UNIT 1

THE SCIENCE OF BIOLOGY

 1.1 The methods of science
 1.1.1 What is the science of biology?
 1.1.2 Scientific methods
 1.1.3 Scientific experiments
 1.1.4 Accuracy, reliability and validity in scientific experiment
 1.1.5 Report writing on scientific experiments
 1.2 The tools of a biologist
 1.2.1 Tools biologists use in the laboratory
 1.2.2. Tools of biologists use in the field
 1.3 The relevance and promise of biological science
 1.4 Biology and HIV /AIDS
 UNIT ONE
THE SCIENCE OF BIOLOGY
1.1 The methods of science
1.1.1 What is the science of biology?
Biology is the science of life and living organisms.
Biology deals structure, function, growth,
evolution and distribution of organisms
An organism is a living things made from one cell
or many cells.
Unicellular organisms; made up of one cells
E.g. Amoeba, bacteria
Multicellular organisms; made of many cells
including animals, plants and fungi
 Some of the sub-disciplines of biology:
 Astrobiologists; investigation of the possibility of life on
other planets
 Biomedical research including the development of new
drugs and vaccines.
 Microbiologist; study on micro-organisms of all kinds
function.
 Paleontologist; deal about ancient life.
 is try to find out the way in which life began on Earth and how
it has evolved from simple life forms into more complex ones.
 Mainly concerned with the study of fossils
 Use evidence from studies of chemistry of ancient rocks to
estimates when and how new life forms appeared on the planet.
 Contd.
 Physiologist: the study of physical and chemical functions of
tissue, organs and organ system of the body.
 Ethologist: is the study of animal behaviour in there natural
habitat
 Ethnologist: distribution ,relationship and origin of the race
of mankind
 Entomologist: the study of insects
 Oncologist: deal with the prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of cancer
 Geneticist; deals with heredity and variation
 Neurologist: study the complex structure of neuron and its
coordination
 Parasitologists: the study of parasites
 Biochemists: the scientific study of the chemical substance,
process and reaction that occur in living organisms.
 What is science?
The word science comes from the Latin word
scientia, which means ‘knowledge’.
Science is a unique system of acquiring knowledge
based on the scientific method.
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and
organizes knowledge in the form of testable
explanation and prediction about the universe
Experimental science the use of experiments to
obtain information
Applied science the use of scientific research to
meet certain human needs
 1.1.2 Scientific methods
Scientific method is the process by which scientists
approach their work.
It is a process by which scientist approach to solve
problems.
Biologist use scientific methods to study living world
It is a way to ask and answer scientific question by
making and doing experiment.
It is scientific procedures adopted by the scientists to
find out facts and scientific truth
The steps of the scientific method are as follows;

1. Ask a question or identify problems

Refer to the explanation of a specific observation.
E.g. why tomato seeds don’t grow inside tomatoes?
2. Background of research:
Collect data or information on scientific question (s).
The data can be obtained from book, journals, magazines
and internets
It is used to formulate hypothesis
E.g. we find out that there are substances in plants that
control growth, called growth regulators.
 3. Hypothesis:
 Hypothesis an educated guess about what will be the explanation of
an observation.
 for example hypothesis for the above question
 ‘There are chemicals in tomatoes that stop the seeds from
growing whilst they are still in the tomatoes themselves.’
 Important thing about hypothesis
 Tentative explanation for the observation
 Reflect experience based on previous knowledge, facts and
general principles
 Are testable by an experiment.
 Always lead to make predictions
 Prediction an educated guess for what will be the out come of an
experiment.
 For example ‘Seeds covered in tomato juice will not germinate
as well as seeds covered in water’.
Two pattern of reasoning to develop
hypothesis

 In developing hypothesis, two pattern of reasoning

are required
1. Inductive reasoning: logic precedes from
specific observations to general conclusions.
2. Deductive reasoning; logic precedes from
general to specific condition
5. Experimentation to test the hypothesis
 Is the process of testing hypothesis or prediction by gathering data under
controlled condition
 It determine whether the observations agree with or conflict with
hypothesis.
Controlled experiment consists
1) Control group
 Untreated group in an experiment in which the experimental groups
are compared with.
 Acts as a ‘standard’ for comparison.
2) Experimental group
 Group in an experiment which is being experimented on in order to
compare with the control group
 Only differ in the presence of independent variable
E.g. Investigate saliva has an effect to bring any change on starch
 Test tube A=have 2% starch and 2cc saliva; experimental group
 Test tube B= have 2% starch and 2ccwater ; control group
 Contd.
6. Analyse results and draw conclusions:
The results are usually written in the form of a statement that
explains or interprets the data.
7. Accept or reject the hypothesis;
It seems as though the hypothesis is along the right
lines;
8. Report results:
It is important that the scientist reports the hypothesis,
experiments and conclusion to other scientists.
 How scientific method disprove the
idea of spontaneous generation?
Spontaneous generation states the appearance of
living organisms from non-living matter.
Spontaneous generation suggest that;
Non-living object can gives rise to living organisms
An organisms could arise from lifeless matter
E.g. rotten meat had turned into flies!
Muddy soil gives rise to frogs!
Francesco Redi, Lazzaro Spallanzani and Louis
Pasteur used the scientific method to disprove the
idea of spontaneous generation. How?
 Francesco Redi experiment on
spontaneous generation
 He used wide-mouth jars containing meat. Some jars
were left open to the air. Others were covered with a
piece of gauze.
 After several days, maggots and then flies could be
seen in the open jars, but none appeared in the closed
jars.
 Redi hypothesized that only flies could produce more
flies.
 Redi was able to conclude that flies cannot be
produced from rotting meat.
Francesco Redi experiment disprove
the idea of spontaneous generation
 Louis Pasteur; swan neck flask
experiments
 Many people still believed that micro-organisms could arise by spontaneous
generation.
 Louis Pasteur to disprove this. In 1859,
 Pasteur carried out experiments to show that the micro-organisms that caused
wine and broth to go cloudy came from the air and was not made from the
broth itself.
 Pasteur boiled broths in swan-necked flasks to kill any microorganisms
 Pasteur use swan-necked flasks on his experiment because.
 To trap particles from the air that might enter the flask before reaching broth
 He treated the flasks in one of three ways:
 He left some of them as they were.
 He broke the necks on some.
 He tilted others to allow the dust in the low part of the neck to mix with the
broths.
 The broths in the second two groups of flasks turned cloudy (due to the presence of
micro-organisms) within days.
 The broths in the first group remained clear.
.
Louis Pasteur; swan neck flask
experiments
‘’Swan’’ neck traps
microorganisms

Microorganisms enter
the open flask and
grow rapidly
 1.1.3 Scientific experiments
 Scientific experiments try to establish cause and effect
relationship in nature.
 The factor that can change in an experiment is called Variable.
 There are three basic experimental variables
 Independent variable(IV): is changed (manipulated) by the
experimenter
 Dependent variable(DV): is measured by the experimenter
 Controlled variables (CV): variable have been kept constant
(controlled) to avoid influencing results
 Confounding variable a factor that can’t be controlled which
may influence the result of the experiment
 Contd.
 E.g. Investigate saliva has an effect to bring any change on
starch
 Independent variable (IV)=Saliva
 Dependent variable (DV)= Starch
 Confounding variable (CV)=Temperature, pH condition,
concentration of saliva
 The effect of fertilizer on plant growth
 Independent variable (IV)= Fertilizer
 Dependent variable (DV)=Plant growth
 Confounding variable (CV)= Temperature, Nutrients, CO2
concentration, water
 Contd.
Fair test is an experiment in which the only
difference between different repeats of the
experiment is the different values of the
independent variable, all other factors that
could affect the outcome have been kept
constant (they have been controlled)
Fair test is an experiment in which all factor
that could affect the out come of an experiment
remain constant expect independent variable
1.1.4 Accuracy, reliability and validity in
scientific experiments
Accuracy
 Accuracy how precisely something has been measured or
counted
 Refers to how close an experimental observation lies to the
true value
 To measure volume, you could use:
 a syringe
 a measuring cylinder
 Pipette

 a burette
 Reliability
 Reliability is a measure of how dependable and
consistent the results of an experiment0.
 It concern with the repeatability and dependability
of results of the experiment
 So, reliability is ‘consistency’ or ‘repeatability’ of
an experiment
 There are several things to increase
the reliability of experiments.
1) Standardise all our procedures;, so that we always do
exactly the same thing.
2) Performing repeated experiments this allows us to
 Spot any anomalous results
 anomalous results are really odd results that do not fit
the general pattern
 Calculate an average result, which is likely to be more
representative than any individual result
3) Not to use personal judgment.
4) Have a ‘standard’ to compare our experiment.
 Validity
 For our experiment to be valid, our result should be
only due to the change in independent variable.
 A valid test refers to whether an experiment
measures what it says it is measuring.
 Controlled experiment is used to increase the
validity of an experiment
 It a state of being valid or genuine
 For the experiment to be valid, the results were
only due to the changes in the independent
variable.
 1.1.5 Report writing on scientific
experiments
 Biologists write a report on an investigation with a view to having it
published in a scientific journal, such as nature or science.
1. A title, which states clearly what is being investigated
2. A hypothesis, stated clearly in terms of how the independent
variable is expected to influence the dependent variable, often
extended to a prediction for the particular experiment
3. Procedure; a clear description of the experimental procedure
4. Results; a full account of the results obtained
5. Conclusion; the conclusions that have been drawn from the results
6. Evaluation;
 this is an honest assessment of the limitations of the procedure
that has been used,
 pointing out any unavoidable limitations and inaccuracies that
arose
7. Acknowledgements
 1.2 The tools of a biologist
1.2.1 Tools biologists use in the laboratory

1. Microscope
 An instrument used to provides a
magnified image of a tiny object
Resolution;
 Is the ability to distinguish
between two points that are close
together
 If resolution is poor, it will merge
into one point and the detail of
the image will be limited.
 Optical (Light) microscope
Use beams of light to produce magnified images
Relatively less magnification and resolution power
Due to its low resolution power light microscope is
not used to see cellular organelle such as ribosome,
mitochondria, chloroplast, endoplasmic reticulum
Used to study cell, tissues or individual organism
Used to study living material directly through light
microscope
 Electron microscope
Use a beam of electron to produce magnified
images.
It has highest magnification and resolution power.
Its maximum magnification power is 2,000,000.
Resolving power of an electron microscope is 1000
times greater than the resolving power of optical
microscope.
Scanning electron microscope Transmission electron microscope
 Can show us three-  Shows the inside details of a cell
dimensional shapes surface
of cell (blood cells below).
 2. Dissecting equipment
 Dissect specimens to find
out what they are like
inside.
 Dissect to cut apart or
separate tissue for
anatomical study.
 Dissect used to study
internal organs, such as
the heart ,kidney, lungs.
 3. Petri dishes
 Used especially to grow bacterial cultures in the laboratory
 Bacteria growing on agar in a Petri dish.
 Agar is a solid nutrient medium that is mainly extracted from red
algae
 Micropropagation is technique of growing plants from just a few
cells on special agars in Petri dishes.
 It allows thousands of plants to be produced from just one
‘parent’ plant.
 All the plants produced are genetically identical.
 Petri dishes can also be used to:
 Show how effective different antibiotics are against certain types
of bacteria
 Show how well different concentrations of enzymes digest a
substance
 Contd.
4. Balances
 Is apparatus used for measuring mass
5. Centrifuges
 Centrifuge machine that spins to separate solids from liquids
 Separate solid particles from the liquid without the need to
filter.
 Ultracentrifuges
 Used to spin the tubes at a faster speed to separate extremely
light particles in the bottom of the tube
 Used to separate the various components of animal and plant
cells.
6. Measuring cylinders
 Used to measure volume liquids and gases
 1.2.2. Tools of biologists use in the field
1. Quadrats
 It is placed randomly on the
ground in order to count the
number and type of organisms
 Quadrat a small frame used for
ecological or population studies
 Used to estimate the abundance of
the organisms in the area.
 Quadrats can also be used
underwater.
 Biologists also use quadrats to
show how the numbers of a
particular species changes across
an area
 Contd.
2. Transect line.
 Transect line a straight line through an area random
having no specific pattern, purpose or objective bias
tending towards a specific result
 Place the quadrat by the side of the transect line and
record the abundance of the organisms in the quadrat.
3. Pitfall traps
 Used to catch many ground beetles and other insects that
live on or in the soil
 4. An insect net
 A type net used to collect flying insects
 A sweep net used to collect insects from grass and brush
5. A flow meter 6. A pH kit
 Used to measure the rate  Used to measure the pH of
of flow of water soil or water
7. A data logger 8. A theodolite
 Used to record  Used to measure the
information height of trees or of slopes
in the area
9. GPS (Global 10. A field microscope
Positioning System)  Used to investigate the
 Used to record positions structure of specimens in the
quickly and accurately field, whilst still fresh
1.3 The relevance and promise of
biological science
Some of the areas in which the relevance of
biological science are involved
Agricultural
Medicine
Environments
 Biology and agriculture
Biological science increase food supply through
agricultural productivity.
Biologists are carrying out research into how to
produce crop plants that:
can adapted to the new conditions
are capable of producing crop in short period
of time
are resistant disease and drought
are capable of giving high quality products
 Biology and medicine
 Some of biological Knowledge in medicine are;
 Advise on effective methods of contraception
 Educating people about the need to limit population
growth.
 Medical professional have specialized biological
knowledge. some of these are
 Medical laboratory technicians who test samples
required and provide reports for doctors
 Medical researchers who work the ways in which
disease-causing organisms function and are spread
 Radiographers, who produce X-rays the diagnosis of
disease
 Drug development researchers, who develop new drugs
to treat diseases
 Biotechnology
 Use microorganisms to make things people want. such as;
 Cures for genetic diseases
 Treatments for degenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s
disease and Alzheimer’s disease
 Industrial processes to manufacture more biological products such
as insulin
 Producing drugs that are ‘tailor-made’ to suit an individual’s
needs
 Genetically modifying plants to meet a specific need.
 Cloning of productive animals and plants
 Production of monoclonal antibodies
 Using stem cells to repair damaged organs
 1.4 Biology and HIV /AIDS
 AIDS is short for acquired immune deficiency
syndrome
 Caused by the human immuno deficiency virus (HIV).
 HIV infects T-helper cells that enable us to fight off
other diseases.
 The reduction in the number of T-helper cells, many
opportunistic infections may occur (including
pneumonia and tuberculosis), together with rare
cancers like Kaposi’s sarcoma
 Contd.
AIDS is largely a sexually transmitted disease
(STD); there are four main ways in which HIV
can be transmitted. These are:
Unprotected intercourse with an infected
person
Transfusion of infected blood or blood
products
Sharing infected needles
From mother to child
 How can biology help in the fight
against AIDS?
 There are several methods of combating the spread of
a disease. These are described below.
 Break the transmission pathway
 Produce drugs that kill the virus or at least stop it from
reproducing.
 Produce a vaccine against the virus.
 Contd.
 life cycle of HIV:
 The entry phase
 Viral genetic material is converted to DNA
 The new DNA enters the host cell DNA
 The new DNA ‘instructs’ the cell to make more HIV
 HIV is a retroviruses can be treated by antiretroviral
drugs
 Retroviruses is an RNA virus that converts its genetic
information from RNA into DNA, this process is
called reverse transcription;
 Contd.
 Anti-retroviral drugs slow down the progression infection
to AIDS
 Different antiretroviral drugs target different stages in the life
cycle of HIV.
 High Activity Anti-Retroviral Treatment (HAART) using
anti-retro viral drugs in combination to act on different stages
of the HIV life cycle.
 The main advantage of HAART breaking the life cycle of
HIV in different stages
 To reduce the spread of AIDS we should;
 Restricting the number of sexual partners.
 Encourage men to be circumcised.
 Not sharing infected needles.