...Lecture 01 Nature & Scope of Biological Science What is Biology? A brief history. Biology today. Group of organisms being studied. Approach taken to the study of organisms. New definition of Biology. Why study Biology? Aspects of Science Science has two aspects. It is both (1) a body of knowledge and (2) a method used for discovering new knowledge. What is biology? The word biology comes from the Greek words bios, which means life, and logos, which means thought. Thus, biology is the science that deals with the study of life. Origin of Life |According to this theory, about 15 billion years ago (15,000,000,000) the Universe was nothing more than a very small speck of mass. This speck| |was probably no bigger than the head of a pin. Everything in the Universe, all the galaxies, stars, planets, and even the matter making up your| |body, was squished up tightly in this tiny space. | |Eventually, after a very long time, this speck exploded. All of a sudden, in a giant flash of unimaginable heat and power, the Universe was | |born. Over a period of billions and billions of years, the Universe became what we see today. Slowly stars began to form, and around these | |stars planets formed. | |About 4.6 billion years ago our Earth looked very different...
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...ongoing influence of technology introduced by humans, such as geoengineering, which could cause significant changes to the planet. The current biotic crisis is being caused by technology and the effects may last for up to five million years. In turn, technology may result in the extinction of humanity, leaving the planet to gradually return to a slower evolutionary pace resulting solely from long-term natural processes. Hawking: How Humankind Will Survive the Future Listen, people of Earth: Everything's going to be fine. All we have to do is survive another century or two without self-destructing as a species. Then we'll get off this rock, spread throughout space, and everything will be all right. If this is not your idea of "optimism," then you are not Stephen Hawking. The esteemed physicist garnered headlines, and some eye-rolls, after telling Big Think last week that humanity needs to leave the Earth in the future or face extinction. As The Atlantic noted: He's not knocking climate scientists' attempts to figure things out on Earth-he's just thinking long term. "There have been a number of times in the past when our survival has been touch-and-go," explains Hawking at Big Think, mentioning the Cuban Missile Crisis, and "the frequency of such occasions is likely to increase in the future…. Our population and our use of the finite resources of the planet earth are growing exponentially along with our technical ability to change the environment...
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...Natural Science (INT1) Task 1 The Changing Nature Of Science Evolution Evolution :- All living beings have developed over time from ancestors through a series of changes. That life has changed over long periods of time, with all forms of life related to one another, is a scientifically well-established fact. There are two aspects of evolution today. First, evolution is the organizing principle for all of biology. Just as we are offspring from our parents, and our grandparents before them, and so on, all living organisms today are inclined from organisms that lived in the past. Understanding how and why these ancestor-descendent lineages have changed through time helps us appreciate the diversity of life we see today. Genetics, anatomy, physiology, neurology, morphology, and behavior all of these aspects of living organisms have evolved through time. The study of the evolutionary processes that produced these traits provides the comprehensive framework for understanding them. Theory Of Evolution Evolution Theory: - Evolution is technically defined as: "a gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form." As it is most famously used, "evolution" is the process by which an organism becomes more sophisticated over time and in response to its environment. The Theory of Evolution is currently the most popular concept of how life reached its current state. Evolution as a biological mechanism is driven by natural selection. This...
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...BABS1201 Essay On Peer Reviewed Article This essay will serve the purpose of examining a primary, peer reviewed research paper on a personal level. It will cover a brief description and reflection of my attempts to understand the purpose behind the article. I have chosen a research paper titled “Assessing the Plausibility Of Life on Other Worlds”. I have always been extremely intrigued by the possibility of life on other planets and humanity’s’ quest to discover our place in the universe. Previously I believed that these ideas belonged under the disciplines of Astrophysics, Space Exploration or Astronomy but was surprised to find there is a very specific discipline of science called Astrobiology in which this article falls under. Astrobiology is distinct from other space disciplines as it focuses on the actual biology and presence of life and is entirely devoted to studying the origin, distribution, evolution and future of life within our universe. The article is from the peer reviewed journal “Astrobiology” published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc. and has a global audience spanning over 170 countries since 2001. It is published in a monthly style releasing 12 issues annually and targeting an audience consisting of Microbiologists, chemists, astronomers etc. In terms of what ultimately goes into an issue, Astrobiology is under the editorial leadership of Editor-in-Chief Sherry L. Cady (PhD in Geology) who has the final responsibility for all operations and policies but also employs...
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...SOLUSI UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES A report done in partial fulfillment of the course required RELT 389 SCIENCE OF ORIGINGS TERM PAPER: WEAKNESSES OF THE BIG BANG THEORY Presented By Takudzwa A Denhere ID: 2011050104 Lecturer: Mr. Sibanda The big bang theory and its history The big bang is not theoretical, it is a presumption. It is an attempt to explain what happened at the very beginning our universe. Some scientists do define it as an accepted knowledge which explains much on how the earth was created and that is the universe. The findings of the research in the study of the physics and astronomy have openly shown...
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...that they are separated from all other species based on the concept of intelligence and how they have used intelligence to their advantage to create language, technology and many other things to ultimately establish themselves as a successful species. In order to actually prove that humans rightfully deserve that title, one must delve into the debate of intelligence to clarify the meaning and understanding of intelligence. This will provide evidence to the argument on whether or not the human species will be viable in the long-term. In the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, intelligence is defined as the ability to collect and apply certain knowledge and information from the external environment to different situations1. Although this is a brief and vague definition, certain scientists such as Howard Gardner postulates that intelligence is a complex topic because humans have the ability to use a wide range of different intelligences in life. This is known as the theory of multiple intelligences, for example someone being able to learn a language and not being able to...
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...Ogundola Street Sungas-BAriga. PREFACE A few words about the overall objectives of the course is appropriate as a starting point. Historically, philosophy was the first form of theoretical knowledge. As a rational theoretical tool of comprehending the world, philosophy arose in ancient Greece in stiff battle with mythology and religious consciousness. It came out to lay the foundation for the evolvement of scientific consciousness and the emergence and development of the sciences - Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc. In an environment rife with various and varying superstitions and myths, the study of the History of Science and Philosophy of Science becomes crucial, lest science itself falls within the ambit of mythology and superstition and becomes another form of myth even in the hands of the tutored. The study of the History of Science is particularly important since it is within its realm that the development of science can be made bare and the process clearly demonstrated stage by stage in a conscious manner as to show that science is the result of, and at once, itself a form of creative activity of man; a conscious creation for that matter which arose out of the need of man. It was a need borne out of the interaction of...
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...tr “Beyond the Milky Way” “The History of the Hubble Telescope” By: Steven Radziul DeVry University Since the Age of Man and Woman, We have been staring up into the sky, wondering clearly what is out there. The stars and planets have always been our close neighbors, from navigation, to philosophy and even religion, the stars and planets have always been our friend. Man has stood to the highest peak staring out into the sky, wondering clearly to see what is out there. He has invented instruments for which to see further and further, wanting to learn about himself. Since the earliest days of Man, We have strived to see higher, to see more, to see deeper, and to finally see farther. The newest discoveries started with the time of Galileo, and the first “modern” telescopes, pointed up to the skies, just to see what is out there. Since then we have strived to improve our abilities to see way out there. The latest discoveries and breakthrough in discovery through the use of telescopes, is that of the space telescopes themselves. One of the famous space based telescopes, as well as one of the more famous projects put out by NASA, is that of the “Hubble Space Telescope”. Learning about the worlds around us, allows us to learn about our own “Man Kind”. We are “star stuff”, we are made of the stuff which stars are made from. From the gases, to the elements, what is out there, we can find here. As We explore the world around us, we begin to learn more about our own existence...
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...Can Evolutionism and Creationism Co-exist? Is the teaching of evolution really corrupting the minds of children? Can you really talk about the two theories without cutting off the others head? These are questions that come to mind when thinking about the topic at hand. Evolutionism and creationism can be taught together in classes without any controversy because evolutionism can be tied into creationism in many ways. Almost everyone wonders if the world was really made and how it was made. Students everywhere also ask, “How did the human originate?” This is a huge controversy that has been fought for many years. Although there are many ideas, people mainly argue over two of them. The first theory is that people was created by God during his creation of the world; this is the idea of creationism. It is backed up by many religious people and religion itself. There is much turmoil on the broad topic of creationism and its place in American society. The big controversy of creationism versus evolutionism is a very large topic, something that has been made increasingly evident by the numerous books printed on the subject. Most evolutionist and creationist spend their time attempting to prove the other’s theory wrong; in one way or another, prove that theirs is the correct answer to the origins of life as we know it. I have no intent of diving into that raging battle, but would rather take a very different approach. Being raised in a religious household, I naturally have...
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...state-of-the-art computation and visualization technology. The starting point for gathering particle data was the Cosmic Microwave Background, relic radiation left over from the Big Bang. The supercomputer Titan created the data and put it in a format that could be downloaded onto weaker machines, for our purposes. This data was then consolidated and manipulated so that the evolution of features of the cosmos could be seen on a small, detailed scale, which allows for close observations and analysis. The results yielded depict many examples of the innate relationship between ionization and energy density, as well as how these features are related to temperature and photon density. Using a stereoscopic display, dark matter collapse was simulated in 3D so that the details of the connection between gravity and energy, mainly how the gravity of dense regions affects structure formation by causing dark matter to collapse and form halos, could be seen from an advantageous perspective. Overall, these simulations allow us to better understand how the cosmos has evolved over billions of years in order to give rise to stars and planets capable of supporting life. 1. Introduction All of the energy that forms the universe was at one time concentrated at a single point. This extremely concentrated point of energy expanded in what is known as the Big Bang. Blumenthal et al. (1986) Hyperinflation caused the tiny inhomogeneities in the original concentrated point to be amplified on a massive scale...
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...Journal Article Review on East Africa's Great Rift Valley: A Complex Rift System I. Introduction The never ending saga on how the earth was created continues on. Numerous scientists have attempted to state different theories and this article describes how two Michigan Tech affiliates believe the East African Rift Valley was created. It is written from an old-earth viewpoint as it was believed to have originated billions of years ago. II. Brief Overview and Main Points In this article, the authors James Wood and Alex Guth try and visually describe the area along the rifts in East Africa. They also provide the reader with a detailed explanation of how they believe the rifts were formed. Through this, they are attempting to convince readers that the world had evolved billions of years ago and humans were present in this area at that same time, based on what they have studied. III. Article Strengths One of the strengths of this article includes, but is not limited to, the very informative colored digital maps seen online to assist the reader in visualizing the East Africa area. The authors go in depth describing this area, the surrounding geographic features, and their theory of how they feel the rifts were formed. The authors reaffirm this throughout the article, and make it exceptionally clear that the cause of the East African Rift is still unknown, despite their own theory. I feel the authors did not write with precision in regards to the accuracy of the article but...
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...Charles Hnein Ms. Wilson Philosophy 4/14/2013 Metaphysics paper Metaphysics has become the study of the fundamental nature of all reality; what is it, why is it, and how are we can understand it. Finding out if there is reality or not is a subject that has been debated by philosophers and scientists for hundreds of years. The search to understanding the nature of reality is still a mystery. We can know if something is real or not by using our senses, however, it’s much deeper than that. Reality can also be explained through theories of quantum mechanics, physics, and mathematics. Our knowledge comes primarily from our sense and our sensory experiences which make reality possible. We all know what a chair is, so we assume that it is real. What makes a real chair different from a chair that we imagine in our brain? By using our senses we can conclude that the chair is real. We can touch the chair, smell the chair, and see the chair. This brings up the question: what makes reality real? To me, a set of things that we know for sure is real. We know a chair is solid and we’ve experienced it over and over again, thus making it real. But what is real? The chair feels pretty solid, but it’s made out of atoms. Atoms are made up of empty space. Does that mean the chair doesn’t exist? Reality is much weirder than it seems. If atoms are mostly empty space, how come the world around us is solid? We feel like we’re standing still, however, we’re rotating around the sun at 67,000 miles...
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...University of Phoenix Material Earth and Earth Materials I Worksheet From Visualizing Earth Science, by Merali, Z., and Skinner, B. J, 2009, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Copyright 2009 by Wiley. Adapted with permission. Part 1 Complete the WileyPLUS® GeoDiscoveries Earth Drag and Drop from Chapter 1. Label and describe each letter in the space below. [pic] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Part...
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...financial crisis, Mazda faced in danger of bankruptcy, became a subsidiary of Ford Motors and welcomed a president from Ford in the late 1990’s. It was an edge if Mazda regains management prerogative or completely become an affiliate company of Ford. 2) Competitive Environments Background (circa 100 words) G.M. Volkswagen are big three in the market and Mazda is ranked as 15 in 2010 (Table 2) (Table2. Worldwide 2010 production of the first 20 manufacturers (Genta, at el, 2014) Car production volume worldwide has been grown rapidly between 2000 and 2010, and India, China and Mercosur countries (Latin America) have emerged rather than the traditional high production areas: North America, European and Japan. (Figure 3) Figure 3. Evolution of production breakdown in the first decade of the 2000s, (Genta, at el, 2014) According...
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...ton1.1 Major Themes of Environmental Science The study of environmental problems and their solutions has never been more important. Modern society in 2009 is hooked on oil. Production has declined, while demand has grown, and the population of the world has been increasing by more than 70 million each year. The emerging energy crisis is producing an economic crisis, as the prices of everything produced from oil (fertilizer, food, and fuel) rise beyond what some people can afford to pay. Energy and economic problems come at a time of unprecedented environmental concerns, from the local to global level. At the beginning of the modern era—in A.D. 1—the number of people in the world was probably about 100 million, one-third of the present population of the United States. In 1960 the world contained 3 billion people. Our population has more than doubled in the last 40 years, to 6.8 billion people today. In the United States, population increase is often apparent when we travel. Urban traffic snarls, long lines to enter national parks, and difficulty getting tickets to popular attractions are all symptoms of a growing population. If recent human population growth rates continue, our numbers could reach 9.4 billion by 2050. The problem is that the Earth has not grown any larger, and the abundance of its resources has not increased—in many cases, quite the opposite. How, then, can Earth sustain all these people? And what is the maximum number of people that could live on Earth, not just...
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