pieces and change in state.  If you break an eggshell and pour out the egg into a pan, its chemical makeup and properties do not change. This is just a physical change. No chemical reactions have occurred, and no chemical bonds have broken or formed. Other examples of physical changes are cutting paper into smaller pieces and letting an ice cube melt. What if you put the egg in the pan over a hot flame? The egg turns to a rubbery solid and changes colour. The properties of the egg have changed because its chemical makeup has changed. Cooking the egg is a chemical change that involves chemical reactions.

Other common examples of chemical changes include a cake baking, metal rusting, and a candle burning. More practice is below.

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Slow Burn

Figure 3.9.1 Rusting is a type of combustion reaction.

This old truck gives off a small amount of heat as it rusts. The rusting of iron is a chemical process. It occurs when iron and oxygen go through a chemical reaction similar to burning, or combustion. Obviously, the chemical reaction that occurs when something burns gives off energy. You can feel the heat, and you may be able to see the light of flames. The rusting of iron is a much slower process, but it still gives off energy. It’s just that it releases energy so slowly that you can’t detect a change in temperature.

Matter rusting or burning are common examples of chemical changes. Chemical changes involve chemical reactions, in which some substances, called reactants, change at the molecular level to form new substances, which are called products. All chemical reactions involve energy, but not all chemical reactions release energy, like rusting and burning. In some chemical reactions, energy is absorbed rather than released.

Exothermic Reactions

Figure 3.9.2 Exothermic reactions release energy.

A chemical reaction that releases energy is called an exothermic reaction. This type of reaction can be represented with this general chemical equation:

Reactants → Products + Heat

Another example of an exothermic reaction is chlorine combining with sodium to form table salt. The decomposition of organic matter also releases energy because of exothermic reactions. Sometimes on a chilly morning, you can see steam rising from a compost pile because of these chemical reactions (see photo in Figure 3.9.2).

A special type of exothermic reaction is an exergonic reaction– not only do exergonic reactions release energy, but in addition, they occur spontaneously.  Many cell processes rely on exergonic reactions: in a chemical process called cellular respiration, which is similar to combustion, the sugar glucose is “burned” to provide cells with energy.

Endothermic Reactions

A chemical reaction that absorbs energy is called an endothermic reaction. This type of reaction can also be represented by a general chemical equation:

Reactants + Energy → Products

Figure 3.9.3 This pack gets cold because of an endothermic reaction.

Did you ever use a chemical cold pack like the one pictured? The pack cools down because of an endothermic reaction. When a tube inside the pack is broken, it releases ammonium nitrate, a chemical that reacts with water inside the pack. This reaction absorbs heat energy and quickly cools down the contents of the pack.

Many other chemical processes involve endothermic reactions. Most cooking and baking, for example, involves the use of energy to produce chemical reactions. You can’t bake a cake or cook an egg without adding heat energy.

Arguably, the most important endothermic reactions occur during photosynthesis. When plants produce sugar by photosynthesis, they take in light energy to power the necessary endothermic reactions. The sugar they produce provides plants and virtually all other living things with glucose for cellular respiration.

All chemical reactions require energy to get started. Even reactions that release energy need a boost of energy in order to begin. The energy needed to start a chemical reaction is called activation energy. Activation energy is like the push a child needs to start going down a playground slide. The push gives the child enough energy to start moving, but once she starts, she keeps moving without being pushed again. Activation energy is illustrated in the graph in Figure 3.9.4.

Figure 3.9.4 Even though this reaction is exothermic, it requires “help” to get started. This “help” is the activation energy.

Why do chemical reactions need energy to get started? In order for reactions to begin, reactant molecules must bump into each other, so they must be moving — and movement requires energy. When reactant molecules bump together, they may repel each other because of intermolecular forces pushing them apart. Energy is also required to overcome these forces so the molecules can come together and react.

Attributions

Figure 3.9.1

Rusty truck by Ross Sokolovski on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 3.9.2

Compost/ Gently steaming compost! by John Winfield on Wikimedia Commons, is used under a CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/) license.

Figure 3.9.3

Cold Pack by OpenStax /CNX on Wikimedia Commons, is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) license.

Figure 3.9.4 

Activation energy by CK12 is used under a CC BY-NC 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) license.

References

Brainard, J., Henderson, R. / CK12. (2018, August 22). Figure: Activation Energy [digital image]. In CK-12 College Human Biology. CK12. https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck-12-college-human-biology-flexbook-2.0

OpenStax. (2019, Jul 30), Figure 6(b) A cold pack uses an endothermic process to create the sensation of cold. OpenStax Chemistry. OpenStax CNX. http://cnx.org/contents/85abf193-2bd2-4908-8563-90b8a7ac8df6@12.2. (Credit: a modification of  work by “Skatebiker”/Wikimedia commons).

TED-Ed. (2013, January 9). Activation energy: Kickstarting chemical reactions – Vance Kite. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0ZyjpAin_Y&feature=youtu.be

The Sci Guys. (2013, April 4). The Sci Guys: Science at home – SE1 – EP7: Hot ice – Exothermic reactions and supercooled solutions. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znsPa1BSaIM&feature=youtu.be

Figure 3.10.1. Auto assembly line.

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Assembly Line

We stay alive because millions of different chemical reactions are taking place inside our bodies all the time. Each of our cells is like the busy auto assembly line pictured in Figure 3.10.1. Raw materials, half-finished products, and waste materials are constantly being used, produced, transported, and excreted. The “workers” on the cellular assembly line are mainly enzymes. These are the proteins that make biochemical reactions happen.

Chemical reactions that take place inside living things are called biochemical reactions. The sum of all the biochemical reactions in an organism is called metabolism. Metabolism includes both exothermic (energy-releasing) chemical reactions and endothermic (energy-absorbing) chemical reactions.

Catabolic Reactions

Exothermic reactions in organisms are called catabolic reactions. These reactions break down molecules into smaller units and release energy. An example of a catabolic reaction is the breakdown of glucose during cellular respiration, which releases energy that cells need to carry out life processes.

Anabolic Reactions

Endothermic reactions in organisms are called anabolic reactions. These reactions build up bigger molecules from smaller ones and absorb energy. An example of an anabolic reaction is the joining of amino acids to form a protein. Which type of reactions — catabolic or anabolic — do you think occur when your body digests food?

Figure 3.10.2. The activation energy for a reaction is lowered in the presence of an enzyme.

Most of the biochemical reactions that happen inside of living organisms require help. Why is this the case? For one thing, temperatures inside living things are usually too low for biochemical reactions to occur quickly enough to maintain life. The concentrations of reactants may also be too low for them to come together and react. Where do the biochemical reactions get the help they need to proceed? From the enzymes.

An enzyme is a protein that speeds up a biochemical reaction. It is a biological catalyst. An enzyme generally works by reducing the amount of activation energy needed to start the reaction. The graph in Figure 3.10.2 shows the activation energy needed for glucose to combine with oxygen. Less activation energy is needed when the correct enzyme is present than when it is not present.

How Well Enzymes Work

Enzymes are involved in most biochemical reactions, and they do their jobs extremely well. A typical biochemical reaction that would take several days or even several centuries to happen without an enzyme is likely to occur in just a split second with the proper enzyme! Without enzymes to speed up biochemical reactions, most organisms could not survive.

Enzymes are substrate-specific. The substrate of an enzyme is the specific substance it affects. Each enzyme works only with a particular substrate, which explains why there are so many different enzymes. In addition, for an enzyme to work, it requires specific conditions, such as the right temperature and pH. Some enzymes work best under acidic conditions, for example, while others work best in neutral environments.

Enzyme-Deficiency Disorders

There are hundreds of known inherited metabolic disorders in humans. In most of them, a single enzyme is either not produced by the body at all, or is otherwise produced in a form that doesn’t work. The missing or defective enzyme is like an absentee worker on the cell’s assembly line. Imagine the auto assembly line from the image at the start of this section.  What if the worker who installed the steering wheel was absent?  How would this impact the overall functioning of the vehicle?  When an enzyme is missing, toxic chemicals build up, or an essential product isn’t made. Generally, the normal enzyme is missing because the individual with the disorder inherited two copies of a gene mutation, which may have originated many generations previously.

Any given inherited metabolic disorder is generally quite rare in the general population. However, there are so many different metabolic disorders that a total of one in 1,000 to 2,500 newborns can be expected to have one.

Figure 3.10.1

Auto Assembly line by Brian Snelson on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) license.

Figure 3.10.2

References

Amoeba Sisters. (2016, August 28). Enzymes (updated). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgVFkRn8f10&feature=youtu.be

TED-Ed. (2015, January 15). What triggers a chemical reaction? – Kareem Jarrah. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m6RtOpqvtU&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 3.11.1. The Blue Marble: 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water.

Figure 3.11.2. Most of the water on Earth consists of saltwater in the oceans. What per cent of Earth’s water is fresh water? Where is most of the fresh water found?

Water, Water Everywhere

If you look at Figure 3.11.2, you will see where Earth’s water is found. The term water generally refers to its liquid state, and water is a liquid over a wide range of temperatures on Earth. Water, however, also occurs on Earth as a solid (ice) and as a gas (water vapor).

You are likely already aware of some of the properties of water. For example, you know that water is tasteless and odorless. You also probably know that water is transparent, which means that light can pass through it. This is important for organisms that live in the water, because some of them need sunlight to make food by photosynthesis.

Chemical Structure of Water

Figure 3.11.3. Because of unequal sharing of electrons in the covalent bonds that hold the water molecule together it is considered polar.

To understand some of water’s properties, you need to know more about its chemical structure. Each molecule of water consists of one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen. The oxygen atom in a water molecule attracts electrons more strongly than the hydrogen atoms do. As a result, the oxygen atom has a slightly negative charge, and the hydrogen atoms have a slightly positive charge. A difference in electrical charge between different parts of the same molecule is called polarity. The diagram in Figure 3.11.3 shows water’s polarity.

Figure 3.11.4. Hydrogen bonding occurs between adjacent water molecules due to their polarity. A hydrogen bond is a weak intra-molecular force.

When it comes to charged molecules, opposites attract. In the case of water, the positive (hydrogen) end of one water molecule is attracted to the negative (oxygen) end of a nearby water molecule. Because of this attraction, weak bonds form between adjacent water molecules, as shown in Figure 3.11.4. The type of bond that forms between water molecules is called a hydrogen bond. Bonds between molecules are not as strong as bonds within molecules, but in water, they are strong enough to hold together nearby molecules.

Properties of Water

Figure 3.11.5. Dew drops cling to blades of grass in this picture. Can you think of other examples of water forming drops? Hint: What happens when it rains on a newly waxed car?

Hydrogen bonds between water molecules explain some of water’s properties — for example, why water molecules tend to “stick” together. Did you ever watch water drip from a leaky faucet or from a melting icicle? If you did, then you know that water always falls in drops, rather than as separate molecules. The dew drops pictured to the left are another example of water molecules sticking together.

Hydrogen bonds cause water to have a relatively high boiling point of 100°C (212°F). Extra energy is needed to break these bonds and separate water molecules so they can escape into the air as water vapor. Because of its high boiling point, most water on Earth is in a liquid state, rather than a gaseous state. Water in its liquid state is needed by all living things. Hydrogen bonds also cause water to expand when it freezes. This, in turn, causes ice to have a lower density (that is, less mass per unit volume) than liquid water. The lower density of ice means that it floats on water. In cold climates, ice floats on top of the water in lakes. This allows lake animals like fish to survive the winter by staying in the liquid water under the ice.

Watch the video below to hear more about hydrogen bonding and it’s effects on the properties of water:

The human body is about 70 per cent water (not counting the water in body fat, which varies from person to person). The body needs all this water to function normally. Just why is so much water required by human beings and other organisms? Water can dissolve many substances that organisms need. Water’s polarity helps it dissolve other polar substances. Water is also necessary for many biochemical reactions. The examples below are among the most important biochemical processes that occur in living things, but they are just two of the many ways that water is involved in biochemical reactions.

• Photosynthesis: In this process, cells use the energy in sunlight to change carbon dioxide and water to glucose and oxygen. The reactions of photosynthesis can be represented by the chemical equation:

6CO₂ + 6H₂O + Energy → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

• Cellular respiration: In this process, cells break down glucose in the presence of oxygen and release carbon dioxide, water, and energy. The reactions of cellular respiration can be represented by the chemical equation:

C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + Energy

Water is involved in many other biochemical reactions and almost all life processes depend on water.

Figure 3.11.6. Endurance athletes are at risk for water intoxication.

Are you a marathon runner or other endurance athlete? Do you live and work in a hot, humid climate? If you answered “yes” to either question, you may be at risk of water intoxication.

Water is considered the least toxic chemical compound, so it may surprise you to learn that drinking too much water can cause serious illness and even death. Water intoxication is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions. It results when the normal balance of sodium and other electrolytes in the body is pushed outside safe limits by overhydration, or taking in too much water. The condition is also called hyponatremia, which refers to a lower-than-normal level of sodium in the blood that occurs when more water is entering than leaving the body.

As excessive water is consumed, fluid outside the cells decreases in its concentration of sodium and other electrolytes relative to the concentration inside the cells. This causes fluid to enter the cells by osmosis to balance the electrolyte concentration. The extra fluid in the cells causes them to swell. In the brain, this swelling increases the pressure inside the skull. It is this increase in pressure that leads to the first observable symptoms of water intoxication, which typically include headache, confusion, irritability, and drowsiness. As the condition worsens, additional symptoms may occur, such as difficulty breathing during exertion, muscle weakness and pain, or nausea and vomiting. If the condition persists, the cells in the brain may swell to the point where blood flow is interrupted or pressure is applied to the brain stem. This is extremely dangerous and may lead to seizures, brain damage, coma, or even death.

Under normal circumstances, it is very rare to accidentally consume too much water. However, it is relatively common in athletes who participate in endurance activities, such as marathon running. A study conducted on participants of the 2002 Boston Marathon, for example, found that 13 per cent of the runners finished the race with water intoxication (Almond, et al., 2005). The study also found that water intoxication was just as likely to occur in runners who drank sports drinks containing electrolytes as those who drank plain water. Water intoxication is so common at marathon events that medical personnel who work at such events are trained to suspect water intoxication when runners collapse or show signs of confusion.

Because of the publicity water intoxication has received lately, sports experts have lowered their recommendations for water intake during endurance events. They now advise drinking only when thirsty rather than drinking to “stay ahead of thirst,” which they recommended previously. Keeping water intake in line with water loss is the best way to prevent water intoxication. Mild water intoxication can be treated by restricting fluid intake. In more severe cases, treatment may require the use of diuretic drugs (which increase urination) or other types of drugs to reduce blood volume. Serious water intoxication should be considered a true medical emergency.

Attributions

Figure 3.11.1

Planet Earth by NASA (photo taken by either Harrison Schmitt  or Ron Evans (of the Apollo 17 crew), on Wikimedia Commons, is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 3.11.2

Total water on earth by LadyofHats at CK12, is used under a CC BY-NC 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) license. 

Figure 3.11.3

Polarity of water by Christine Miller is released into the Public Domain (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/).

Figure 3.11.4

Hydrogen bonds, translated by Michal Maňas (User:snek01) is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain). (Original uploader was Qwerter at Czech Wikipedia.)

Figure 3.11.5

Dew by Pascal Chanel on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 3.11.6

Woman in a wheelchair marathon by Kevin André on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

References

Almond, C.S., Shin, A.Y., Fortescue, E.B. et al. (2005, April). Hyponatremia among runners in the Boston Marathon. The New England Journal of Medicine, 352 (15), 1550–1624. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa043901. PMID 15829535.

Amoeba Sisters. (2016, July 26). Properties of Water. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jwAGWky98c&feature=youtu.be

Ruiz Villarreal, M. (LadyofHats). (2016, August 15). Figure 2. Total water on earth [digital image]. In Brainard, J., Henderson, R., CK-12’s College Human Biology FlexBook® (section 3.11). CK12 Foundation. https://www.ck12.org/book/ck-12-college-human-biology/

TED-Ed. (2013, February 4). How polarity makes water behave strangely – Christina Kleinberg. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASLUY2U1M-8&feature=youtu.be

TED-Ed. (2013, October 22). Why does ice float in water? – George Zaidan and Charles Morton. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UukRgqzk-KE&feature=youtu.be

Figure 3.12.1. Batteries contain strong acids which should not come into contact with skin or eyes.

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Danger!  Acid!

You probably know that  batteries contain dangerous chemicals, including strong acids. Strong acids can hurt you if they come into contact with your skin or eyes. Therefore, it may surprise you to learn that your life depends on acids. There are many acids inside your body, and some of them are as strong as battery acid. Acids are needed for digestion and some forms of energy production. Genes are made of nucleic acids, proteins of amino acids, and lipids of fatty acids.

Acids (such as battery acid) are solutions. A solution is a mixture of two or more substances that has the same composition throughout. Many solutions are a mixture of water and some other substance. Not all solutions are acids. Some are bases and some are neither acids nor bases. To understand acids and bases, you need to know more about pure water.

In pure water (such as distilled water), a tiny fraction of water molecules naturally breaks down to form ions. An ion is an electrically charged atom or molecule. The breakdown of water is represented by the chemical equation:

2 H₂O → H₃O⁺ + OH^–

The products of this reaction are a hydronium ion (H3O⁺) and a hydroxide ion (OH^–). The hydroxide ion, which has a negative charge, forms when a water molecule gives up a positively charged hydrogen ion (H⁺). The hydronium ion, which has a positive charge, forms when another water molecule accepts the hydrogen ion.

The concentration of hydronium ions in a solution is known as acidity. In pure water, the concentration of hydronium ions is very low; only about one in ten million water molecules naturally breaks down to form a hydronium ion. As a result, pure water is essentially neutral. Acidity is measured on a scale called pH, as shown in Figure 3.12.2. Pure water has a pH of 7, so the point of neutrality on the pH scale is 7.

Figure 3.12.2. The pH scale measures acidity. It ranges from 1-14.

This pH scale shows the acidity of many common substances. The lower the pH value, the more acidic a substance is.

Figure 3.12.3. Examples of solutions for various pH levels.

Acids

If a solution has a higher concentration of hydronium ions than pure water, it has a pH lower than 7. A solution with a pH lower than 7 is called an acid. As the hydronium ion concentration increases, the pH value decreases. Therefore, the more acidic a solution is, the lower its pH value is.

Did you ever taste vinegar? Like other acids, it tastes sour. Stronger acids can be harmful to organisms. Even stomach acid would eat through the stomach if it were not lined with a layer of mucus. Strong acids can also damage materials, even hard materials such as glass.

Bases

If a solution has a lower concentration of hydronium ions than pure water, it has a pH higher than 7. A solution with a pH higher than 7 is called a base. Bases, such as baking soda, have a bitter taste. Like strong acids, strong bases can harm organisms and damage materials. For example, lye can burn the skin, and bleach can remove the colour from clothing.

Many acids and bases in living things provide the pH that enzymes need. Enzymes are biological catalysts that must work effectively for biochemical reactions to occur. Most enzymes can do their job only at a certain level of acidity. Cells secrete acids and bases to maintain the proper pH for enzymes to do their work.

Every time you digest food, acids and bases are at work in your digestive system. Consider the enzyme pepsin, which helps break down proteins in the stomach. Pepsin needs an acidic environment to do its job. The stomach secretes a strong acid called hydrochloric acid that allows pepsin to work. When stomach contents enter the small intestine, the acid must be neutralized, because enzymes in the small intestine need a basic environment in order to work. An organ called the pancreas secretes a base named bicarbonate into the small intestine, and this base neutralizes the acid.

Do you ever have heartburn? The answer is probably “yes.” More than 60 million Americans have heartburn at least once a month, and more than 15 million suffer from it on a daily basis. Knowing more about heartburn may help you prevent it or know when it’s time to seek medical treatment.

Figure 3.12.4. Acid reflux results when the esophageal sphincter doesn’t close completely.

Heartburn doesn’t have anything to do with the heart, but it does cause a burning sensation in the vicinity of the chest. Normally, the acid secreted into the stomach remains in the stomach where it is needed to allow pepsin to do its job of digesting proteins. A long tube called the esophagus carries food from the mouth to the stomach. A sphincter, or valve, between the esophagus and stomach opens to allow swallowed food to enter the stomach and then closes to prevent stomach contents from backflowing into the esophagus. If this sphincter is weak or relaxes inappropriately, stomach contents flow into the esophagus. Because stomach contents are usually acidic, this causes the burning sensation known as heartburn. People who are prone to heartburn and suffer from it often may be diagnosed with GERD, which stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease.

GERD — as well as occasional heartburn — often can be improved by dietary and other lifestyle changes that decrease the amount and acidity of reflux from the stomach into the esophagus.

• Some foods and beverages seem to contribute to GERD, so these should be avoided. Problematic foods include chocolate, fatty foods, peppermint, coffee, and alcoholic beverages.
• Decreasing portion size and eating the last meal of the day at least a couple of hours before bedtime may reduce the risk of reflux occurring.
• Smoking tends to weaken the lower esophageal sphincter, so quitting the habit may help control reflux.
• GERD is often associated with being overweight. Losing weight often brings improvement.
• Some people are helped by sleeping with the head of the bed elevated. This allows gravity to help control the backflow of acids into the esophagus from the stomach.

If you have frequent heartburn and lifestyle changes don’t help, you may need medication to control the condition. Over-the-counter (OTC) antacids may be all that you need to control the occasional heartburn attack. OTC medications are usually bases that neutralize stomach acids. They may also create bubbles that help block stomach contents from entering the esophagus. For some people, OTC medications are not enough, and prescription medications are instead required for the control of GERD. These prescription medications generally work by inhibiting acid secretion in the stomach.

Be sure to see a doctor if you can’t control your heartburn, or you have it often. Untreated GERD not only interferes with quality of life, it may also lead to more serious complications, ranging from esophageal bleeding to esophageal cancer.

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

After reading this chapter, you should be able to see numerous connections between chemistry, human life, and health. In Joseph’s situation, chemistry is involved in the reasons why his father has diabetes, why his personal risk of getting diabetes is high, and why the dietary changes he is considering could be effective.

Figure 3.13.1. Prevalence of diabetes by per cent of country population.

Type 2 diabetes affects populations worldwide and is caused primarily by a lack of response in the body to the hormone insulin, which causes problems in the regulation of blood sugar, or glucose. Insulin is a peptide hormone, and as you have learned, peptides are chains of amino acids. Therefore, insulin is in the class of biochemical compounds called proteins. Joseph is at increased risk of diabetes partly because there is a genetic component to the disease. DNA, which is a type of chemical compound called a nucleic acid, is passed down from parents to their offspring, and carries the instructions for the production of proteins in units called genes. If there is a problem in a gene (or genes) that contributes to the development of a disease, such as type 2 diabetes, this can get passed down to the offspring and may raise that child’s risk of getting the disease.

But genetics is only part of the reason why Joseph is at an increased risk of diabetes. Obesity itself is a risk factor, and one that can be shared in families due to shared lifestyle factors (such as poor diet and lack of exercise), as well as genetics. Consumption of too many refined carbohydrates (like white bread and soda) may also contribute to obesity and the development of diabetes. As you probably now know, these simple carbohydrates are more easily and quickly broken down in the digestive system into glucose than larger complex carbohydrate molecules, such as those found in vegetables and whole grains. This can lead to dramatic spikes in blood sugar levels, which is particularly problematic for people with diabetes because they have trouble maintaining their blood sugar at a safe level. You can understand why Joseph’s father limits his consumption of refined carbohydrates, and in fact, some scientific studies have shown that avoiding refined carbohydrates may actually help reduce the risk of getting diabetes in the first place.

Figure 3.13.2. A diet high in vegetables and lean meats can help reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.

Joseph’s friend recommended eating a low fat, high carbohydrate diet to lose weight, but you can see that the type of carbohydrate — simple or complex — is an important consideration. Eating a large amount of white bread and rice may not help Joseph reduce his risk of diabetes, but a healthy diet that helps him lose weight may lower his risk of diabetes, since obesity itself is a factor. Which specific diet will work best to help him lose weight probably depends on a variety of factors, including his biology, lifestyle, and food preferences. Joseph should consult with his doctor about his diet and exercise plan, so that his specific situation can be taken into account and monitored by a medical professional.

Drinking enough water is usually good advice for everyone, especially if it replaces sugary drinks like soda. You now know that water is important for many of the chemical reactions that take place in the body. But you can have too much of a good thing — as in the case of marathon runners who can make themselves sick from drinking too much water! As you can see, proper balance, or homeostasis, is very important to the health of living organisms.

Finally, you probably now realize that “chemicals” do not have to be scary, toxic substances. All matter consists of chemicals, including water, your body, and healthy fresh fruits and vegetables, like the ones pictured in Figure 3.12.2. When people advocate “clean eating” and avoiding “chemicals” in food, they are usually referring to avoiding synthetic — or man-made — chemical additives, such as preservatives. This can be a healthy way to eat because it involves eating a variety of whole, fresh, unprocessed foods. But there is no reason to be scared of chemicals in general — they are simply molecules and how they react depends on what they are, what other molecules are present, and the environmental conditions surrounding them.

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.1.1 Athletes after a difficult competition.

We all get tired sometimes, especially if we have been doing a lot of physical activity, like the athletes pictured in Figure 4.1.1. But for Jasmin (Figure 4.1.2), a 34-year-old former high school track star who is now a recreational runner, her tiredness was going far beyond what she thought should be normal for someone in generally good physical shape.

Figure 4.1.2 Jasmin was feeling a level of fatigue that was far beyond normal tiredness.

She was experiencing extreme fatigue after her runs, as well as muscle cramping, spasms, and an unusual sense of heaviness in her legs. At first, she just chalked it up to getting older, but her exhaustion and pain worsened to the point where the former athlete could no longer run for more than a few minutes at a time. She began to experience other unusual symptoms, such as blurry vision and vomiting for no apparent reason.

Concerned, Jasmin went to her doctor, who ran many tests and consulted with several specialists. After several months, she was finally diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease. Jasmin is surprised. She has an 8-year-old niece with a mitochondrial disease, but her niece’s symptoms started when she was very young, and they included seizures and learning disabilities. How can Jasmin have the same disease, but different symptoms? Why didn’t she have problems until adulthood, while her niece experienced symptoms at an early age? And what are mitochondria, anyway?

Attributes

Figure 4.1.1

Difficult competition by Massimo Sartirana on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 4.1.2

Exhausted by Kevin Grieve on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.2.1 Human cells viewed with a very powerful tool called a scanning electron microscope.

What are these incredible objects? Would it surprise you to learn that they are all human cells? Cells are actually too small to see with the unaided eye. It is visible here in such detail because it is being viewed with a very powerful tool called a scanning electron microscope. Cells may be small in size, but they are extremely important to life. Like all other living things, you are made of cells. Cells are the basis of life, and without cells, life as we know it would not exist. You will learn more about these amazing building blocks of life in this section.

If you look at living matter with a microscope — even a simple light microscope — you will see that it consists of cells. Cells are the basic units of the structure and function of living things. They are the smallest units that can carry out the processes of life. All organisms are made up of one or more cells, and all cells have many of the same structures and carry out the same basic life processes. Knowing the structure of cells and the processes they carry out is necessary to an understanding of life itself.

Figure 4.2.2 Robert Hooke sketched the cork cells as they appeared under a simple light microscope.

Discovery of Cells

The first time the word cell was used to refer to these tiny units of life was in 1665 by a British scientist named Robert Hooke. Hooke was one of the earliest scientists to study living things under a microscope. The microscopes of his day were not very strong, but Hooke was still able to make an important discovery. When he looked at a thin slice of cork under his microscope, he was surprised to see what looked like a honeycomb. Hooke made the drawing in the figure to the right to show what he saw. As you can see, the cork was made up of many tiny units. Hooke called these units cells because they resembled cells in a monastery.

By the early 1800s, scientists had observed cells of many different organisms. These observations led two German scientists named Theodor Schwann and Matthias Jakob Schleiden to propose cells as the basic building blocks of all living things. Around 1850, a German doctor named Rudolf Virchow was studying cells under a microscope, when he happened to see them dividing and forming new cells. He realized that living cells produce new cells through division. Based on this realization, Virchow proposed that living cells arise only from other living cells.

The ideas of all three scientists — Schwann, Schleiden, and Virchow — led to cell theory, which is one of the fundamental theories unifying all of biology.

Cell theory states that:

• All organisms are made of one or more cells.
• All the life functions of organisms occur within cells.
• All cells come from existing cells.

Starting with Robert Hooke in the 1600s, the microscope opened up an amazing new world — a world of life at the level of the cell. As microscopes continued to improve, more discoveries were made about the cells of living things, but by the late 1800s, light microscopes had reached their limit. Objects much smaller than cells (including the structures inside cells) were too small to be seen with even the strongest light microscope.

Figure 4.2.3 An electron microscope produced this image of the structures inside of a cell.

Then, in the 1950s, a new type of microscope was invented. Called the electron microscope, it used a beam of electrons instead of light to observe extremely small objects. With an electron microscope, scientists could finally see the tiny structures inside cells. They could even see individual molecules and atoms. The electron microscope had a huge impact on biology. It allowed scientists to study organisms at the level of their molecules, and it led to the emergence of the molecular biology field. With the electron microscope, many more cell discoveries were made.

Although cells are diverse, all cells have certain parts in common. These parts include a plasma membrane, cytoplasm, ribosomes, and DNA.

Figure 4.2.4 Every cell consists of at least a plasma membrane, DNA, ribosomes and a cytoplasm.

1. The plasma membrane (a type of cell membrane) is a thin coat of lipids that surrounds a cell. It forms the physical boundary between the cell and its environment. You can think of it as the “skin” of the cell.
2. Cytoplasm refers to all of the cellular material inside of the plasma membrane. Cytoplasm is made up of a watery substance called cytosol, and it contains other cell structures, such as ribosomes.
3. Ribosomes are the structures in the cytoplasm in which proteins are made.
4. DNA is a nucleic acid found in cells. It contains the genetic instructions that cells need to make proteins.

These four parts are common to all cells, from organisms as different as bacteria and human beings. How did all known organisms come to have such similar cells? The similarities show that all life on Earth has a common evolutionary history.

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.3.1 A bacterium attacks a human erythrocyte. Both are cells.

Bacteria Attack!

The colourful image in Figure 4.3.1 shows a bacterial cell (in green) attacking human red blood cells. The bacterium causes a disease called relapsing fever. The bacterial and human cells look very different in size and shape. Although all living cells have certain things in common — such as a plasma membrane and cytoplasm — different types of cells, even within the same organism, may have their own unique structures and functions. Cells with different functions generally have different shapes that suit them for their particular job. Cells vary not only in shape, but also in size, as this example shows. In most organisms, however, even the largest cells are no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence. Why are cells so small?

Most organisms, even very large ones, have microscopic cells. Why don’t cells get bigger instead of remaining tiny and multiplying? Why aren’t you one giant cell rolling around school? What limits cell size?

Once you know how a cell functions, the answers to these questions are clear. To carry out life processes, a cell must be able to quickly pass substances in and out of the cell. For example, it must be able to pass nutrients and oxygen into the cell and waste products out of the cell. Anything that enters or leaves a cell must cross its outer surface. The size of a cell is limited by its need to pass substances across that outer surface.

Look at the three cubes in Figure 4.3.2. A larger cube has less surface area relative to its volume than a smaller cube. This relationship also applies to cells — a larger cell has less surface area relative to its volume than a smaller cell. A cell with a larger volume also needs more nutrients and oxygen, and produces more waste. Because all of these substances must pass through the surface of the cell, a cell with a large volume will not have enough surface area to allow it to meet its needs. The larger the cell is, the smaller its ratio of surface area to volume, and the more difficult it will be for the cell to get rid of its waste and take in necessary substances. This is what limits the size of the cell.

Figure 4.3.2 Surface area to volume ratio.

Cells with different functions often have varying shapes. The cells pictured below (Figure 4.3.3) are just a few examples of the many different shapes that human cells may have. Each type of cell  has characteristics that help it do its job. The job of the nerve cell, for example, is to carry messages to other cells. The nerve cell has many long extensions that reach out in all directions, allowing it to pass messages to many other cells at once. Do you see the tail of each tiny sperm cell? Its tail helps a sperm cell “swim” through fluids in the female reproductive tract in order to reach an egg cell. The white blood cell has the job of destroying bacteria and other pathogens. It is a large cell that can engulf foreign invaders.

The nucleus is a basic cell structure present in many — but not all — living cells. The nucleus of a cell is a structure in the cytoplasm that is surrounded by a membrane (the nuclear membrane) and contains DNA. Based on whether or not they have a nucleus, there are two basic types of cells: prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells.

Prokaryotic Cells

Figure 4.3.3 Bacteria are prokaryotes, meaning they do not have a nucleus. Their DNA is contained in a region called the nucleoid.

Prokaryotic cells are cells without a nucleus. The DNA in prokaryotic cells is in the cytoplasm, rather than enclosed within a nuclear membrane.  In addition, these cells are typically smaller than eukaryotic cells and contain fewer organelles.  Prokaryotic cells are found in single-celled organisms, such as the bacterium represented by the model in Figure 4.3.3. Organisms with prokaryotic cells are called prokaryotes. They were the first type of organisms to evolve, and they are still the most common organisms today.

Eukaryotic Cells

Figure 4.3.4 Eukaryotic cells, like this animal cell, contain a nucleus and many other membrane-bound organelles.

Eukaryotic cells are cells that contain a nucleus. A typical eukaryotic cell is represented by the model in Figure 4.3.4. Eukaryotic cells are usually larger than prokaryotic cells. They are found in some single-celled and all multicellular organisms. Organisms with eukaryotic cells are called eukaryotes, and they range from fungi to humans.

Besides a nucleus, eukaryotic cells also contain other organelles. An organelle is a structure within the cytoplasm that performs a specific job in the cell. Organelles called mitochondria, for example, provide energy to the cell, and organelles called vesicles store substances in the cell. Organelles allow eukaryotic cells to carry out more functions than prokaryotic cells can.

Interestingly, scientists think that mitochondria were once free-living prokaryotes that infected (or were engulfed by) larger cells. The two organisms developed a symbiotic relationship that was beneficial to both of them, resulting in the smaller prokaryote becoming an organelle within the larger cell. This is called endosymbiotic theory, and it is supported by a lot of evidence, including the fact that mitochondria have their own DNA separate from the DNA in the nucleus of the eukaryotic cell. Endosymbiotic theory will be described in more detail in later sections, and it’s also discussed in the video below.

Figure 4.3.4

Model of a prokaryotic cell: bacterium by Mariana Ruiz Villarreal [LadyofHats] on Wikimedia Commons is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 4.3.5

Animal Cell adapted by Christine Miller is used under a CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en) public domain dedication license. (Original image, Animal Cell Unannotated, is by Kelvin Song on Wikimedia Commons.)

References

Amoeba Sisters. (2017, May 3). Endosymbiotic theory. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGnS-Xk0ZqU&feature=youtu.be

Amoeba Sisters. (2018, July 30). Prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic cells (updated). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxujitlv8wc&feature=youtu.be

Brinkmann, V. (November 2005). Neutrophil engulfing Bacillus anthracis. PLoS Pathogens 1 (3): Cover page [digital image]. DOI:10.1371. https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/issue?id=10.1371/issue.ppat.v01.i03

Lee, W.C.A., Huang, H., Feng, G., Sanes, J.R., Brown, E.N., et al. (2005, December 27) Figure 6f, slightly altered (plus scalebar, minus letter “f”.) [digital image]. Dynamic Remodeling of Dendritic Arbors in GABAergic Interneurons of Adult Visual Cortex. PLoS Biology, 4(2), e29. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0040029. https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0040029

TED-Ed. (2015, February 17). How we think complex cells evolved – Adam Jacobson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i7kAt97XYU&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.4.1 Simple cut-away model of an animal cell. 

Figure 4.4.2 Jello molds containing fruit.

The simple cut-away model of an animal cell (Figure 4.4.1) shows that a cell resembles a plastic bag full of Jell-O. Its basic structure is a plasma membrane filled with cytoplasm. Like Jell-O containing mixed fruit (Figure 4.4.2), the cytoplasm of the cell also contains various structures, including a nucleus and other organelles. Your body is composed of trillions of cells, but all of them perform the same basic life functions. They all obtain and use energy, respond to the environment, and reproduce. How do your cells carry out these basic functions and keep themselves — and you — alive? To answer these questions, you need to know more about the structures that make up cells, starting with the plasma membrane.

The plasma membrane is a structure that forms a barrier between the cytoplasm inside the cell and the environment outside the cell. Without the plasma membrane, there would be no cell. Although it is very thin and flexible, the plasma membrane protects and supports the cell by controlling everything that enters and leaves it. It allows only certain substances to pass through, while keeping others in or out. To understand how the plasma membrane controls what passes into or out of the cell, you need to know its basic structure.

The plasma membrane is composed mainly of phospholipids, which consist of fatty acids and alcohol. The phospholipids in the plasma membrane are arranged in two layers, called a phospholipid bilayer. As shown in the simplified diagram in Figure 4.4.3, each individual  phospholipid molecule has a phosphate group head (in red) and two fatty acid tails (in yellow). The head “loves” water (hydrophilic) and the tails “hate” water (hydrophobic). The water-hating tails are on the interior of the membrane, whereas the water-loving heads point outward, toward either the cytoplasm (intracellular) or the fluid that surrounds the cell (extracellular).

Hydrophobic molecules can easily pass through the plasma membrane if they are small enough, because they are water-hating like the interior of the membrane. Hydrophilic molecules, on the other hand, cannot pass through the plasma membrane — at least not without help — because they are water-loving like the exterior of the membrane.

Figure 4.4.3 The phospholipid bilayer is made up of two sheets of phospholipids, with the fatty acid tails facing the centre.

The plasma membrane also contains other molecules, primarily other lipids and proteins. The yellow molecules in the diagram here, for example, are the lipid cholesterol. Molecules of the steroid lipid cholesterol help the plasma membrane keep its shape. Proteins in the plasma membrane (shown blue in Figure 4.4.4) include: transport proteins that assist other substances in crossing the cell membrane, receptors that allow the cell to respond to chemical signals in its environment, and cell-identity markers that indicate what type of cell it is and whether it belongs in the body.

Figure 4.4.4 The plasma membrane contains many molecules embedded in the lipid bilayer.

The plasma membrane may have extensions, such as whip-like flagella (singular flagellum) or brush-like cilia (singular cilium), shown below (Figure 4.4.5), that give it other functions. In single-celled organisms, these membrane extensions may help the organisms move. In multicellular organisms, the extensions have different functions. For example, the cilia on human lung cells sweep foreign particles and mucus toward the mouth and nose, while the flagellum on a human sperm cell allows it to swim.

Figure 4.4.5 Human sperm with their long, whip-like flagella.

Figure 4.4.6 Brush-like cilia on lung epithelial cells.

If you smoke or use e-cigarettes (vaping) and need another reason to quit, here’s a good one. We usually think of lung cancer as the major disease caused by smoking. But smoking and vaping can have devastating effects on the body’s ability to protect itself from repeated, serious respiratory infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

Figure 4.4.7 Airways of “healthy” vapors are abnormal – results of vaping.

Cilia are microscopic, hair-like projects on cells that line the respiratory, reproductive, and digestive systems. Cilia in the respiratory system line most of your airways, where they have the job of trapping and removing dust, germs, and other foreign particles before they can make you sick. Cilia secrete mucus that traps particles, and they move in a continuous wave-like motion that sweeps the mucus and particles upward toward the throat, where they can be expelled from the body. When you are sick and cough up phlegm, that’s what you are doing.

Smoking prevents cilia from performing these important functions. Chemicals in tobacco smoke paralyze the cilia so they can’t sweep mucus out of the airways. Those chemicals also inhibit the cilia from producing mucus. Fortunately, these effects start to wear off soon after the most recent exposure to tobacco smoke. If you stop smoking, your cilia will return to normal. Even if prolonged smoking has destroyed cilia, they will regrow and resume functioning in a matter of months after you stop smoking.

Attributions

Figure 4.4.1

Animal Cell Unannotated, by Kelvin Song on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en) public domain dedication license.

Figure 4.4.2

Jello mold at the mexican bakery photo by Aimée Knight on Flickr is used under a CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) license.

Figure 4.4.3

Phospholipid_Bilayer by OpenStax on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) license.

Figure 4.4.4

Lipid bilayer by OpenStax on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) license.

Figure 4.4.5

Spermatozoa-human-3140x by No specific author on Wikimedia Commons is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 4.4.6

Cilia/ Bronchiolar epithelium 3 – SEM by Charles Daghlian on Wikimedia Commons is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 4.4.7

Adverse effects of vaping (raster) by Mikael Häggström on Wikimedia Commons is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

References

Amoeba Sisters. (2018, February 27). Inside the cell membrane. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBCVVszQQNs&feature=youtu.be

Betts, J.G., Young, K.A., Wise, J.A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D.H., Korol, O., Johnson, J.E.. Womble, M., DeSaix. P. (2013, April 25). Figure 3.3 Phospolipid Bilayer [digital image]. In Anatomy and Physiology. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/3-1-the-cell-membrane

Betts, J.G., Young, K.A., Wise, J.A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D.H., Korol, O., Johnson, J.E.. Womble, M., DeSaix. P. (2013, April 25). Figure 3.4 Cell Membrane [digital image]. In Anatomy and Physiology. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/3-1-the-cell-membrane

Ghosh, A., Coakley, R. C., Mascenik, T., Rowell, T. R., Davis, E. S., Rogers, K., Webster, M. J., Dang, H., Herring, L. E., Sassano, M. F., Livraghi-Butrico, A., Van Buren, S. K., Graves, L. M., Herman, M. A., Randell, S. H., Alexis, N. E., & Tarran, R. (n.d.). Chronic E-Cigarette Exposure Alters the Human Bronchial Epithelial Proteome. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical /Care Medicine, 198(1), 67–76. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.1164/rccm.201710-2033OC

TED-Ed. (2013, February 26). Insights into cell membranes via dish detergent – Ethan Perlstein. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAXnYcUjn5k&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.5.1 The cytoplasm is filled with many organelles, each doing their own specific jobs.

Figure 4.5.1 is an artist’s representation of what you might see if you could take a peek inside one of these basic building blocks of living things.  A cell’s interior is obviously a crowded and busy space. It contains cytoplasm, dissolved substances, and many structures. It’s a hive of countless biochemical activities all going on at once. 

Cytoplasm is a thick, usually colourless solution that fills each cell and is enclosed by the cell membrane. Cytoplasm presses against the cell membrane, filling out the cell and giving it its shape. Sometimes, cytoplasm acts like a watery solution, and sometimes, it takes on a more gel-like consistency. In eukaryotic cells, the cytoplasm includes all of the material inside the cell but outside of the nucleus, which contains its own watery substance called the nucleoplasm. All of the organelles in eukaryotic cells (such as the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria) are located in the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm helps to keep them in place. It is also the site of most metabolic activities in the cell, and it allows materials to pass easily throughout the cell.

The portion of the cytoplasm surrounding organelles is called cytosol. Cytosol is the liquid part of cytoplasm. It is composed of about 80 per cent water, and it contains dissolved salts, fatty acids, sugars, amino acids, and proteins (such as enzymes). These dissolved substances are needed to keep the cell alive and carry out metabolic processes. Enzymes dissolved in cytosol, for example, break down larger molecules into smaller products that can then be used by organelles of the cell. Waste products are also dissolved in the cytosol before they are taken in by vacuoles or expelled from the cell.

Figure 4.5.2 The cytoskeleton gives the cell an internal structure, like the frame of a house. In this photograph, filaments and tubules of the cytoskeleton have been stained green and red, respectively, so that they can be seen clearly. The blue dots are cell nuclei.

Cytoskeleton

Although cytoplasm may appear to have no form or structure, it is actually highly organized. A framework of protein scaffolds called the cytoskeleton provides the cytoplasm and the cell with structure. The cytoskeleton consists of thread-like microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules that criss-cross the cytoplasm. You can see these filaments and tubules in the cells in Figure 4.5.2. As its name suggests, the cytoskeleton is like a cellular “skeleton.” It helps the cell maintain its shape and also helps to hold cell structures (like organelles) in place within the cytoplasm.

News about an important study of the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells came out in early 2016. Researchers in Dresden, Germany discovered that when cells are deprived of adequate nutrients, they may essentially shut down and become dormant. Specifically, when cells do not get enough nutrients, they shut down their metabolism, their energy level drops, and the pH of their cytoplasm decreases. Their normally liquid cytoplasm also assumes a solid state. The cells appear dead, as though a kind of rigor mortis has set in. The researchers think that these changes protect the sensitive structures inside the cells and allow the cells to survive difficult conditions. If nutrients are returned to the cells, they can emerge from their dormant state unharmed. They will continue to grow and multiply when conditions improve.

This important basic science research was executed on a nonhuman organism: one-celled fungi called yeasts. Nonetheless, it may have important implications for humans, because yeasts have eukaryotic cells with many of the same structures as human cells. Yeast cells appear to be able to “trick” death by shutting down all life processes in a controlled way. Through continued study, researchers hope to learn whether human cells can be taught this “trick” as well.

Attributions

Figure 4.5.1

Cell-organelles-labeled by Koswac on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) license.

Figure 4.5.2

National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. (2015, August 3). Cytoskeleton structure and function. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTv9ItGd050&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.6.1 “Waltz of the Polypeptides” sculpture by New York City-based artist Mara G. Haseltine, on display at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY.  This artwork features multiple ribosomes creating polypeptides according to the directions on a piece of messenger RNA.

The 25-metre long sculpture shown in Figure 4.6.1 is a recognition of the beauty of one of the metabolic functions that takes place in the cells in your body.  This artwork brings to life an important structure in living cells: the ribosome, the cell structure where proteins are synthesized. The slender silver strand is the messenger RNA(mRNA) bringing the code for a protein out into the cytoplasm.  The purple and green structures are ribosomal subunits (which together form a single ribosome), which can “read” the code on the mRNA and direct the bonding of the correct sequence of amino acids to create a protein.  All living cells — whether they are prokaryotic or eukaryotic — contain ribosomes, but only eukaryotic cells also contain a nucleus and several other types of organelles.

An organelle is a structure within the cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell that is enclosed within a membrane and performs a specific job. Organelles are involved in many vital cell functions. Organelles in animal cells include the nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, vesicles, and vacuoles. Ribosomes are not enclosed within a membrane, but they are still commonly referred to as organelles in eukaryotic cells.

The nucleus is the largest organelle in a eukaryotic cell, and it’s considered the cell’s control center. It contains most of the cell’s DNA(which makes up chromosomes), and it is encoded with the genetic instructions for making proteins. The function of the nucleus is to regulate gene expression, including controlling which proteins the cell makes. In addition to DNA, the nucleus contains a thick liquid called nucleoplasm, which is similar in composition to the cytosol found in the cytoplasm outside the nucleus. Most eukaryotic cells contain just a single nucleus, but some types of cells (such as red blood cells) contain no nucleus and a few other types of cells (such as muscle cells) contain multiple nuclei.

Figure 4.6.2 This closeup of a cell nucleus shows that it is surrounded by a structure called the nuclear envelope, which contains tiny perforations, or pores. The nucleus also contains a dense center called the nucleolus.

As you can see in the model pictured in Figure 4.6.2, the membrane enclosing the nucleus is called the nuclear envelope. This is actually a double membrane that encloses the entire organelle and isolates its contents from the cellular cytoplasm. Tiny holes called nuclear pores allow large molecules to pass through the nuclear envelope, with the help of special proteins. Large proteins and RNA molecules must be able to pass through the nuclear envelope so proteins can be synthesized in the cytoplasm and the genetic material can be maintained inside the nucleus. The nucleolus shown in the model below is mainly involved in the assembly of ribosomes. After being produced in the nucleolus, ribosomes are exported to the cytoplasm, where they are involved in the synthesis of proteins.

The mitochondrion (plural, mitochondria) is an organelle that makes energy available to the cell. This is why mitochondria are sometimes referred to as the “power plants of the cell.” They use energy from organic compounds (such as glucose) to make molecules of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), an energy-carrying molecule that is used almost universally inside cells for energy.

Figure 4.6.3 Mitochondria contain their own DNA and ribosomes!

Mitochondria (as in the Figure 4.6.3 diagram) have a complex structure including an inner and out membrane.  In addition, mitochondria have their own DNA, ribosomes, and a version of cytoplasm, called matrix.  Does this sound similar to the requirements to be considered a cell?  That’s because they are!

Scientists think that mitochondria were once free-living organisms because they contain their own DNA. They theorize that ancient prokaryotes infected (or were engulfed by) larger prokaryotic cells, and the two organisms evolved a symbiotic relationship that benefited both of them. The larger cells provided the smaller prokaryotes with a place to live. In return, the larger cells got extra energy from the smaller prokaryotes. Eventually, the smaller prokaryotes became permanent guests of the larger cells, as organelles inside them. This theory is called endosymbiotic theory, and it is widely accepted by biologists today. (See the video in section 4.3 to learn all about endosymbiotic theory.)

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an organelle that helps make and transport proteins and lipids. There are two types of endoplasmic reticulum: rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) and smooth endoplasmic reticulum (sER). Both types are shown in Figure 4.6.4.

• rER looks rough because it is studded with ribosomes. It provides a framework for the ribosomes, which make proteins. Bits of its membrane pinch off to form tiny sacs called vesicles, which carry proteins away from the ER.
• sER looks smooth because it does not have ribosomes. sER makes lipids, stores substances, and plays other roles.

Figure 4.6.4 The rough and smooth ER are part of a larger group of organelles termed “the endomembrane system”. All of the organelles in this system are composed of plasma membrane.

The Golgi apparatus (shown in the Figure 4.6.4 diagram) is a large organelle that processes proteins and prepares them for use both inside and outside the cell. You can see the Golgi apparatus in the figure above. The Golgi apparatus is something like a post office. It receives items (proteins from the ER), then packages and labels them before sending them on to their destinations (to different parts of the cell or to the cell membrane for transport out of the cell). The Golgi apparatus is also involved in the transport of lipids around the cell.

Both vesicles and vacuoles are sac-like organelles made of phospholipid bilayer that store and transport materials in the cell. Vesicles are much smaller than vacuoles and have a variety of functions. The vesicles that pinch off from the membranes of the ER and Golgi apparatus store and transport protein and lipid molecules. You can see an example of this type of transport vesicle in the Figure 4.6.4. Some vesicles are used as chambers for biochemical reactions.

There are some vesicles which are specialized to carry out specific functions.  Lysosomes, which use enzymes to break down foreign matter and dead cells, have a double membrane to make sure their contents don’t leak into the rest of the cell.  Peroxisomes are another type of specialized vesicle with the main function of breaking down fatty acids and some toxins. 

Figure 4.6.5 Centrioles are tiny cylinders near the nucleus, enlarged here to show their tubular structure.

Centrioles are organelles involved in cell division. The function of centrioles is to help organize the chromosomes before cell division occurs so that each daughter cell has the correct number of chromosomes after the cell divides. Centrioles are found only in animal cells, and are located near the nucleus. Each centriole is made mainly of a protein named tubulin. The centriole is cylindrical in shape and consists of many microtubules, as shown in the model pictured in Figure 4.6.5.

Figure 4.6.6 Ribosomes are made up of two subunits, each consisting of protein and rRNA.

Ribosomes

Ribosomes are small structures where proteins are made. Although they are not enclosed within a membrane, they are frequently considered organelles. Each ribosome is formed of two subunits, like the ones pictured at the beginning of this section (Figure 4.6.1) and in  Figure 4.6.6. Both subunits consist of proteins and RNA. mRNA from the nucleus carries the genetic code, copied from DNA, which remains in the nucleus. At the ribosome, the genetic code in mRNA is used to assemble and join together amino acids to make proteins. Ribosomes can be found alone or in groups within the cytoplasm, as well as on the rER.

Attributes

Figure 4.6.1 

Ribosomes at Work by Pedrik on Flickr is used under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/) license.

Figure 4.6.2

Nucleus by BruceBlaus on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) license. 

Figure 4.6.3 

Mitochondrion_structure.svg by Kelvinsong; modified by Sowlos on Wikimedia Commons is used and adapted by Christine Miller under a CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) license.

Figure 4.6.4

Endomembrane_system_diagram_en.svg by Mariana Ruiz [LadyofHats] on Wikimedia Commons is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 4.6.5

Centrioles by BruceBlaus on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) license. 

Figure 4.6.6

Ribosome_shape by Vossman on Wikimedia Commons is used and adapted by Christine Miller under a CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) license.

References

Blausen.com staff. (2014). Nucleus – Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014. WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436. https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/WikiJournal_of_Medicine/Medical_gallery_of_Blausen_Medical_2014

Blausen.com staff (2014). Centrioles – Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014. WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436.https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/WikiJournal_of_Medicine/Medical_gallery_of_Blausen_Medical_2014

Nucleus Medical Media. (2015, March 18). Biology: Cell structure I Nucleus Medical Media. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URUJD5NEXC8&feature=youtu.be

TED. (2007, July 24). David Bolinsky: Visualizing the wonder of a living cell. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id2rZS59xSE&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.7.1 Just as windows in a house let light in, the cell membrane lets certain substances into and out of the cell.

Letting in the Light

Look at the big windows in this house (Figure 4.7.1). Imagine all the light they must let in on a sunny day. Now imagine living in a house that has walls without any windows or doors. Nothing could enter or leave. Or imagine living in a house with holes in the walls instead of windows and doors. Things could enter or leave, but you couldn’t control what came in or went out. Only when a house has walls with windows and doors that can be opened or closed, can you control what enters or leaves. Windows and doors allow you to let in light and the family dog and keep out rain and bugs, for example.

If a cell were a house, the plasma membrane would be walls with windows and doors. Moving things in and out of the cell is an important function of the plasma membrane. It controls everything that enters and leaves the cell. There are two basic ways that substances can cross the plasma membrane: passive transport — which requires no energy expenditure by the cell — and active transport — which requires energy from the cell.

Passive transport occurs when substances cross the plasma membrane without any input of energy from the cell. No energy is required because the substances are moving from an area where they have a higher concentration to an area where they have a lower concentration. Concentration refers to the number of particles of a substance per unit of volume. The more particles of a substance in a given volume, the higher the concentration. A substance always moves from an area where it is more concentrated to an area where it is less concentrated.

There are several different types of passive transport, including simple diffusion, osmosis, and facilitated diffusion. Each type is described below.

Simple Diffusion

Diffusion is the movement of a substance due to a difference in concentration. It happens without any help from other molecules. The substance simply moves from the area where it is more concentrated to the area where it is less concentrated. Picture someone spraying perfume in the corner of a room.  Do the perfume molecules stay in the corner?  No, they spread out, or diffuse throughout the room until they are evenly spread out.  Figure 4.7.2 shows how diffusion works across a cell membrane. Substances that can squeeze between the lipid molecules in the plasma membrane by simple diffusion are generally very small, hydrophobic molecules, such as molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Figure 4.7.2 Molecules diffuse across a membrane from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration until the concentration is the same on both sides of the membrane.

Figure 4.7.3 Osmosis is a type of diffusion in which only water can cross the plasma membrane.

Osmosis

Osmosis is a special type of diffusion — the diffusion of water molecules across a membrane. Like other molecules, water moves from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. Water moves in or out of a cell until its concentration is the same on both sides of the plasma membrane.  In Figure 4.7.3, the dotted red line shows a semi-permeable membrane.  In the first beaker, there is an uneven concentration of solutes on either side of the membrane, but the solute cannot cross — diffusion of the solute can’t occur.  In this case, water will move to even out the concentration as has happened on the beaker on the right side.  The water levels are uneven, but the process of osmosis has evened out the concentration gradient.

Facilitated Diffusion

Water and many other substances cannot simply diffuse across a membrane. Hydrophilic molecules, charged ions, and relatively large molecules (such as glucose) all need help with diffusion. This help comes from special proteins in the membrane known as transport proteins. Diffusion with the help of transport proteins is called facilitated diffusion. There are several types of transport proteins, including channel proteins and carrier proteins. Both are shown in Figure 4.7.4.

• Channel proteins form pores (or tiny holes) in the membrane. This allows water molecules and small ions to pass through the membrane without coming into contact with the hydrophobic tails of the lipid molecules in the interior of the membrane.
• Carrier proteins bind with specific ions or molecules. In doing so, they change shape. As carrier proteins change shape, they carry the ions or molecules across the membrane.

Figure 4.7.4 Facilitated diffusion across a cell membrane. Channel proteins and carrier proteins help substances diffuse across a cell membrane. In this diagram, the channel and carrier proteins are helping substances move into the cell (from the extracellular space to the intracellular space).

For a cell to function normally, the inside of it must maintain a stable state. The concentrations of salts, nutrients, and other substances must be kept within certain ranges. The state in which stable conditions are maintained inside a cell (or an entire organism) is called homeostasis. Homeostasis requires constant adjustments, because conditions are always changing both inside and outside the cell. The transport of substances into and out of cells as described in this section plays an important role in homeostasis. By allowing the movement of substances into and out of cells, transport keeps conditions within normal ranges inside the cells and throughout the organism as a whole.

Watch this video “Cell Transport,” by the Amoeba Sisters:

Cell Transport with the Amoeba Sisters, 2016.

Attributions

Figure 4.7.1

Windows/ The Oyster Suite in Eureka, CA by Drew Coffman on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 4.7.2

Diffusion/ Scheme simple diffusion in cell membrane  by Mariana Ruiz Villarreal [LadyofHats] is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 4.7.3

Osmosis by OpenStax on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) license.

Figure 4.7.4

Scheme facilitated diffusion in cell membrane by Mariana Ruiz Villarreal [LadyofHats] is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

References

Amoeba Sisters. (2016, June 24). Cell transport. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptmlvtei8hw&feature=youtu.be

Amoeba Sisters. (2018, June 27). Osmosis and water potential. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-osEc07vMs&feature=youtu.be

Betts, J. G., Young, K.A., Wise, J.A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D.H., Korol, O., Johnson, J.E., Womble, M., DeSaix, P. (2013, April 25). Figure 3.7 Osmosis [digital image]. In Anatomy and Physiology. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/3-1-the-cell-membrane

Professor Dave Explains. (2016, September 5). Structure of the cell membrane – Active and passive transport. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcrqIxt8am8&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.8.1 The Humvee challenge – Active transport.

Like Pushing a Humvee Uphill

You can tell by their faces that these airmen (Figure 4.8.1) are expending a lot of energy trying to push this Humvee up a slope. The men are participating in a competition that tests their brute strength against that of other teams. The Humvee weighs about 13 thousand pounds (about 5,897 kilograms), so it takes every ounce of energy they can muster to move it uphill against the force of gravity. Transport of some substances across a plasma membrane is a little like pushing a Humvee uphill — it can’t be done without adding energy.

Some substances can pass into or out of a cell across the plasma membrane without any energy required because they are moving from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. This type of transport is called passive transport. Other substances require energy to cross a plasma membrane, often because they are moving from an area of lower concentration to an area of higher concentration, against the concentration gradient. This type of transport is called active transport. The energy for active transport comes from the energy-carrying molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Active transport may also require proteins called pumps, which are embedded in the plasma membrane. Two types of active transport are membrane pumps (such as the sodium-potassium pump) and vesicle transport.

The sodium-potassium pump is a mechanism of active transport that moves sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions into the cells — in all the trillions of cells in the body! Both ions are moved from areas of lower to higher concentration, so energy is needed for this “uphill” process. The energy is provided by ATP. The sodium-potassium pump also requires carrier proteins. Carrier proteins bind with specific ions or molecules, and in doing so, they change shape. As carrier proteins change shape, they carry the ions or molecules across the membrane. Figure 4.8.2 shows in greater detail how the sodium-potassium pump works, as well as the specific roles played by carrier proteins in this process.

Figure 4.8.2 The sodium-potassium pump moves sodium ions (Na+) out of the cell and potassium ions (K+) into the cell. First, three sodium ions bind with a carrier protein in the cell membrane. The carrier protein then changes shape, powered by energy from ATP, and as it does, it pumps the three sodium ions out of the cell. At that point, two potassium ions bind to the carrier protein. The process is reversed, and the potassium ions are pumped into the cell.

• Sodium is the principal ion in the fluid outside of cells. Normal sodium concentrations are about ten times higher outside of cells than inside of cells.  To move sodium out of the cell is moving it against the concentration gradient
• Potassium is the principal ion in the fluid inside of cells. Normal potassium concentrations are about 30 times higher inside of cells than outside of cells. To move potassium into the cell is moving it against the concentration gradient.

These differences in concentration create an electrical and chemical gradient across the cell membrane, called the membrane potential. Tightly controlling the membrane potential is critical for vital body functions, including the transmission of nerve impulses and contraction of muscles. A large percentage of the body’s energy goes to maintaining this potential across the membranes of its trillions of cells with the sodium-potassium pump.

Some molecules, such as proteins, are too large to pass through the plasma membrane, regardless of their concentration inside and outside the cell. Very large molecules cross the plasma membrane with a different sort of help, called vesicle transport. Vesicle transport requires energy input from the cell, so it is also a form of active transport. There are two types of vesicle transport: endocytosis and exocytosis. Both types are shown in Figure 4.8.3.

Figure 4.8.3 Large molecules can enter and exit the cell with the help of vesicles. On the left side of the diagram you can see exocytosis, as large molecules exit the cell through the plasma membrane. On the right side of the diagram you can see endocytosis, as large molecules enter the cell through the plasma membrane, via vesicle formation.

Endocytosis

Endocytosis is a type of vesicle transport that moves a substance into the cell. The plasma membrane completely engulfs the substance, a vesicle pinches off from the membrane, and the vesicle carries the substance into the cell. When an entire cell or other solid particle is engulfed, the process is called phagocytosis. When fluid is engulfed, the process is called pinocytosis.

Exocytosis

Exocytosis is a type of vesicle transport that moves a substance out of the cell (exo-, like “exit”). A vesicle containing the substance moves through the cytoplasm to the cell membrane. Because the vesicle membrane is a phospholipid bilayer like the plasma membrane, the vesicle membrane fuses with the cell membrane, and the substance is released outside the cell.

Figure 4.8.4 Endocytosis brings substances into the cell via vesicle formation. Exocytosis allows substances to exit the cell by merging a transport vesicle with the cell membrane.

Maintaining the proper balance of sodium and potassium in body fluids by active transport is necessary for life itself, so it’s no surprise that getting the right balance of sodium and potassium in the diet is important for good health. Imbalances may increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and other disorders.

If you are like the majority of North Americans, sodium and potassium are out of balance in your diet. You are likely to consume too much sodium and too little potassium. Follow these guidelines to help ensure that these minerals are balanced in the foods you eat:

• Total sodium intake should be less than 2,300 mg/day. Most salt in the diet is found in processed foods, or added with a salt shaker. Stop adding salt and start checking food labels for sodium content. Foods considered low in sodium have less than 140 mg/serving (or 5 per cent daily value).
• Total potassium intake should be 4,700 mg/day. It’s easy to add potassium to the diet by choosing the right foods — and there are plenty of choices! Most fruits and vegetables are high in potassium. Potatoes, bananas, oranges, apricots, plums, leafy greens, tomatoes, lima beans, and avocado are especially good sources. Other foods with substantial amounts of potassium are fish, meat, poultry, and whole grains. The collage below shows some of these potassium-rich foods.

Figure 4.8.5 Potassium power! 

Attributions

Figure 4.8.1

Humvee challenge by Airman 1st Class Collin Schmidt on Wikimedia Commons is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 4.8.2

Sodium Potassium Pump by Christine Miller is used under a CC BY 4.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) license.

Figure 4.8.3

Cytosis by Manu5 on Wikimedia Commons is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) license.

Figure 4.8.4 

Endocytosis and Exocytosis by Christine Miller is used under a CC BY 4.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) license.

Figure 4.8.5

• Canteloupes. Image Number K7355-11 by Scott Bauer/ USDA on Wikimedia Commons is in the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).
• Spinach by chiara conti on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash license (https://unsplash.com/license).
• Eleven long purple eggplants by JVRKPRASAD on Wikimedia commons is used under a  CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en) license.
• Bananas by Marco Antonio Victorino on Pexels is used under the Pexels license (https://www.pexels.com/license/).
• Potato picking by Nic D on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash license (https://unsplash.com/license).
• Maldives by Sebastian Pena Lambarri on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash license (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 4.8.6

Active Transport by Christine Miller is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

References

Amoeba Sisters. (2016, June 24). Cell transport [digital image]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptmlvtei8hw&feature=youtu.be

ImmiflexImmuneSystem. (2013). Neutrophil phagocytosis – White blood cell eats staphylococcus aureus bacteria. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_mXDvZQ6dU

Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Diabetes [online]. MayoClinic.org. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20371444

Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). High blood pressure (hypertension) [online]. MayoClinic.org. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/symptoms-causes/syc-20373410

Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Heart disease [online]. MayoClinic.org.  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20353118

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 19). Ouabain. In Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ouabain&oldid=963440756

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Mush!

Figure 4.9.1 All living things require energy to maintain homeostasis. These sled dogs use energy as they pull the sled.

These beautiful sled dogs are a metabolic marvel. While running up to 160 kilometres (about 99 miles) a day, they will each consume and burn about 12 thousand calories — about 240 calories per pound per day, which is the equivalent of about 24 Big Macs! A human endurance athlete, in contrast, typically burns only about 100 calories per pound (0.45 kg) each day. Scientists are intrigued by the amazing metabolism of sled dogs, although they still haven’t determined how they use up so much energy. But one thing is certain: all living things need energy for everything they do, whether it’s running a race or blinking an eye. In fact, every cell of your body constantly needs energy just to carry out basic life processes. You probably know that you get energy from the food you eat, but where does food come from? How does it come to contain energy? And how do your cells get the energy from food?

In the scientific world, energy is defined as the ability to do work. You can often see energy at work in living things — a bird flies through the air, a firefly glows in the dark, a dog wags its tail. These are obvious ways that living things use energy, but living things constantly use energy in less obvious ways, as well.

Inside every cell of all living things, energy is needed to carry out life processes. Energy is required to break down and build up molecules, and to transport many molecules across plasma membranes. All of life’s work needs energy. A lot of energy is also simply lost to the environment as heat. The story of life is a story of energy flow — its capture, its change of form, its use for work, and its loss as heat. Energy (unlike matter) cannot be recycled, so organisms require a constant input of energy. Life runs on chemical energy. Where do living organisms get this chemical energy?

The chemical energy that organisms need comes from food. Food consists of organic molecules that store energy in their chemical bonds. In terms of obtaining food for energy, there are two types of organisms: autotrophs and heterotrophs.

Autotrophs

Autotrophs are organisms that capture energy from nonliving sources and transfer that energy into the living part of the ecosystem. They are also able to make their own food. Most autotrophs use the energy in sunlight to make food in the process of photosynthesis. Only certain organisms — such as plants, algae, and some bacteria — can make food through photosynthesis. Some photosynthetic organisms are shown in Figure 4.9.2.

	Figure 4.9.2 Photosynthetic autotrophs, which make food using the energy in sunlight, include plants (left), algae (middle), and certain bacteria (right).

Autotrophs are also called producers. They produce food not only for themselves, but for all other living things (known as consumers), as well. This is why autotrophs form the basis of food chains, such as the food chain shown In Figure 4.9.3.

Figure 4.9.3 Food chains: Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Watch the video “The simple story of photosynthesis and food – Amanda Ooten” from TED-Ed to learn more about photosynthesis:

The simple story of photosynthesis and food – Amanda Ooten, TED-Ed, 2013.

Heterotrophs

Heterotrophs are living things that cannot make their own food. Instead, they get their food by consuming other organisms, which is why they are also called consumers. They may consume autotrophs or other heterotrophs. Heterotrophs include all animals and fungi, as well as many single-celled organisms. In Figure 4.9.3, all of the organisms are consumers except for the grasses and phytoplankton. What do you think would happen to consumers if all producers were to vanish from Earth?

Organisms mainly use two types of molecules for chemical energy: glucose and ATP. Both molecules are used as fuels throughout the living world. Both molecules are also key players in the process of photosynthesis.

Glucose

Glucose is a simple carbohydrate with the chemical formula C₆H₁₂O₆. It stores chemical energy in a concentrated, stable form. In your body, glucose is the form of energy that is carried in your blood and taken up by each of your trillions of cells. Glucose is the end product of photosynthesis, and it is the nearly universal food for life.  In Figure 4.9.4, you can see how photosynthesis stores energy from the sun in the glucose molecule and then how cellular respiration breaks the bonds in glucose to retrieve the energy.

Figure 4.9.4 Energy transfer in photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

ATP

If you remember from section 3.7 Nucleic Acids, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the energy-carrying molecule that cells use to power most cellular processes (nerve impulse conduction, protein synthesis and active transport are good examples of cell processes that rely on ATP as their energy source).  ATP is made during the first half of photosynthesis and then used for energy during the second half of photosynthesis, when glucose is made. ATP releases energy when it gives up one of its three phosphate groups (Pi) and changes to ADP (adenosine diphosphate, which has two phosphate groups), as shown in Figure 4.9.5. Thus, the breakdown of ATP into ADP + Pi is a catabolic reaction that releases energy (exothermic). ATP is made from the combination of ADP and Pi, an anabolic reaction that takes in energy (endothermic).

Figure 4.9.5 ATP (adenosine TRI phosphate) can be converted to ADP (adensosine DI phosphate) to release the energy stored in the chemical bonds between the second and third phosphate group.

Why Organisms Need Both Glucose and ATP

Why do living things need glucose if ATP is the molecule that cells use for energy? Why don’t autotrophs just make ATP and be done with it? The answer is in the “packaging.” A molecule of glucose contains more chemical energy in a smaller “package” than a molecule of ATP. Glucose is also more stable than ATP. Therefore, glucose is better for storing and transporting energy. Glucose, however, is too powerful for cells to use. ATP, on the other hand, contains just the right amount of energy to power life processes within cells. For these reasons, both glucose and ATP are needed by living things.

The flow of energy through living organisms begins with photosynthesis. This process stores energy from sunlight in the chemical bonds of glucose. By breaking the chemical bonds in glucose, cells release the stored energy and make the ATP they need. The process in which glucose is broken down and ATP is made is called cellular respiration.

Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are like two sides of the same coin. This is apparent in Figure 4.9.6. The products of one process are the reactants of the other. Together, the two processes store and release energy in living organisms. The two processes also work together to recycle oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Figure 4.9.6 This diagram compares and contrasts photosynthesis and cellular respiration. It also shows how the two processes are related.

 

4.9 Summary

• Energy is the ability to do work. It is needed by all living things and every living cell to carry out life processes, such as breaking down and building up molecules, and transporting many molecules across cell membranes.
• The form of energy that living things need for these processes is chemical energy, and it comes from food. Food consists of organic molecules that store energy in their chemical bonds.
• Autotrophs make their own food. Plants, for example, make food by photosynthesis. Autotrophs are also called producers.
• Heterotrophss obtain food by eating other organisms. Heterotrophs are also known as consumers.
• Organisms mainly use the molecules glucose and ATP for energy. Glucose is a compact, stable form of energy that is carried in the blood and taken up by cells. ATP contains less energy and is used to power cell processes.
• The flow of energy through living things begins with photosynthesis, which creates glucose. In a process called cellular respiration, organisms’ cells break down glucose and make the ATP they need.

4.9 Review Questions

1. Define energy.
2. Why do living things need energy?

3. An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
   https://humanbiology.pressbooks.tru.ca/?p=596#h5p-63

4. Compare and contrast the two basic ways that organisms get energy.
5. Describe the roles and relationships of the energy molecules glucose and ATP.
6. Summarize how energy flows through living things.
7. Why does the transformation of ATP to ADP release energy?

4.9 Explore More

One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://humanbiology.pressbooks.tru.ca/?p=596#oembed-5

Learn Biology: Autotrophs vs. Heterotrophs, Mahalodotcom, 2011.

One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://humanbiology.pressbooks.tru.ca/?p=596#oembed-6

Energy Transfer in Trophic Levels, Teacher’s Pet, 2015.

Attributions

Figure 4.9.1
Three Airmen participate in dog-sled expedition by U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dan Rea is released into the public domain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain).

Figure 4.9.2

• Plant [photo] by Ren Ran on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).
• Green Algae by Tristan Schmurr on Flickr is used under a CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) license.
• Cyanobacteria by Argon National Laboratory on Flickr is used under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/) license.

Figure 4.9.3

Biomass_Pyramid by Swiggity.Swag.YOLO.Bro on Wikipedia is used and adapted by Christine Miller under a CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en) license.

Figure 4.9.4

Photosynthesis and respiration by Christine Miller is used under a CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) license.

Figure 4.9.5

Photo synthesis and cellular respiration by Lady of Hats/ CK-12 Foundation is used under a CC BY-NC 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) license.

©CK-12 Foundation

Licensed under  • Terms of Use • Attribution

 

References

LadyofHats/CK-12 Foundation. (2016, August 15). Figure 5: Photosynthesis and cellular respiration [digital image]. In Brainard, J., and Henderson, R., CK-12’s College Human Biology FlexBook® (Section 4.9). CK-12 Foundation. https://www.ck12.org/book/ck-12-college-human-biology/section/4.9/

Mahalodotcom. (2011, January 14). Learn biology: Autotrophs vs. heterotrophs. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDalQv7d2cs

Teacher’s Pet. (2015, March 23). Energy transfer in trophic levels. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0glkXIj1DgE&feature=emb_logo

TED-Ed. (2013, March 5). The simple story of photosynthesis and food – Amanda Ooten. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo5XndJaz-Y&feature=youtu.be

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.10.1 Ready to make s’mores!

This inviting camp fire can be used for both heat and light. Heat and light are two forms of energy that are released when a fuel like wood is burned. The cells of living things also get energy by “burning.” They “burn” glucose in a process called cellular respiration.

Cellular respiration is the process by which living cells break down glucose molecules and release energy. The process is similar to burning, although it doesn’t produce light or intense heat as a campfire does. This is because cellular respiration releases the energy in glucose slowly and in many small steps. It uses the energy released to form molecules of ATP, the energy-carrying molecules that cells use to power biochemical processes. In this way, cellular respiration is an example of energy coupling: glucose is broken down in an exothermic reaction, and then the energy from this reaction powers the endothermic reaction of the formation of ATP.  Cellular respiration involves many chemical reactions, but they can all be summed up with this chemical equation:

C₆H₁₂O₆  6O₂ → 6CO₂  6H₂O Chemical Energy (in ATP)

In words, the equation shows that glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆) and oxygen (O₂) react to form carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O), releasing energy in the process. Because oxygen is required for cellular respiration, it is an aerobic process.

Cellular respiration occurs in the cells of all living things, both autotrophs and heterotrophs. All of them burn glucose to form ATP. The reactions of cellular respiration can be grouped into three stages: glycolysis, the Krebs cycle (also called the citric acid cycle), and electron transport. Figure 4.10.2 gives an overview of these three stages, which are also described in detail below.

Figure 4.10.2 Cellular respiration takes place in the stages shown here. The process begins with a molecule of glucose, which has six carbon atoms. What happens to each of these atoms of carbon?

The first stage of cellular respiration is glycolysis, which happens in the cytosol of the cytoplasm.

Splitting Glucose

The word glycolysis literally means “glucose splitting,” which is exactly what happens in this stage. Enzymes split a molecule of glucose into two molecules of pyruvate (also known as pyruvic acid). This occurs in several steps, as summarized in the following diagram.

Figure 4.10.3 Glycolysis is a complex ten-step reaction that ultimately converts glucose into two molecules of pyruvate. This releases energy, which is transferred to ATP. How many ATP molecules are made during this stage of cellular respiration?

Results of Glycolysis

Energy is needed at the start of glycolysis to split the glucose molecule into two pyruvate molecules which go on to stage II of cellular respiration. The energy needed to split glucose is provided by two molecules of ATP; this is called the energy investment phase. As glycolysis proceeds, energy is released, and the energy is used to make four molecules of ATP; this is the energy harvesting phase. As a result, there is a net gain of two ATP molecules during glycolysis. During this stage, high-energy electrons are also transferred to molecules of NAD  to produce two molecules of NADH, another energy-carrying molecule. NADH is used in stage III of cellular respiration to make more ATP.

Transition Reaction

Before pyruvate can enter the next stage of cellular respiration it needs to be modified slightly.  The transition reaction is a very short reaction which converts the two molecules of pyruvate to two molecules of acetyl CoA, carbon dioxide, and two high energy electron pairs convert NAD to NADH.  The carbon dioxide is released, the acetyl CoA moves to the mitochondria to enter the Kreb’s Cycle (stage II), and the NADH carries the high energy electrons to the Electron Transport System (stage III).

Figure 4.10.14: During the Transition Reaction, pyruvate is converted to acetyl CoA and carbon dioxide.

Figure 4.10.5 Labelled mitochondrion structure.

Before you read about the last two stages of cellular respiration, you need to know more about the mitochondrion, where these two stages take place. A diagram of a mitochondrion is shown in Figure 4.10.5.

As you can see from the figure, a mitochondrion has an inner and outer membrane. The space between the inner and outer membrane is called the intermembrane space. The space enclosed by the inner membrane is called the matrix. The second stage of cellular respiration (the Krebs cycle) takes place in the matrix. The third stage (electron transport) happens on the inner membrane.

Recall that glycolysis produces two molecules of pyruvate (pyruvic acid), which are then converted to acetyl CoA during the short transition reaction. These molecules enter the matrix of a mitochondrion, where they start the Krebs cycle (also known as the Citric Acid Cycle). The reason this stage is considered a cycle is because a molecule called oxaloacetate is present at both the beginning and end of this reaction and is used to break down the two molecules of acetyl CoA.  The reactions that occur next are shown in Figure 4.10.6.

Figure 4.10.6 Reactants and products of the Krebs Cycle.

The Krebs cycle itself actually begins when acetyl-CoA combines with a four-carbon molecule called OAA (oxaloacetate) (see Figure 4.10.6). This produces citric acid, which has six carbon atoms. This is why the Krebs cycle is also called the citric acid cycle.

After citric acid forms, it goes through a series of reactions that release energy. The energy is captured in molecules of NADH, ATP, and FADH₂, another energy-carrying coenzyme. Carbon dioxide is also released as a waste product of these reactions.

The final step of the Krebs cycle regenerates OAA, the molecule that began the Krebs cycle. This molecule is needed for the next turn through the cycle. Two turns are needed because glycolysis produces two pyruvic acid molecules when it splits glucose.

Results of the Glycolysis, Transition Reaction and Krebs Cycle

After glycolysis, transition reaction, and the Krebs cycle, the glucose molecule has been broken down completely. All six of its carbon atoms have combined with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. The energy from its chemical bonds has been stored in a total of 16 energy-carrier molecules. These molecules are:

• 4 ATP (2 from glycolysis, 2 from Krebs Cycle)
• 12 NADH (2 from glycolysis, 2 from transition reaction, and 8 from Krebs cycle)
• 2 FADH₂ (both from the Krebs cycle)

The events of cellular respiration up to this point are exergonic reactions– they are releasing energy that had been stored in the bonds of the glucose molecule.  This energy will be transferred to the third and final stage of cellular respiration: the Electron Transport System, which is an endergonic reaction.  Using an exothermic reaction to power an endothermic reaction is known as energy coupling.

Figure 4.10.7. Reactants and products of the electron transport chain.

 ETC, the final stage in cellular respiration produces 32 ATP.  The Electron Transport Chain is the final stage of cellular respiration. In this stage, energy being transported by NADH and FADH₂ is transferred to ATP.  In addition, oxygen acts as the final proton acceptor for the hydrogens released from all the NADH and FADH₂, forming water.  Figure 4.10.8 shows the reactants and products of the ETC.

Transporting Electrons

The Electron transport chain is the third stage of cellular respiration and is illustrated in Figure 4.10.8. During this stage, high-energy electrons are released from NADH and FADH₂, and they move along electron-transport chains on the inner membrane of the mitochondrion. An electron-transport chain is a series of molecules that transfer electrons from molecule to molecule by chemical reactions. Some of the energy from the electrons is used to pump hydrogen ions (H ) across the inner membrane, from the matrix into the intermembrane space. This ion transfer creates an electrochemical gradient that drives the synthesis of ATP.

Figure 4.10.8 Electron-transport chains on the inner membrane of the mitochondrion carry out the last stage of cellular respiration.

As shown in Figure 4.10.8, the pumping of hydrogen ions across the inner membrane creates a greater concentration of the ions in the intermembrane space than in the matrix. This gradient causes the ions to flow back across the membrane into the matrix, where their concentration is lower. ATP synthase acts as a channel protein, helping the hydrogen ions cross the membrane. It also acts as an enzyme, forming ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate in a process called oxidative phosphorylation. After passing through the electron-transport chain, the “spent” electrons combine with oxygen to form water.

You have seen how the three stages of aerobic respiration use the energy in glucose to make ATP. How much ATP is produced in all three stages combined? Glycolysis produces two ATP molecules, and the Krebs cycle produces two more. Electron transport begins with several molecules of NADH and FADH₂ from the Krebs cycle and transfers their energy into as many as 34 more ATP molecules. All told, then, up to 38 molecules of ATP can be produced from just one molecule of glucose in the process of cellular respiration.

References

CrashCourse. (2012, March 12). ATP & Respiration: Crash Course Biology #7. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=00jbG_cfGuQ&feature=emb_logo

Betts, J. G., Young, K.A., Wise, J.A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D.H., Korol, O., Johnson, J.E., Womble, M., DeSaix, P. (2013, April 25). Figure 24.8 Electron Transport Chain [digital image]. In Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions (Section ). OpenStax.  https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/24-2-carbohydrate-metabolism

Betts, J. G., Young, K.A., Wise, J.A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D.H., Korol, O., Johnson, J.E., Womble, M., DeSaix, P. (2013, April 25). Figure 24.9 Carbohydrate Metabolism [digital image]. In Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions (Section 24.2). OpenStax.  https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/24-2-carbohydrate-metabolism

The Amoeba Sisters. (2014, October 22). Cellular Respiration and the Mighty Mitochondria. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eo7JtRA7lg&t=3s

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.11.1 Sprinters racing on a track. 

Fast and Furious

These sprinters’ muscles will need a lot of energy to complete this short race, because they will be running at top speed. The action won’t last long, but it will be very intense. The energy each sprinter needs can’t be provided quickly enough by aerobic cellular respiration. Instead, their muscle cells must use a different process to power their activity.

Living things’ cells power their activities with the energy-carrying molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate). The cells of most living things make ATP from glucose in the process of cellular respiration. This process occurs in three stages: glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and electron transport. The latter two stages require oxygen, making cellular respiration an aerobic process. When oxygen is not available in cells, the ETS quickly shuts down.  Luckily, there are also ways of making ATP from glucose which are anaerobic, which means that they do not require oxygen. These processes are referred to collectively as anaerobic respiration.

One important way of making ATP without oxygen is fermentation. Similar to aerobic cellular respiration, fermentation starts with glycolysis, which converts glucose into pyruvate without requiring oxygen. Inn aerobic cellular respiration the pyruvate  that is formed by glycolysis would go to the citric acid cycle and the   electron transport) chain. However, in fermentation the pyruvate follows another pathway. There are two types of fermentation: alcoholic fermentation and lactic acid fermentation. Of these, only lactic acid fermentation takes place inside the human body.

Alcoholic Fermentation

Figure 4.11.2 In alcoholic fermentation, pyruvate is converted to ethanol and carbon dioxide.  During this process, NAD+ is formed, which allows glycolysis to continue making ATP.

Alcoholic fermentation is carried out by single-celled fungi (called yeasts), as well as some bacteria. We use alcoholic fermentation in these organisms to make biofuels, bread, and wine. The biofuel ethanol (a type of alcohol), for example, is produced by alcoholic fermentation of the glucose in corn or other plants. The process by which this happens is summarized in the diagram below. The two pyruvic acid molecules shown in the diagram come from the splitting of glucose in the first stage of the process (glycolysis). ATP is also made during glycolysis. Two molecules of ATP are produced from each molecule of glucose.

Figure 4.11.3 Holes in bread created by carbon dioxide.

Yeasts in bread dough also use alcoholic fermentation for energy. They produce carbon dioxide gas as a waste product. The carbon dioxide released causes bubbles in the dough and explains why the dough rises. Do you see the small holes in the bread pictured to the right? The holes were formed by bubbles of carbon dioxide gas.

Lactic acid fermentation is carried out by certain bacteria, including the bacteria in yogurt. It is also carried out by your muscle cells when you work them hard and fast. This is how the muscles of the sprinters pictured above get energy for their short-lived — but intense — activity. When this happens, your muscles are using ATP faster than your cardiovascular system can deliver oxygen!  The process by which this happens is summarized in the diagram below. Again, the two pyruvic acid molecules shown in the diagram come from the splitting of glucose in the first stage of the process (glycolysis). It is also during this stage that two ATP molecules are produced. The rest of the processes produce lactic acid. Note that, unlike in alcoholic fermentation, there is no carbon dioxide waste product in lactic acid fermentation.

Figure 4.11.4 Lactic acid fermentation formula.

Did you ever run a race, lift heavy weights, or participate in some other intense activity and notice that your muscles start to feel a burning sensation? This may occur when your muscle cells use lactic acid fermentation to provide ATP for energy. The buildup of lactic acid in the muscles causes a burning feeling. This painful sensation is useful if it gets you to stop overworking your muscles and allow them a recovery period, during which cells can eliminate the lactic acid.

With oxygen, organisms can use aerobic cellular respiration to produce up to 38 molecules of ATP from just one molecule of glucose. Without oxygen, organisms must use anaerobic respiration to produce ATP, and this process produces only two molecules of ATP per molecule of glucose. Although anaerobic respiration produces less ATP, it has the advantage of doing so very quickly. For example, it allows your muscles to get the energy they need for short bursts of intense activity. Aerobic cellular respiration, in contrast, produces ATP more slowly.

Fermentation in Food Production

Anaerobic respiration is also used in the food industry.  You read about yeast’s role in making bread and beer, but did you know that there are many microbes that are used to create the food we eat, including cheese, sour cream, yogurt, soy sauce, olives, pepperoni, and many more.  Watch the video below to learn more about fermentation in the food industry.

The beneficial bacteria that make delicious food – Erez Garty, TED-Ed, 2016.

Attributions

Figure 4.11.1

Sprinters by Jonathan Chng on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 4.11.2

Alcoholic fermentation by Hana Zavadska/ CK-12 Foundation is used under a CC BY-NC 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) license. 

©CK-12 Foundation

Licensed under  • Terms of Use • Attribution

Figure 4.11.3

Bread [photo] by Orlova Maria on Unsplash is used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license).

Figure 4.11.4

Lactic Acid Fermenation by Hana Zavadska/ CK-12 Foundation is used under a CC BY-NC 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) license. 

©CK-12 Foundation Licensed under  • Terms of Use • Attribution

References

Bozeman Science. (2013, May 2). Anaerobic respiration. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDC29iBxb3w&feature=youtu.be

Hana Zavadska/CK-12 Foundation. (2016, August 15). Figure 2: Alcoholic fermentation  [digital image]. In Brainard, J., and Henderson, R., CK-12’s College Human Biology FlexBook® (Section 4.11). CK-12 Foundation. https://www.ck12.org/book/ck-12-college-human-biology/section/4.11/

Hana Zavadska/CK-12 Foundation. (2016, August 15). Figure 4: Lactic acid fermentation [digital image]. In Brainard, J., and Henderson, R., CK-12’s College Human Biology FlexBook® (Section 4.11). CK-12 Foundation. https://www.ck12.org/book/ck-12-college-human-biology/section/4.11/

First Nations Health Authority. (2019, September 6). First Nations traditional foods facts Sheet [pdf]. https://www.fnha.ca/Documents/Traditional_Food_Fact_Sheets.pdf

Genest, M. (2017, May 24). Eulachon, oolichan, hooligan: A fish by any other name is just as oily [online article]. YukonNews.com. https://www.yukon-news.com/business/eulachon-oolichan-hooligan-a-fish-by-any-other-name-is-just-as-oily/

KQED Science. (2014, February 11). Science of beer: Tapping the power of brewer’s yeast. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVtqwWGguFk&feature=youtu.be

TED-Ed. (2016). The beneficial bacteria that make delicious food – Erez Garty. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eksagPy5tmQ&feature=youtu.be

The Amoeba Sisters. (2018, April 30). Fermentation. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbdkbCU20_M&feature=youtu.be

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 21). Ethanol fuel. In Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ethanol_fuel&oldid=963675942

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.12.1 Mother and growing baby girl.

So Many Cells!

This baby girl (Figure 4.12.1) has a lot of growing to do before she’s as big as her mom. Most of her growth will be the result of cell division. By the time she is an adult, her body will consist of trillions of cells. Cell division is just one of the stages that all cells go through during their life. This includes cells that are harmful, such as cancer cells. Cancer cells divide more often than normal cells, causing them to grow out of control. In fact, this is how cancer cells cause illness. In this concept, you will read about how cells divide, what other stages cells go through, and what causes cancer cells to divide out of control and harm the body.

Cell division is just one of several stages that a cell goes through during its lifetime. The cell cycle is a repeating series of events that includes growth, DNA synthesis, and cell division. The cell cycle in prokaryotes is quite simple: the cell grows, its DNA replicates, and the cell divides. In eukaryotes, the cell cycle is more complicated.

Eukaryotic Cell Cycle

The diagram in Figure 4.12.2 represents the cell cycle of a eukaryotic cell. As you can see, the eukaryotic cell cycle has several phases. The mitotic phase (M) actually includes both mitosis and cytokinesis. This is when the nucleus and then the cytoplasm divide. The other three phases (G1, S, and G2) are generally grouped together as interphase. During interphase, the cell grows, performs routine life processes, and prepares to divide. These phases are discussed below.

Figure 4.12.2 Eukaryotic Cell Cycle. This diagram represents the cell cycle in eukaryotes. The First Gap (G1), Synthesis, and Second Gap (G2) phases make up interphase (I). The mitotic phase includes mitosis and cytokinesis. After the mitotic phase, two cells result.

The interphase of the eukaryotic cell cycle can be subdivided into the three phases described below, which are represented in Figure 4.12.2.

• Growth Phase 1 (G1): During this phase, the cell grows rapidly, while performing routine metabolic processes. It also makes proteins needed for DNA replication and copies some of its organelles in preparation for cell division. A cell typically spends most of its life in this phase. This phase is also known as gap phase 1.
• Synthesis Phase (S): During this phase, the cell’s DNA is copied in the process of DNA replication, in order to prepare for the upcoming mitotic phase.
• Growth Phase 2 (G2): During this phase, the cell makes final preparations to divide. For example, it makes additional proteins and organelles. This phase is also known as gap phase 2.

Control of the Cell Cycle

If the cell cycle occurred without regulation, cells might go from one phase to the next before they were ready. What controls the cell cycle? How does the cell know when to grow, synthesize DNA, and divide? The cell cycle is controlled mainly by regulatory proteins. These proteins control the cycle by signaling the cell to either start or delay the next phase of the cycle. They ensure that the cell completes the previous phase before moving on. Regulatory proteins control the cell cycle at key checkpoints, which are shown in Figure 4.12.3. There are a number of main checkpoints.

Figure 4.12.3 Eukaryotic Cell Cycle – Checkpoints.

• The G1 checkpoint, just before entry into S phase, makes the key decision of whether the cell should divide.
• The S checkpoint determines if the DNA has been replicated properly.
• The mitosis checkpoint ensures that all the chromosomes are properly aligned before the cell is allowed to divide.

Cancer and the Cell Cycle

Cancer is a disease that occurs when the cell cycle is no longer regulated. This happens because a cell’s DNA becomes damaged. Damage can occur due to exposure to hazards, such as radiation or toxic chemicals. Cancerous cells generally divide much faster than normal cells. which may end up forming a mass of abnormal cells called a tumor (see Figure 4.12.4). The rapidly dividing cells take up nutrients and space that normal cells need. This can damage tissues and organs and eventually lead to death.

Figure 4.12.4 These cells are cancer cells, growing out of control and forming a tumor.

Cell division is the process in which one cell, called the parent cell, divides to form two new cells, referred to as daughter cells. How this happens depends on whether the cell is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. Cell division is simpler in prokaryotes than eukaryotes because prokaryotic cells themselves are simpler. Prokaryotic cells have a single circular chromosome, no nucleus, and few other organelles. Eukaryotic cells, in contrast, have multiple chromosomes contained within a nucleus and many other organelles. All of these cell parts must be duplicated and separated when the cell divides.

Before a eukaryotic cell divides, all of the DNA in the cell’s multiple chromosomes is replicated. Its organelles are also duplicated. Cell division occurs in two major steps, called mitosis and cytokinesis, both of which are described in greater detail in Chapter 5.

• The first step in the division of a eukaryotic cell is mitosis, a multi-phase process in which the nucleus of the cell divides. During mitosis, the nuclear envelope (membrane) breaks down and later reforms. The chromosomes are also sorted and separated to ensure that each daughter cell receives a complete set of chromosomes.
• The second major step is cytokinesis. This step, which also occurs in prokaryotic cells, is when the cytoplasm divides, forming two daughter cells.

Figure 4.12.5 The woman in this mid-1900s photo was named Henrietta Lacks. When she died in 1951 of an unusual form of cervical cancer, she was just 31 years old. A poor, African American tobacco farmer and mother of five, she (or at least her cells) would eventually be called immortal.

Henrietta Lacks sought treatment for her cancer at Johns Hopkins University Hospital at a time when researchers were trying to grow human cells in the lab for medical testing. Despite many attempts, the cells always died before they had undergone many cell divisions. Mrs. Lacks’s doctor, Howard Jones, took a small sample of cells from her tumor without her knowledge and gave them to a Johns Hopkins researcher, George Gey, who tried to grow them on a culture plate. For the first time in history, human cells grown on a culture plate kept dividing… and dividing and dividing and dividing. Copies of Henrietta’s cells — called HeLa cells, for her name (Henrietta Lacks) — are still alive today. In fact, there are currently  billions of HeLa cells in laboratories around the world!

Why Henrietta’s cells lived on when other human cells did not is still something of a mystery, but they are clearly extremely hardy and resilient cells. By 1953, when researchers learned of their ability to keep dividing indefinitely, factories were set up to start producing the cells commercially on a large scale for medical research. Since then, HeLa cells have been used in thousands of studies and have made possible hundreds of medical advances. Jonas Salk, for example, used the cells in the early 1950s to test his polio vaccine. Over the decades since then, HeLa cells have been used to make important discoveries in the study of cancer, AIDS, and many other diseases. The cells were even sent to space on early space missions to learn how human cells respond to zero gravity. HeLa cells were also the first human cells ever cloned, and their genes were some of the first ever mapped. It is almost impossible to overestimate the profound importance of HeLa cells to human biology and medicine.

You would think that Henrietta’s name would be well known in medical history for her unparalleled contributions to biomedical research. However, until 2010, her story was virtually unknown. That year, a science writer named Rebecca Skloot published a nonfiction book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Based on a decade of research, this riveting account became an almost instantaneous best seller. As of 2016, Oprah Winfrey and collaborators planned to make a movie based on the book, and in recent years, numerous articles about Henrietta Lacks have appeared in the press.

Ironically, Henrietta herself never knew her cells had been taken, and neither did her family. While her cells were making a lot of money and building scientific careers, her children were living in poverty, too poor to afford medical insurance. The story of Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells raises ethical issues about human tissues and who controls them in biomedical research. There is no question that Henrietta Lacks deserves far more recognition for her contribution to the advancement of science and medicine.

If you want to learn more about Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells, read Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (or watch the movie, if it is available). You can also watch the short video below about Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells by Robin Bulleri:

The immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks – Robin Bulleri, TED-Ed, 2016.

Created by: CK-12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Divide and Split

Figure 4.13.1 A cell in anaphase of mitosis.

Can you guess what the colourful image in Figure 4.13.1 represents? It shows a eukaryotic cell during the process of cell division. In particular, the image shows the cell in a part of cell division called anaphase, where the DNA is being pulled to opposite ends of the cell. Normally, DNA is located in the nucleus of most human cells. The nucleus divides before the cell itself splits in two, and before the nucleus divides, the cell’s DNA is replicated (or copied). There must be two copies of the DNA so that each daughter cell will have a complete copy of the genetic material from the parent cell. How is the replicated DNA sorted and separated so that each daughter cell gets a complete set of the genetic material? To answer that question, you first need to know more about DNA and the forms it takes.

Figure 4.13.2 Forms of DNA.

Except when a eukaryotic cell divides, its nuclear DNA exists as a grainy material called chromatin. Only once a cell is about to divide and its DNA has replicated does DNA condense and coil into the familiar X-shaped form of a chromosome, like the one shown below.

Figure 4.13.3 Diagram of a chromosome showing that in a chromosome with the typical “X” shape, it is comprised of two identical pieces of DNA, each called a chromatid.

Most cells in the human body have two pairs of 23 different chromosomes, for a total of 46 chromosomes. Cells that have two pairs of chromosomes are called diploid. Because DNA has already replicated when it coils into a chromosome, each chromosome actually consists of two identical structures called sister chromatids. Sister chromatids are joined together at a region called a centromere.

Figure 4.13.4 Mitosis is the phase of the eukaryotic cell cycle that occurs between DNA replication and the formation of two daughter cells. What happens during mitosis?

The process in which the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell divides is called mitosis. During mitosis, the two sister chromatids that make up each chromosome separate from each other and move to opposite poles of the cell. This is shown in the figure below.

Mitosis actually occurs in four phases. The phases are called prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.

Prophase

Figure 4.13.5 Mitotic prophase.

The first and longest phase of mitosis is prophase. During prophase, chromatin condenses into chromosomes, and the nuclear envelope (the membrane surrounding the nucleus) breaks down. In animal cells, the centrioles near the nucleus begin to separate and move to opposite poles of the cell. Centrioles are small organelles found only in eukaryotic cells. They help ensure that the new cells that form after cell division each contain a complete set of chromosomes. As the centrioles move apart, a spindle starts to form between them. The spindle consists of fibres made of microtubules.

Figure 4.13.6 Diagram of a cell in prophase of mitosis.

Figure 4.13.7 Metaphase.

During metaphase, spindle fibres attach to the centromere of each pair of sister chromatids. As you can see in Figure 4.13.7, the sister chromatids line up at the equator (or center) of the cell. The spindle fibres ensure that sister chromatids will separate and go to different daughter cells when the cell divides.

Figure 4.13.8 Diagram showing the metaphase of mitosis.

Anaphase

Figure 4.13.9 Mitotic anaphase.

During anaphase, sister chromatids separate and the centromeres divide. The sister chromatids are pulled apart by the shortening of the spindle fibres. This is a little like reeling in a fish by shortening the fishing line. One sister chromatid moves to one pole of the cell, and the other sister chromatid moves to the opposite pole. At the end of anaphase, each pole of the cell has a complete set of chromosomes.

Figure 4.13.10 Diagram showing eukaryotic cell in anaphase of cell cycle.

Telophase

Figure 4.13.11 Mitotic telophase.

During telophase, the chromosomes begin to uncoil and form chromatin. This prepares the genetic material for directing the metabolic activities of the new cells. The spindle also breaks down, and new nuclear envelopes form.

Figure 4.13.12 Diagram showing telophase in mitosis.

Figure 4.13.13 Mitotic cytokinesis.

Cytokinesis is the final stage of cell division. During cytokinesis, the cytoplasm splits in two and the cell divides, as shown below. In animal cells, the plasma membrane of the parent cell pinches inward along the cell’s equator until two daughter cells form. Thus, the goal of mitosis and cytokinesis is now complete, because one parent cell has given rise to two daughter cells. The daughter cells have the same chromosomes as the parent cell.

Figure 4.13.14 Diagram showing the final step in cell division: cytokinesis.

4.13 Summary

• Until a eukaryotic cell divides, its nuclear DNA exists as a grainy material called chromatin. After DNA replicates and the cell is about to divide, the DNA condenses and coils into the X-shaped form of a chromosome. Each chromosome actually consists of two sister chromatids, which are joined together at a centromere.
• Mitosis is the process during which the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell divides. During this process, sister chromatids separate from each other and move to opposite poles of the cell. This happens in four phases: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.
• Cytokinesis is the final stage of cell division, during which the cytoplasm splits in two and two daughter cells form.

Created by CK12/Adapted by Christine Miller

Figure 4.14.1 When muscle tissue is stained with a particular type of dye, clumps of diseased mitochondria show up in red and are termed “ragged red fibres”.  This is one of the diagnostic tools used to diagnose mitochondrial disease.

Jasmin discovered that her extreme fatigue, muscle pain, vision problems, and vomiting were due to problems in her mitochondria, like the damaged mitochondria shown in red in Figure 4.14.1. Mitochondria are small, membrane-bound organelles found in eukaryotic cells that provide energy for the cells of the body. They do this by carrying out the final two steps of aerobic cellular respiration: the Krebs cycle and electron transport. This is the major way that the human body breaks down the sugar glucose from food into a form of energy cells can use, namely the molecule ATP.

Because mitochondria provide energy for cells, you can understand why Jasmin was experiencing extreme fatigue, particularly after running. Her damaged mitochondria could not keep up with her need for energy, particularly after intense exercise, which requires a lot of additional energy. What is perhaps not so obvious are the reasons for her other symptoms, such as blurry vision, muscle spasms, and vomiting. All of the cells in the body require energy in order to function properly. Mitochondrial diseases can cause problems in mitochondria in any cell of the body, including muscle cells and cells of the nervous system, which includes the brain and nerves. The nervous system and muscles work together to control vision and digestive system functions, such as vomiting, so when they are not functioning properly, a variety of symptoms can emerge. This also explains why Jasmin’s niece, who has a similar mitochondrial disease, has symptoms related to brain function, such as seizures and learning disabilities. Our cells are microscopic, and mitochondria are even tinier — but they are essential for the proper functioning of our bodies. When they are damaged, serious health effects can occur.

Figure 4.14.2 Mitochondrial disease can manifest itself very differently in different people, even if they are related.  Jasmin and her niece have the same mitochondrial disease, but with different age of onset, different symptoms and different severity of symptoms.

One seemingly confusing aspect of mitochondrial diseases is that the type of symptoms, severity of symptoms, and age of onset can vary wildly between people — even within the same family! In Jasmin’s case, she did not notice symptoms until adulthood, while her niece had more severe symptoms starting at a much younger age. This makes sense when you know more about how mitochondrial diseases work.

Inherited mitochondrial diseases can be due to damage in either the DNA in the nucleus of cells or in the DNA in the mitochondria themselves. Recall that mitochondria are thought to have evolved from prokaryotic organisms that were once free-living, but were then infected or engulfed by larger cells. One of the pieces of evidence that supports this endosymbiotic theory is that mitochondria have their own, separate DNA. When the mitochondrial DNA is damaged (or mutated) it can result in some types of mitochondrial diseases. However, these mutations do not typically affect all of the mitochondria in a cell. During cell division, organelles such as mitochondria are replicated and passed down to the new daughter cells. If some of the mitochondria are damaged, and others are not, the daughter cells can have different amounts of damaged mitochondria. This helps explain the wide range of symptoms in people with mitochondrial diseases — even ones in the same family — because different cells in their bodies are affected in varying degrees. Jasmin’s niece was affected strongly and her symptoms were noticed early, while Jasmin’s symptoms were more mild and did not become apparent until adulthood.

There is still much more that needs to be discovered about the different types of mitochondrial diseases. But by learning about cells, their organelles, how they obtain energy, and how they divide, you should now have a better understanding of the biology behind these diseases.

Apply your understanding of cells to your own life. Can you think of other diseases that affect cellular structures or functions. Do they affect people you know? Since your entire body is made of cells, when cells are damaged or not functioning properly, it can cause a wide variety of health problems.