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a host of features of their nervous, sensory, musculoskeletal, and not a liver cell? The answer is that it contains informa-
endocrine, circulatory, and respiratory systems. In short, nat- tion that is used by the cell, so it looks and acts like a skin
ural selection has left a physical imprint on both predator cell. This information is stored in a cell’s DNA. DNA, the
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and prey, from nose to tail. abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid, is the carrier of
As we examine a wide range of biological topics genetic information for all organisms.
throughout the book, you will notice that evolution perme- In addition to storing information, cells must also
ates these discussions—whether we are explaining the bio- retrieve this information. In other words, they need to be
chemistry of cells, how organisms function and reproduce, able to access the information and use to it to grow and
how species interact in nature, or the remarkable biological carry out their functions. Finally, cells need to be able to
diversity of our planet. transmit their genetic information to the next generation.
DNA is remarkable because it can store genetic information,
Big Idea 2: Energetics allow this information to be retrieved and used by the cell,
All life forms require energy to survive, grow, move about, and transmit this information to the next generation. We
and reproduce. Energy is the ability to do work and it is will learn a lot more about DNA and its role later in this
absolutely essential for life. The study of energetics exam- unit and throughout the book.
ines the properties of energy and how energy is distributed The transmission of genetic information from parents
in biological, chemical, or physical processes. to their offspring enables species of organisms to main-
Strategies to capture and use energy vary among spe- tain their identity through time. The genetic information
cies and depend on their evolutionary history. Plants use in DNA guides the development of the offspring, ensur-
the energy of sunlight to produce their own food to grow, ing that parental apple trees give rise to apple seedlings and
reproduce, and carry out their functions. Humans and other parental geese give rise to goslings. Furthermore, variation
animals obtain energy by eating other organisms. In fact, all in this genetic information allows some organisms to sur-
organisms obtain energy from just two sources—the sun or vive and reproduce in particular environments more than
chemical compounds. Losing or reducing access to sources others. Through natural selection, these organisms pass on
of energy can have damaging and sometimes fatal conse- the genetic variants that account for their ability to do well
quences for organisms. in their environment. For example, if faster speed enhances
Consider what happens when you eat an apple. The survival and reproduction among hares and Canada lynx, the
apple contains sugars, which store energy. By breaking down underlying genetic variation that accounts for this trait will
sugar, our cells harness this energy and convert it into a form likely be passed on to the next generation. Therefore, Big
that can be used to do the work of the cell. Energy from Idea 3—Information Storage and Transmission—is essen-
the food we eat allows us to grow, move, communicate, and tial to the survival, growth, reproduction, and evolution of
do all the other things that we do. Using sugar as a source a species.
of energy to power the cell is not a strategy that is just used
by human cells. It is widespread among organisms and rep- Big Idea 4: Systems Interactions
resents another unifying characteristic of most species. This A system is a group of things that function together as a
observation suggests that the ability to use sugar as a source whole. We can consider systems at different levels of scale,
of energy evolved early in the history of life and has been from a single cell in a hare to an entire forest, which includes
retained over time. We will delve more deeply into how many interactions that occur among the organisms and
organisms access and use energy in Unit 3. nonliving materials it contains. Biologists refer to living
organisms as biotic, and nonliving components as abiotic.
A biological system is made up of both biotic and abiotic
Big Idea 3: Information Storage and entities that interact. As a result of these interactions, biolog-
Transmission ical systems show complex properties.
Big Idea 3 looks at biology from the perspective of infor- Big Idea 4 recognizes that biological systems exist at
mation storage and transmission. In this context, informa- different levels, from the simple to the complex, and inter-
tion refers to the instructions that all cells have that in part actions among the parts of the system lead to new, emer-
determine what they look like and how they function. For gent properties. An emergent property is a property of a
example, how does your skin cell “know” to be a skin cell system that the individual parts do not have on their own.

4 Unit 1 chemIstry of LIfe

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