What is life?

Principles of Biology I (BIOLOGY 113) Notes 2014

Trinity Western University
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biology is a quest, an ongoing inquiry about the nature of life Reece et al. p.
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many opportunities to participate in this inquiry at Trinity Western University

But what is life?

After this first set of notes, the notes for Biology 113 will be made available at
least 24 hrs before class on the MyCourses web site:
https://courses.mytwu.ca/
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and
divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men
are without
excuse (Romans 1:20)
The remarkable round-leaved sundew

Found in bogs and marshes across Canada (and throughout the world)

Red glandular hairs secret sticky substance to capture insects

Insects digested

Why?

Boggy habitats= Low in nutrients

God cares for birds too

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be
afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two
sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart
from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all
numbered. Matthew 10:28-30
What scientists think...
Biophilia an innate attraction to life in its diverse forms (E.O. Wilson)
"The basic ingredient for a love of learning is the same as romantic love, or
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love of country, or of God: passion for a particular subject. Knowledge

accompanied by pleasurable emotion stays with us. It jumps to the surface and
, when summoned, triggers other memory linkages to create metaphor, the
cutting edge of creative thought. Rote learning, in contrast, fades quickly into a
jumble of words, facts and anecdotes. The Holy Grail of liberal education is the
formula by which passion can be systematically expanded for both science and
humanities, hence for the best in culture." E.O. Wilson, The Creation, pg.127
Experiencing creation
Biology is much more than preserved frogs, fetal pigs, and gel plates. These
common laboratory materials are a poor reflection of the creation. If you are a
student of biology who might want to see in your studies much more of Gods
glory, you need to leave the laboratory and get out into the natural world.
Richard Wright, Biology Through the Eyes of Faith, p. 28.

e.g., Salt Spring Island Travel study

Plant Ecology (BIOL 316) and Marine Ecology (BIOL 382)
Or the Hawaii Travel Study
Coral Reef Ecology (BIOL 364) and Tropical Botany (BIOL 318)

Trouble in Paradise
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth
right up to the present time. (Romans 8:19)
Many current examples of a groaning creation

Pollution in Hong Kong or Beijing

The Hawaiian Po'o-uli last known individual died in captivity, December
2004

New

textbook editions
The 9th edition of Dolphin will definitely not work get the 10 th
many changes in the Canadian edition of Campbell Biology
figures shown in class will be the figures for the Canadian edition
some advances have been made in biology that are reflected in the new
edition, such as new ways of classifying organisms
So = easier to use the new edition

Information Overload!
more than a half billion new biological research articles produced annually,
but complexity of life often defies explanation

biology is diverse both in variety of species, and the variety of approaches;

microscopic/macroscopic, cells/whole organisms; present/past life forms

Emergent Properties

Ernest Rutherford: "In science there is only physics; all the rest is stamp
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collecting

biological stamp collection reveals emergent properties (whole greater than

the sum of the parts)

i.e., principles of design in the creation/evolution of life

Emergent example
Scotch broom- elaiosomes -ants
Reductionism
Because emergent properties complicate things, biologists must be
reductionists

But does this take us too far?

e.g., James Watson and Francis Crick brought us DNA, but did they steal the
soul?

What is life? A box of chocolates?

Seven Chocolates (properties of life)

1. Order
2. Evolutionary adaptation
3. Response to the environment
4. Regulation
5. Energy processing
6. Growth and development
7. Reproduction

Is this life?
Ebola Virus- has the same properties as life