SCIENCE REVIEWER
MAJOR DIVISIONS AND PARTS OF NERVOUS SYSTEM
1. CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
- The CNS serves as the main processing center for the entire nervous system.
- It consists of two main components, namely the:
A. BRAIN
- The organizer and distributor of information for the body.
Part of the Brain:
Cerebrum – the large upper part of the brain that controls activity and thoughts.
Cerebellum – the part that under Cerebrum that controls posture, balance, and coordination
Brain Stem – The part that connects brain to the spinal cord and controls automatic function (breathing,
digestion, heart rate, and blood pressure)
B. SPINAL CORD
- Channel for signals between the brain and rest of the body.
2. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- the PNS connects the control nervous system to the organs and limbs.
2 main divisions:
a. Somatic NS - You consciously control this pathway by deciding whether or not to move muscles
(except reflexes)
b. Autonomic Nervous System - Relay information from central nervous system to organs. (You don’t
consciously control these)
Sympathetic Nervous System: controls in times of stress, such as the flight or fight response
Parasympathetic Nervous System: controls body in times of rest
NERVE IMPULSE
- The nervous system controls and coordinates functions throughout the body and response to
internal and external stimuli
- The messages carried by the nervous system are electrical signal called impulses.
- The cells that transmit these impulses are called NEURONS.
NEURONS CAN BE CLASSIFIED IN 3 TYPES:
- Sensory Neurons carry impulse from the sense organs to the spinal cord and brain.
- Motor Neurons carry impulses from the brain and spinal cord to the muscle and glands.
- Inter neurons connect the sensory and motor neurons and carry impulses between them.
IMPULSES – An impulse begins when a neuron is stimulated by another neuron or by the environment.
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
- Control systems, maintain homeostatis.
- Control chemical and water balance in body
- Control growth and metabolism
- Control embryonic development and preparation for nurturing a newborn
- Influence sexual behavior, stimulate growth and maturation of the gonads
- Feedback to the nervous system.
GLANDS - Organ which produces and releases substances (hormones) that performs specific function in
the body.
HORMONES – Chemical messenger that secreted directly into the blood.
GLAND LOCATION FUNCTIONS HORMONES RELEASED
Pituitary at the base of the brain stimulates growth and Oxytocin, Vasopressin,
controls the functions of Growth Hormone,
other glands Adrenocorticotropic
Hormone (ACTH),
Prolactin, Luteinizing
Hormone, Follicle
Stimulating Hormone
(FSH)
Thyroid below the voice box regulates body Thyroxin, Calcitonin
metabolism and causes
storage of calcium in
bones
Parathyroid In the neck Controls the calcium Parathyromone
levels in your body &
normalizes bone growth
Thymus In front of the heart Enable body to produce Thymosin
certain antibodies
Adrenal On the top of the kidneys Prepares body for action Adrenaline
& controls the heart rate
& breathing in times of
emergency
Pancreas Between the kidneys regulates blood sugar Insulin, Glucagon
levels
Testes (Males) Lower abdomen control maturation and Androgen, Testosterone
male characteristics
Ovaries (Females) Lower abdomen influence female traits Estrogen, Progesterone
and support reproductive
function
ENDOCRINE DISORDERS
Disorder of the thyroid gland:
Hyperthyroidism - an overactive thyroid (when it produces too much thyroid hormone).
Hypothyroidism causes:
- Iodine deficiency
- Autoimmune disorder where antibodies attack thyroid
Hypothyroidism - an underactive thyroid (when it does not produce enough).
Graves’ Disease – Autoimmune disorder triggered by a bacterial infection leading to the overproduction
of hormones in the thyroid.
Dwarfism – A person who is shorter than 4’10”
- Human growth hormone (HGH) deficiency-many reasons for this including genetics, stress and
malnutrition.
Acromegaly – Enlargement of the hands, feet, nose, lips and ears, heart, kidney, skull
Hirsutism – Excessive hair on the body (both men and women)
Hyperglycemia occurs when blood sugar levels are too high. People develop hyperglycemia if their
diabetes is not treated properly.
Hypoglycemia sets in when blood sugar levels are too low.
Type I Diabetes – Insulin deficiency because body does not naturally produce insulin.
- Often caused by inherited immune disorder that destroys pancreatic cells.
Type II Diabetes Causes – Body does not use insulin properly.
- Adult-onset diabetes (lifestyle dependent)
DNA (DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID)
DNA is a long molecule made up of repeating individual units of monomers called nucleotides.
Purpose of DNA:
- Stores the genetic information that instructs the cell on which proteins to make.
- So, DNA makes PROTEINS
- Responsible for determining all organism’s traits such as eye color, body structure, and enzyme
production.
Nucleotide has 3 parts:
PHOSPHATE group
DEOXYRIBOSE (sugar)
Nitrogenous BASE (Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine)
Base-Pair Rule
Adenine – Thymine
Guanine – Cytosine
The sides of DNA ladder are phosphate and sugar held together by H-bonds.
Structure of DNA
Phosphate Group & Deoxyribose Sugar
- Form the backbone or sides of the ladder.
Nitrogenous Bases
- Form the “steps” of the ladder or middle of the molecule.
DNA REPLICATION - the process by which DNA makes a copy of itself (cell division)
RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) – the messenger
- Single strand
- Ribose sugar
- Contains no thymine, uracil instead
- Can leave the nucleus
- Follow base pair rule
RNA carries the "message" to the ribosomes, where proteins are made
Transcription - process where RNA is made from DNA, occurs in the nucleus of the cell
Translation - process where proteins are made from RNA, occurs in the cytoplasm
Protein synthesis is the process in which cells make proteins.
Mutation – In biological terms, a mutation occurs when a cell’s genetic code is altered. This change can
affect the way a cell behaves.
- Mutations are heritable changes in genetic information.
- Any mistake or change in the DNA sequence
- These variations are called mutations, from the Latin word mutare, meaning “to
change.”
CLASSIFICATION OF MUTATIONS:
Hereditary Mutations — Also known as germline mutations, these mutations are inherited from one
or both parents.
Acquired Mutations — Also known as somatic mutations, these mutations are not genetic.
Environmental factors can cause mutations in cells that then continue to replicate.
Types of Mutation:
Those that produce changes in a single gene are known as gene mutations.
Those that produce changes in whole chromosomes are known as chromosomal mutations.
GENE MUTATION – Mutations that involve changes in one or a few nucleotides are known as point
mutations because they occur at a single point in the DNA sequence. They generally occur during
replication.
SUBSITUTION - In a substitution, one base is changed to a different base.
Substitutions usually affect no more than a single amino acid, and sometimes they have no effect at
all.
INSERTATION AND DELETION – Insertions and deletions are point mutations in which one base
is inserted or removed from the DNA sequence.
- If a nucleotide is added or deleted, the bases are still read in groups of three, but
now those groupings shift in every codon that follows the mutation.
MENSTRUAL CYCLE
Menstruation is the monthly shedding of the lining of a woman’s uterus.
Phases of Menstrual Cycle
1. Menstrual Phase – This is the “period” when the endometrium or lining of the uterus sheds over 4-7
days.
2. Follicular Phase – This is when several eggs mature inside small cysts or follicles
3. Ovulation Phase – This is when egg is released from the biggest follicle and travels through the
fallopian tube, where it can be fertilized. If it is not fertilized, it dissolves in about 24-48 hours.
4. Luteal Phase – This is when the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) is thick and prepared to
support pregnancy or be released in period.
EARLY THEORY OF EVOLUTION
Theory of Use and Disuse
Theory was based on NEED
- organisms change in response to their environment.
- their ability to survive helped them develop characteristics necessary for them to adapt in a
given environment.
Jean Baptiste LAMARCK (1744-1829)
- Theory of Use and Disuse
- Organs needed if environmental stresses its function, while those organs not needed
gradually disappeared because of disuse.
- IF YOU DON’T USE IT, YOU LOSE IT!
He believed in the inheritance of ACQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS
- Body changes due to an organism’s behavior or experience that occur within an organism’s life
could then be passed on to offspring
- Experiments were conducted to try to prove Lamarck’s theory ideas, but none of them
were successful.
DARWIN’S THEORIES
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
- 1831 – traveled aboard HMS Beagle as a recorder/naturalist
- Collected many specimens and documented many of his observations - noted much variety!
- Spent time in the Galapagos Islands
- Tortoises on different islands displayed different characteristics
- Harriett was 5 when Darwin captured her. Lived to be 176 years old (Died June 2006)
- Finch beaks (13 varieties) varied in size & shape from island to island
Alfred WALLACE, independent of Darwin, also developed ideas that were very similar to Darwin’s –
they presented their ideas jointly to the public in 1858 (Linnaean Society in London)
What is The Theory of Natural Selection?
NATURAL SELECTION – individuals within a population with the most favorable traits for an
environment survive and pass on those traits
Based on 4 statements
1) Organisms produce many offspring and have potential to grow unchecked
2) Variations exist within a species (at that time DID NOT know that it was a result of mutations &
genetic recombination)
3) Competition for limited resources (struggle for existence – food, disease, predators)
4) Environment selects organisms with favorable traits
“Survival of the fittest”
ADAPTATION – a variation that improves an organism’s chance of survival
A population adapts to their environment as their proportion of genes for a favorable trait increases
EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT
- Studies show that species that are closely related exhibit similar embryonic
development.
- Even when in the adult stage, the organisms are quite different.
- The greater the similarity in amino acid sequence, the closer the relationship of the
organisms.
- The organisms which are similar in structure and also possess similarity at the
biochemical level could probably have a common ancestor.
EVOLUTION – allowed organisms to adopt and survive in their environment
4 evidences;
1. Fossil Records – traces or organisms that lived in the past and preserved by natural
2. Fossils
- Imprints – shallow external mold left by criminal
- Compressions – animal or plant tissues preserved in sedentary rocks.
How are the ages of fossils determined?
1. Relative Dating – the age of rock is compared to the other rock layers.
2. Radiometric Dating – method used to determine the age of rocks using the decay of radioactive
isotopes of Carbon-14 which present in rocks when the organism died.
Comparative Anatomy
- Study of the similarities and differences in the structures of different species.
- Types of structure: homologous, analogous, and vestigial structures.
Homologous structures – body part of organism that may perform different functions but are the same
origin.
Divergent Evolution – Common Ancestor (related) –> Adopt different traits
Analogous Structure – Body parts of organisms that may perform the same function but are the
different origins.
Vestigial structures – Body parts that are useless or the left over from a previous ancestor in which they
were useful.
