Unifying the Study of Life and Cell Biology

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the core concepts of biology, cell structure, cell theory, gene expression, organelles, and mutations based on the lecture transcript.

Biosphere

All living organisms and the environments they are found in on Earth.

Biological Diversity (Biodiversity)

The variety of life across the biosphere.

Biotic Factors

Living things involved in an ecosystem.

Abiotic Factors

Non-living things involved in an ecosystem.

Metabolism

The series of chemical processes that build up or break down materials to release energy and/or nutrients.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of stable internal conditions in an organism.

Adaptation

An inherited trait that provides an advantage and can be passed to future generations.

Robert Hooke

The scientist who observed cells in cork.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

The scientist who observed tiny living organisms.

Matthias Schleiden

The scientist who concluded that plants are made of cells.

Theodor Schwann

The scientist who concluded that animals are made of cells.

Rudolf Virchow

The scientist who concluded that cells arise from pre-existing cells.

Cytosol

The fluid portion of the cytoplasm that is mostly water.

Organelles

Specialized structures within cytoplasm that perform specialized functions or jobs within the cell.

Nucleoid

The region in a prokaryotic cell where DNA is found.

Flagella

Long whip-like structures found on some bacteria that help with movement.

Cytoskeleton

A network of proteins organized to meet the needs of a eukaryotic cell by helping maintain cell structure, organize the cell, and move materials.

Peptide Bond

A chemical bond formed between the amino group ($NH_2$) of one amino acid and the carboxyl group ($COOH$) of another.

Gene

A segment or sequence of DNA that governs the expression of a protein and trait.

Allele

An alternative version or form of a gene.

mRNA (Messenger RNA)

An RNA molecule that carries genetic instructions from DNA in the nucleus to a ribosome in the cytoplasm.

Codon

A three-nucleotide sequence in mRNA that generally specifies a particular amino acid or stop signal.

Transcription

The process in the nucleus that copies the information in a DNA gene into a complementary strand of mRNA.

Translation

The process at a ribosome where the nucleotide message in mRNA is converted into a sequence of amino acids or a polypeptide.

Nuclear Envelope

A double membrane surrounding DNA that contains nuclear pores allowing controlled movement between the nucleus and cytoplasm.

Nucleolus

A dense region inside the nucleus that produces and assembles components of ribosomes.

Rough ER

Regions of the endoplasmic reticulum with attached ribosomes, serving as sites of protein synthesis.

Golgi Apparatus

An organelle where proteins moving from the ER are modified, sorted, packaged, and transported.

Vesicles

Small membrane-bound sacs that separate materials from the cytoplasm and transport materials around the cell.

tRNA (Transfer RNA)

An RNA molecule containing an anticodon that carries a specific amino acid to the ribosome during translation.

Point Mutation

A mutation that affects a single nucleotide or base, such as a substitution.

Frameshift Mutation

A mutation occurring when a nucleotide is inserted or deleted, shifting the grouping of nucleotides into codons.

Translocation

A chromosomal mutation in which a chromosome segment breaks off and attaches to a different, non-homologous chromosome.

Homologous Chromosomes

Two sets of chromosomes carrying the same genes at corresponding loci, one coming from the mother and one from the father.

DNA Replication Error Rate

The error rate given for DNA polymerase before further repair mechanisms, which is approximately $1$ per $100,000$ nucleotides.