Biological Processes: Nutrition, Reproduction, and Genetics
Functions of Nutrition
Nutrition is the set of processes by which living organisms obtain matter and energy from the environment, transform them into living matter, and eliminate waste.
Types of Nutrition
- Autotrophic: Organisms incorporate inorganic substances from the environment, such as CO2 from the air, water, and mineral salts.
- Heterotrophic: Organisms incorporate food produced by other living beings to obtain necessary energy.
Reproduction Function
Reproduction is the set of processes by which living things produce offspring that are either identical (asexual reproduction) or similar (sexual reproduction) to the parents.
Origin of Life
- Stage 1: Chemical evolution
- Stage 2: Prebiotic evolution
- Stage 3: Cellular evolution
Genetics and Cellular Biology
Chromosome: Intracellular components that appear as cylindrical bodies during cell division.
DNA: A whitish substance consisting of two long, parallel chains twisted together to form a double helix.
Genome: The complete set of genes of a living being.
Stem Cells
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells fundamental to growth and the repair of damaged tissue.
Types of Stem Cells
- Totipotent: Can give rise to a whole organism.
- Pluripotent: Can generate cells of any tissue.
- Multipotent: Can only create cells of a specific tissue.
Cloning and Assisted Reproduction
Therapeutic cloning aims to obtain stem cells to regenerate diseased or damaged tissues without rejection issues.
Reproductive cloning aims to create human embryos with the same DNA as another person to produce a genetically identical newborn.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a technique where the fertilization of oocytes by sperm occurs outside the mother's body. It is the primary treatment for infertility. The process involves hormonal control of the ovulatory cycle, the removal of maternal oocytes, and fertilization in a fluid medium. The resulting zygote is then transferred to the uterus.