Foundations of modern biology

Cell theory

Cell theory states that the cell is the fundamental unit of life, and that all living things are composed of one or more cells or thesecreted products of those cells (e.g. shells, hairs and nails etc.). All cells arise from other cells through cell division

Evolution

A central organizing concept in biology is that life changes and develops through evolution, and that all life-forms known have acommon origin. The theory of evolution postulates that all organisms on the Earth, both living and extinct, have descended from a common ancestor or an ancestral gene pool.

Genetics

Genes are the primary units of inheritance in all organisms. A gene is a unit of heredity and corresponds to a region of DNA that influences the form or function of an organism in specific ways

Energy

The survival of a living organism depends on the continuous input of energy. Chemical reactions that are responsible for its structure and function are tuned to extract energy from substances that act as its food and transform them to help form new cells and sustain them.