Biology Lecture Notes: Cells, Systems, and Bioenergetics

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering cell biology, human organ systems, plant physiology, infectious diseases, and bioenergetics based on the provided lecture notes.

Cytoplasm

A jelly-like material that contains dissolved nutrients and salts and structures called organelles; it is where many chemical reactions happen.

Nucleus

Contains genetic material, including DNA, which controls the cell’s activities.

Mitochondria

Organelles that contain the enzymes for respiration, and where most energy is released in respiration.

Ribosomes

A tiny organelle where protein synthesis occurs.

Chloroplast

Organelles that contain the green pigment, chlorophyll, which absorbs light energy for photosynthesis.

Differentiation

The process when an unspecialised cell becomes a more specialised cell type.

Meristems

A region in plant shoots and roots in which cells are dividing and undergoing mitosis.

Gene

Each section of a chromosome that contains the code for the production of a particular protein.

Diffusion

The net movement of particles from a region of higher concentration to where they are in a lower concentration.

Osmosis

The diffusion of water molecules from a region where they are in higher concentration to a region of lower concentration through a partially permeable membrane.

Active transport

A process required to move molecules against a concentration gradient, which requires energy produced by respiration.

Enzymes

Proteins that act as biological catalysts, which speed up chemical reactions due to their complex 3D shape and active site.

Denatured

When high temperatures or extremes of pH disrupt the shape of an active site, reducing its activity or preventing it from working.

Bile

A substance produced in the liver and stored in the gall bladder that emulsifies lipids and neutralises stomach acid with sodium hydrogencarbonate.

Villi

Projections on the surface of the small intestine wall that increase surface area for absorption.

Alveoli

Microscopic air sacs in the lungs with a diameter of about $300\,\mu m$ that provide a large surface area for gaseous exchange.

Haemoglobin

A protein in red blood cells that combines reversibly with oxygen to transport it to cells.

Translocation

The transport of products of photosynthesis, including sugars and amino acids, in the phloem.

Transpiration

The evaporation and diffusion of water from the surface of spongy and palisade mesophyll cells out of the leaf.

Metastasis

The process by which malignant cancer cells detach from a tumour and form secondary tumours in other parts of the body.

Pathogen

A microorganism that causes a disease, such as a virus, bacterium, fungus, or protist.

Phagocytosis

The process where phagocytes surround, engulf, and destroy unwanted microorganisms.

Antibiotics

Substances that slow down or stop the growth of bacteria, such as penicillin and amoxicillin, but do not work on viral diseases.

Photosynthesis

An endothermic reaction where plants produce glucose from carbon dioxide and water using light energy: $6CO_2 + 6H_2O \rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2$.

Aerobic respiration

An exothermic process using oxygen to break down food molecules: $C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 \rightarrow 6CO_2 + 6H_2O + \text{energy released}$.

Oxygen debt

The amount of oxygen required after exercise to remove built-up lactic acid and replace the body's reserves of oxygen.

Metabolism

The term used for all the enzyme-controlled chemical reactions that build up and break down molecules inside an organism's body.

Monoclonal antibodies

Identical copies of one type of antibody produced from hybridoma cells, used for diagnosis and treatment.

Therapeutic cloning

Using cloning technology for medicinal purposes, such as using a person's DNA to clone an organ for transplanting.