-species are fixed

-nature adapts the organ to the function

-Earth is perfect (therefore there is no evolvement)

-teleology (study of form and design)

--Heliocentric model (sun centered solar system)

--inspired the scientific revolution by challenging prevailing models of the cosmos

Italian physicist and mathematician

--considered the father of modern science

--emphasis on observation (telescope) and documentation (the moon's surface)

--confrontation with the church led to house arrest

English naturalist

--concept of genus and species

--recognized reproductive continutity and isloation of a species

The father of taxonomy (grouping) and systematics

--formalized binomial system (genus and species)

--classified homo sapiens as an animal

--coined the term "biology"

--1st theoretical attempt to explain mechanism of evolution

--interaction between organism and environment

--theory of acquired characters

--"vital essences" respond to external stimuli

--paleotologist

--proposed idea of extinction

--radical notion - challenged the idea that creation is perfect

--recorded that diferent animals occur in different strata (layers of rock)

father of modern geology

--uniformitarianism

"the present is key to the past"

--the earth and its creatures are shaped slowly, over lengthy periods of time

--focused on principles on population growth and the associated dangers

--population increases exponentially, though limited by food

--competition for food... shades of 'survival of the fittest'

--inspired Darwin and Wallace

--english naturalist

--origin of the species (1859)

--developed theory of natural selection

--traits that enhance an organism's survival are more likely to be transferred to subsequent generations (considered a key mechanism in evolution)

-governs all cellular functions in humans

-controls the synthesis of proteins

-directs how genetic traits are inherited

-its very structure illuminates how broader evolutionary mechanisms operate

-DNA molecules are composed of two chains of nucleotides

-nucleotides are composed of

• a sugar molecule (ribose)
• a phosphate unit
• 1 of 4 nitrogenous bases

-These chains are twisted into a spiral shape called a "double helix"

-replication is initiated by enzymes, or proteins that direct chemical reactions in the cell

-enzymes break the bonds between base pairs

-the exposed bases attract free-floating nucleotides floating in the nucleus

-replication results in 2 new DNA molecules

-20 in number (8 come from foods, 12 are made in cells)

-These are building blocks for about 90,000 different proteins

-single stranded

-contains a different type of sugar (than DNA)

-contains a different base called Urasil

the process by which mRNA is formed

-The DNA code is copied by the formation of mRNA

-The mRNA peels away from a single strand of DNA and travels through the nuclear membrane to the ribosome

the process by which genetic instructions are decoded from the mRNA

-hinges on codons