Critical analysis of modern achievements in biology. Major discoveries in biology. New discoveries in the biology of the XXI century

Due to fast technical progress and general evolutionary development humanity, every year more and more more people learn to know this world. All sciences are evolving. They develop thanks to new discoveries in a certain area. And biology is no exception. Modern discoveries in biology, in particular, the discoveries of 2014, we remember the rapid progress in the study of the flora and fauna of the Earth's biosphere, as well as completely new technical inventions.

The development of biology, as an independent science of life, began in ancient times and continues today in several directions. In particular, if we talk about less mentioning discoveries in biology (this does not mean that they are less significant), I would like to recall the following:

• technologies and methods for determining protein chains have been significantly improved. People have learned to determine sequences in the structure of DNA, as well as to establish certain amino acid sequences of proteins. This discovery allows scientists to read almost completely without any difficulty. genetic code any living organism;
• accelerated and improved the development of artificial organs. Scientists have learned to grow muscles, liver tissue, hair, and even working heart valves. From further development these discoveries may have affected many human lives.

Discovery of new species

Almost every day, more and more new data on species of living organisms still unknown to mankind are added to the general world DNA databases. During the period of the end of 2013-2014, we managed to collect data on many new representatives of flora and fauna, but here we recall only a few of them.

Olinguito

This predatory mammal in my own way appearance resembles a harmless plush toy, therefore, with its discovery, a real sensation was formed among animal lovers. The animal was discovered in August 2013 as a result of many years of research by US zoologist Christopher Helgen.

Kawesaka dragon tree

As a separate biological species, this tree was identified only last year. Why this bright representative flora of thailand long years remained unnoticed until now remains a mystery. However, the species was discovered recently, therefore it refers to modern discoveries in biology.

Clean room microbe

official biological name in Latin this species of organisms is Tersicoccus phoenicis. The microbe was discovered in mid-2014 in absolutely sterile rooms where spacecraft are located. Due to these circumstances, many scientists fear that Tersicoccus phoenicis could even pollute Mars, hitting the neighboring planet along with the rovers. Tersicoccus phoenicis is clear evidence of the incredible difficult conditions life can exist.

Experiments on your body. Madness or sacrifice for the sake of science?

Since mid-2012, information about the discovery of a new hormone began to appear on the pages of the World Wide Web. It soon became known that this hormone is irisin, which is secreted by human muscles during strong physical activity. The effect of this hormone, as the study showed, is determined on adipose tissue, where the usual "white" fat, which serves as an energy source, turns into "brown" fat, which releases energy in the form of heat. Such a transformation of lipids in the body, as many scientists have argued, has a lot of positive effects on human health.

In early 2014, Harvard biologist Bruce Spiegelman decided to test irisin on himself, proving in this way the positive effects of the hormone on a person's physical condition. However, the scientist miscalculated the dose and introduced too much into his body. a large number of hormone. Soon, all the fat in his body turned into "brown". As a result of the mistake, Spiegelman's body began to generate so much heat that he had to be placed in a special chamber with liquid nitrogen to reduce his body temperature. He directs further research from there. But he nevertheless proved the positive effect of the hormone in the right doses. According to doctors, Bruce Spiegelman is the most healthy man in the world. His act was described in many foreign and Russian articles under the heading "Modern discoveries in biology."

Scientists have found a new species of mammal - Olinguito - video

Achievements in biology in modern versions of the taxonomy of life

Based on the latest scientific achievements of modern biological science, the following definition of life is given: “Life is open self-regulating and self-reproducing systems of living organisms, built from complex biological polymers - proteins and nucleic acids” (I. I. Mechnikov).

Recent advances in biology have led to the emergence of fundamentally new directions in science. The disclosure of the molecular structure of the structural units of heredity (genes) served as the basis for the creation genetic engineering. With the help of its methods, organisms are created with new, including those not found in nature, combinations of hereditary traits and properties. It opens up opportunities for breeding new varieties of cultivated plants and highly productive animal breeds, creating effective medicines etc.

Live nature arranged itself brilliantly simply and wisely. It has the only self-reproducing DNA molecule on which the life program is written, and more specifically, the entire synthesis process, the structure and function of proteins as the basic elements of life. In addition to preserving the life program, the DNA molecule performs another important function - its self-reproduction, copying create continuity between generations, the continuity of the thread of life. Once having arisen, life reproduces itself in a huge variety, which ensures its stability, adaptability to various environmental conditions and evolution.

Modern biotechnologies

Modern biology is an area of ​​rapid and fantastic transformations in biotechnology.

Biotechnologies are based on the use of living organisms and biological processes in industrial production. On their basis, mass production of artificial proteins, nutrients and many other substances, superior to products of natural origin in many properties, has been mastered. The microbiological synthesis of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids, antibiotics, etc. is successfully developing. With the use of gene technologies and natural bioorganic materials, biologically active substances are synthesized - hormonal preparations and compounds that stimulate the immune system.

Modern biotechnology makes it possible to turn waste wood, straw and other plant materials into valuable nutritious proteins. It includes the process of hydrolysis of the intermediate product - cellulose - and the neutralization of the resulting glucose with the introduction of salts. The resulting glucose solution is a nutrient substrate for microorganisms - yeast fungi. As a result of the vital activity of microorganisms, a light brown powder is formed - a high-quality food product containing about 50% of raw protein and various vitamins. Sugar-containing solutions such as treacle stillage and sulfite liquor from pulp production can also serve as a nutrient medium for yeasts.

Some types of fungi convert oil, fuel oil and natural gas into protein-rich edible biomass. Thus, 10 tons of yeast biomass containing 5 tons of pure protein and 90 tons of diesel fuel can be obtained from 100 tons of crude fuel oil. The same amount of yeast is produced from 50 tons of dry wood or 30 thousand m3 of natural gas. To produce this amount of protein would require a herd of 10,000 cows, and to maintain them, huge areas of arable land are needed. industrial production proteins is fully automated, and yeast cultures grow thousands of times faster than large cattle. One ton of nutritional yeast allows you to get about 800 kg of pork, 1.5-2.5 tons of poultry or 15-30 thousand eggs and save up to 5 tons of grain.

Practical application of achievements modern biology already allows you to receive industrially significant amounts of biologically active substances.

Biotechnology, apparently, will take a leading position in the coming decades and, perhaps, will determine the face of civilization in the 21st century.

Gene technologies

Genetics is the most important area of ​​modern biology.

On the basis of genetic engineering, modern biotechnology was born. There are now a huge number of firms doing business in this area in the world. They do everything from drugs, antibodies, hormones, food proteins to technical things - ultra-sensitive sensors (biosensors), computer microcircuits, chitin cones for good acoustic systems. Genetically engineered products are conquering the world, they are environmentally safe.

At the initial stage of the development of gene technologies, a number of biologically active compounds were obtained - insulin, interferon, etc. Modern gene technologies combine the chemistry of nucleic acids and proteins, microbiology, genetics, biochemistry and open up new ways to solve many problems of biotechnology, medicine and Agriculture.

Gene technologies are based on methods molecular biology and genetics associated with the purposeful construction of new combinations of genes that do not exist in nature. The main operation of gene technology is to extract from the cells of an organism a gene encoding the desired product, or a group of genes, and combine them with DNA molecules that can multiply in the cells of another organism.

The DNA stored and working in the cell nucleus reproduces more than just itself. At the right moment, certain sections of DNA - genes - reproduce their copies in the form of a chemically similar polymer - RNA, ribonucleic acid, which in turn serve as templates for the production of many proteins necessary for the body. It is proteins that determine all the signs of living organisms. The main chain of events at the molecular level:

DNA -> RNA -> protein

This line contains the so-called central dogma of molecular biology.

Gene technologies have led to the development of modern methods for the analysis of genes and genomes, and they, in turn, to synthesis, i.e. to the construction of new, genetically modified microorganisms. To date, the nucleotide sequences of various microorganisms, including industrial strains, have been established, and those that are needed to study the principles of genome organization and to understand the mechanisms of microbial evolution. Industrial microbiologists, in turn, are convinced that knowledge of the nucleotide sequences of the genomes of industrial strains will allow them to be "programmed" so that they bring in a lot of income.

Cloning of eukaryotic (nuclear) genes in microbes is the fundamental method that led to the rapid development of microbiology. Fragments of the genomes of animals and plants are cloned in microorganisms for their analysis. To do this, artificially created plasmids are used as molecular vectors, gene carriers, as well as many other molecular entities for isolation and cloning.

With the help of molecular samples (DNA fragments with a certain sequence of nucleotides) it is possible to determine, say, whether donated blood is infected with the AIDS virus. And genetic technologies for identifying some microbes make it possible to monitor their spread, for example, inside a hospital or during epidemics.

Gene technologies for the production of vaccines are developing in two main directions. The first is the improvement of already existing vaccines and the creation of a combined vaccine, i.e. consisting of several vaccines. The second direction is obtaining vaccines against diseases: AIDS, malaria, stomach ulcers, etc.

Behind last years Gene technologies have significantly improved the efficiency of traditional producer strains. For example, in a fungal strain producing the antibiotic cephalosporin, the number of genes encoding expandase, the activity that determines the rate of cephalosporin synthesis, has been increased. As a result, antibiotic production increased by 15-40%.

Purposeful work is being carried out to genetically modify the properties of microbes used in the production of bread, cheese making, the dairy industry, brewing and winemaking in order to increase the resistance of production strains, increase their competitiveness in relation to harmful bacteria and improve the quality of the final product.

Genetically modified microbes are beneficial in the fight against harmful viruses and germs and insects. For example:

Plant resistance to herbicides, which is important for controlling weeds that clog fields and reduce the yield of cultivated plants. Herbicide-resistant varieties of cotton, corn, rapeseed, soybean, sugar beet, wheat and other plants have been obtained and are being used.

Plant resistance to insect pests. Development of the delta-endotoxin protein produced by different strains of the bacterium Bacillus turingensis. This protein is toxic to many insect species and is safe for mammals, including humans.

Plant resistance to viral diseases. To do this, genes that block the reproduction of viral particles in plants, such as interferon, nucleases, are introduced into the plant cell genome. Transgenic plants of tobacco, tomatoes and alfalfa with the beta-interferon gene have been obtained.

In addition to genes in the cells of living organisms, there are also independent genes in nature. They are called viruses if they can cause an infection. It turned out that the virus is nothing more than genetic material packed in a protein shell. The shell is a purely mechanical device, like a syringe, in order to package and then inject genes, and only genes, into the host cell and fall off. Then the viral genes in the cell begin to reproduce their RNA and their proteins on themselves. All this overwhelms the cell, it bursts, dies, and the virus in thousands of copies is released and infects other cells.

Illness, and sometimes even death, is caused by foreign, viral proteins. If the virus is "good", the person does not die, but can be ill all his life. A classic example is herpes, the virus of which is present in the body of 90% of people. This is the most adaptable virus, usually infecting a person in childhood and living in it all the time.

Thus, viruses are, in essence, biological weapons invented by evolution: a syringe filled with genetic material.

Now the example is already from modern biotechnology, an example of the operation with the germ cells of higher animals for the sake of noble goals. Humanity is experiencing difficulties with interferon, an important protein with anti-cancer and antiviral activity. Interferon is produced by an animal organism, including a human one. Alien, not human, interferon cannot be taken for the treatment of people, it is rejected by the body or is ineffective. A person produces too little interferon to be isolated for pharmacological purposes. Therefore, the following was done. The human interferon gene was introduced into a bacterium, which then multiplied and produced human interferon in large quantities in accordance with the human gene sitting in it. Now this already standard technique is used all over the world. In the same way, and for quite some time now, genetically engineered insulin has been produced. With bacteria, however, there are many difficulties in purifying the desired protein from bacterial impurities. Therefore, they begin to abandon them, developing methods for introducing the necessary genes into higher organisms. It's more difficult, but it provides tremendous benefits. Now, in particular, dairy production of the necessary proteins using pigs and goats is already widespread. The principle here, very briefly and simplified, is this. Egg cells are extracted from the animal and inserted into their genetic apparatus, under the control of animal milk protein genes, foreign genes that determine the production of the necessary proteins: interferon, or antibodies necessary for a person, or special food proteins. The eggs are then fertilized and returned to the body. Part of the offspring begins to produce milk containing the necessary protein, and it is already quite simple to isolate it from milk. It turns out much cheaper, safer and cleaner.

In the same way, cows were bred to give "women's" milk (cow's milk with the necessary human proteins), suitable for artificial feeding of human babies. And now this is a rather serious problem.

In general, we can say that in practical terms, humanity has reached a rather dangerous milestone. We learned how to influence the genetic apparatus, including higher organisms. We learned how to direct, selective gene influence, the production of so-called transgenic organisms - organisms that carry any foreign genes. DNA is a substance that can be manipulated. In the last two or three decades, methods have emerged that can cut DNA in the right places and glue it with any other piece of DNA. Moreover, they can cut and paste not only certain ready-made genes, but also recombinants - combinations of different, including artificially created genes. This direction is called genetic engineering. Man has become a genetic engineer. In his hands, in the hands of a not so intellectually perfect being, there appeared boundless, gigantic possibilities - like the Lord God.

Modern cytology

New methods, especially electron microscopy, the use of radioactive isotopes, and high-speed centrifugation, are making great progress in studying the structure of the cell. In developing a unified concept of the physicochemical aspects of life, cytology is increasingly moving closer to other biological disciplines. At the same time, its classical methods, based on fixation, staining and studying cells under a microscope, still retain their practical value.

Cytological methods are used, in particular, in plant breeding to determine the chromosomal composition of plant cells. Such studies are of great help in planning experimental crossings and evaluating the results obtained. A similar cytological analysis is carried out on human cells: it allows you to identify some hereditary diseases associated with changes in the number and shape of chromosomes. Such an analysis, in combination with biochemical tests, is used, for example, in amniocentesis to diagnose hereditary defects in the fetus.

However, the most important application of cytological methods in medicine is the diagnosis of malignant neoplasms. In cancer cells, especially in their nuclei, specific changes occur. Malignant formations are nothing more than deviations in the normal development process due to the exit from the control of the systems that control development, primarily genetic ones. Cytology is a fairly simple and highly informative method for screening diagnostics of various manifestations of papillomavirus. This study is conducted in both men and women.

Description of work

Based on the latest scientific achievements of modern biological science, the following definition of life is given: “Life is open self-regulating and self-reproducing systems of living organisms, built from complex biological polymers - proteins and nucleic acids” (I. I. Mechnikov).
Recent advances in biology have led to the emergence of fundamentally new directions in science. Disclosure molecular structure structural units of heredity (genes) served as the basis for the creation of genetic engineering. With the help of its methods, organisms are created with new, including those not found in nature, combinations of hereditary traits and properties. It opens up opportunities for breeding new varieties of cultivated plants and highly productive animal breeds, creating effective drugs, etc.

Detailed solution paragraph § 1 in biology for students of grade 10, authors Sivoglazov V.I., Agafonova I.B., Zakharova E.T. 2014

Remember!

What achievements of modern biology do you know?

radiology

ultrasound machines, EMRI

establishment of the molecular structure of DNA

deciphering the genome of humans and other organisms

Genetic Engineering

3D bioprinters

Scanning electron microscopes

in vitro fertilization, etc.

What biologists do you know?

Linnaeus, Lamarck, Darwin, Mendel, Morgan, Pavlov, Pasteur, Hooke, Leeuwenhoek, Brown, Purninier, Baer, ​​Mechnikov, Michurin, Vernadsky, Ivanovsky, Fleming, Tensley, Sukachev, Chetverikov, Lyle, Oparin, Schwann, Schleiden, Chagraff, Navashin, Timiryazev, Malpighi, Golgi and others.

Review questions and assignments

1. Tell us about the contribution to the development of biology of ancient Greek and ancient Roman philosophers and doctors.

The first scientist to create a scientific medical school was the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (c. 460 - c. 370 BC). He believed that every disease has natural causes and they can be recognized by studying the structure and vital activity of the human body. From ancient times to this day, doctors solemnly pronounce the Hippocratic oath, promising to keep medical secrecy and under no circumstances leave the patient without medical care. The great encyclopedist of antiquity Aristotle (384-322 BC). He became one of the founders of biology as a science, for the first time generalizing the biological knowledge accumulated by mankind before him. He developed a taxonomy of animals, defining in it a place for a person, whom he called "a social animal endowed with reason." Many of Aristotle's works were devoted to the origin of life. The ancient Roman scientist and physician Claudius Galen (c. 130 - c. 200), studying the structure of mammals, laid the foundations of human anatomy. For the next fifteen centuries, his writings were the main source of knowledge on anatomy.

2. Describe the features of views on wildlife in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance.

Interest in biology sharply increased in the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries (XV century). The discovery of new lands, the establishment of trade relations between states expanded information about animals and plants. Botanists and zoologists described many new, previously unknown species of organisms belonging to various kingdoms of wildlife. One of the outstanding people of this era - Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) - described many plants, studied the structure of the human body, the activity of the heart and visual function. After the church ban on opening the human body was lifted, brilliant successes were achieved by human anatomy, which was reflected in the classic work of Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) “The structure of the human body” (Fig. 1). The greatest scientific achievement - the discovery of blood circulation - was made in the 17th century. English physician and biologist William Harvey (1578-1657).

3. Using the knowledge gained in the lessons of history, explain why in the Middle Ages in Europe there was a period of stagnation in all areas of knowledge.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in Europe, there was a stagnation in the development of sciences and crafts. This was facilitated by the feudal order established in all European countries, constant wars between feudal lords, invasions of semi-savage peoples from the east, mass epidemics, and most importantly, the ideological enslavement of the minds of the broad masses of the people by the Roman Catholic Church. During this period, the Roman Catholic Church, despite many failures in the struggle for political dominance, spread its influence throughout Western Europe. With a huge army of clergy of various ranks, the papacy actually achieved the complete dominance of the Christian Roman Catholic ideology among all Western European peoples. While preaching humility and humility, justifying the existing feudal order, the Roman Catholic clergy at the same time cruelly persecuted everything new and progressive. The natural sciences, and in general the so-called secular education, were completely suppressed.

4. What invention of the XVII century. made it possible to open and describe the cell?

A new era in the development of biology was marked by the invention at the end of the 16th century. microscope. Already in mid-seventeenth V. the cell was discovered, and later the world of microscopic creatures - protozoa and bacteria was discovered, the development of insects and the fundamental structure of spermatozoa were studied.

5. What is the significance of the works of L. Pasteur and I. I. Mechnikov for biological science?

The works of Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) and Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov (1845-1916) determined the emergence of immunology. In 1876, Pasteur devoted himself entirely to immunology, finally establishing the specificity of the pathogens of anthrax, cholera, rabies, chicken cholera and other diseases, developed ideas about artificial immunity, and proposed a method of protective vaccinations, in particular against anthrax, rabies. The first vaccination against rabies was made by Pasteur on July 6, 1885. In 1888, Pasteur created and headed the Research Institute of Microbiology (Pasteur Institute), in which many famous scientists worked.

Mechnikov, having discovered the phenomenon of phagocytosis in 1882, developed on its basis a comparative pathology of inflammation, and later - the phagocytic theory of immunity, for which he received in 1908 Nobel Prize together with P. Erlich. Mechnikov's numerous works on bacteriology are devoted to the epidemiology of cholera, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. Mechnikov created the first Russian school of microbiologists, immunologists and pathologists; actively participated in the creation of research institutions developing various forms of combating infectious diseases.

6. List the main discoveries made in biology in the 20th century.

In the middle of the XX century. methods and ideas of other natural sciences began to actively penetrate biology. The achievements of modern biology open up broad prospects for the creation of biologically active substances and new drugs, for the treatment of hereditary diseases and selection at the cellular level. At present, biology has become a real productive force, the development of which can be judged on general level development of human society.

– Discovery of vitamins

– Opening of peptide bonds in protein molecules

– Study of the chemical nature of chlorophyll

– Describe the main tissues of plants

– Discovery of the structure of DNA

– Study of photosynthesis

– Discovery of a key stage in cell respiration - the tricarboxylic acid cycle, or the Krebs cycle

– Study of the physiology of digestion

– observed cellular structure fabrics

– observed unicellular organisms, animal cells (erythrocytes)

– Opening of the nucleus in the cell

– The discovery of the Golgi apparatus - a cell organoid, a method for preparing microscopic preparations of nervous tissue, a study of the structure nervous system

- Established that some parts of the embryo have an influence on the development of its other parts

- Formulated the mutation theory

– Creation of the chromosome theory of heredity

– Formulated the law of homologous series in hereditary variability

– Found an increase in the mutation process under the influence of radioactive radiation

– Discovered the complex structure of the gene

– Discovered the significance of the mutation process in the processes occurring in populations for the evolution of the species

– Established the phylogenetic series of horses as type series gradual evolutionary changes in related species

- Developed a theory germ layers for vertebrates

- He put forward the theory of the origin of multicellular organisms from a common ancestor - the hypothetical organism of phagocytella

- Substantiates the presence in the past of the ancestor of multicellular - phagocytella and proposes to consider it a living model of a multicellular animal - trichoplax

– Substantiated the biological law “Ontogeny is a brief repetition of phylogeny”

– Affirmed that many organs are multifunctional; under new environmental conditions, one of the secondary functions may become more important and replace the former main function of the organ

– He put forward the hypothesis of the emergence of bilateral symmetry of living organisms

7. Name the natural sciences known to you that make up biology. Which of them arose at the end of the 20th century?

At the boundaries of related disciplines, new biological areas arose: virology, biochemistry, biophysics, biogeography, molecular biology, space biology, and many others. The widespread introduction of mathematics into biology caused the birth of biometrics. The successes of ecology, as well as more and more actual problems Conservation of nature contributed to the development of an ecological approach in most branches of biology. At the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. biotechnology began to develop with great speed - a direction to which, undoubtedly, the future belongs.

Think! Remember!

1. Analyze the changes that took place in science in the XVII-XVIII centuries. What opportunities did they open for scientists?

A new era in the development of biology was marked by the invention at the end of the 16th century. microscope. Already in the middle of the XVII century. the cell was discovered, and later the world of microscopic creatures - protozoa and bacteria was discovered, the development of insects and the fundamental structure of spermatozoa were studied. In the XVIII century. Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) proposed a classification system for wildlife and introduced a binary (double) nomenclature for naming species. Carl Ernst Baer (Karl Maksimovich Baer) (1792-1876), professor of the St. Petersburg Medical and Surgical Academy, studying intrauterine development, found that the embryos of all animals in the early stages of development are similar, formulated the law of embryonic similarity and entered the history of science as the founder of embryology. The first biologist who tried to create a coherent and holistic theory of the evolution of the living world was the French scientist Jean Baptiste Lamarck (1774-1829). Paleontology, the science of fossil animals and plants, was created by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832). A huge role in understanding unity organic world the cellular theory of the zoologist Theodor Schwann (1810-1882) and the botanist Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1804-1881) played.

2. How do you understand the expression "applied biology"?

4. Analyze the material of the paragraph. Make a chronological table major achievements in the field of biology. What countries in what time periods were the main "suppliers" of new ideas and discoveries? Make a conclusion about the relationship between the development of science and other characteristics of the state and society.

The countries in which the main biological discoveries have taken place belong to the developed and actively developing countries.

5. Give examples of modern disciplines that have arisen at the intersection of biology and other sciences, not mentioned in the paragraph. What is the subject of their study? Try to guess what branches of biology may appear in the future.

Examples of modern disciplines that emerged at the intersection of biology and other sciences: paleobiology, biomedicine, sociobiology, psychobiology, bionics, labor physiology, radiobiology.

Branches of biology may appear in the future: bioprogramming, IT medicine, bioethics, bioinformatics, biotechnology.

6. Summarize system information biological sciences and represent it as a complex hierarchical scheme. Compare the chart you created with the results your classmates got. Are your patterns the same? If not, please explain what are the main differences between them.

1) Mankind cannot exist without living nature. Hence it is vital to keep it

2) Biology arose in connection with the solution of very important problems for people.

3) One of them has always been a deeper understanding of the processes in wildlife associated with obtaining food products, i.e. knowledge of the characteristics of the life of plants and animals, their change under the influence of man, ways to obtain a reliable and increasingly rich harvest.

4) Man is a product of the development of living nature. All processes of our life activity are similar to those that occur in nature. And so a deep understanding of biological processes is the scientific foundation of medicine.

5) The emergence of consciousness, which means a giant step forward in the self-knowledge of matter, also cannot be understood without deep studies of living nature, at least in 2 directions - the emergence and development of the brain as an organ of thinking (until now, the mystery of thinking remains unresolved) and the emergence of sociality, a social way of life.

6) Wildlife is a source of many materials and products necessary for humanity. You need to know their properties in order to use them correctly, to know where to look for them in nature, how to get them.

7) The water that we drink, more precisely, the purity of this water, its quality is also determined primarily by living nature. Our treatment facilities only complete that huge process that goes on invisibly to us in nature: water in the soil or reservoir repeatedly passes through the bodies of myriads of invertebrates, is filtered by them and, freed from organic and inorganic residues, becomes what we know it in rivers, lakes and springs.

8) The problem of air and water quality is one of environmental issues, and ecology is a biological discipline, although modern ecology has long ceased to be only one and includes many independent sections, often belonging to different scientific disciplines.

9) As a result of human exploration of the entire surface of the planet, the development of agriculture, industry, deforestation, pollution of continents and oceans, everything more species of plants, fungi, animals disappear from the face of the Earth. An extinct species cannot be restored. It is the product of millions of years of evolution and has a unique gene pool.

10) B this moment Molecular biology, biotechnology and genetics are developing especially rapidly.

8. Organizational project. Select an important event in the history of biology whose anniversary is in the current or next year. Develop a program for the evening (competition, quiz) dedicated to this event.

Quiz:

– Division into groups

– introduction– description of the event, historical reference events, scientist

– Come up with the name of the teams (on the topic of the quiz)

– Round 1 – easy: e.g. complete the sentence: Protective response of plants to change in length daylight hours(leaf fall).

- Round 2 - double: for example, find a pair.

- Round 3 - difficult: for example, draw a process diagram, draw a phenomenon.

end of the 20th century and beginning of XXI, led to a string of discoveries. New discoveries in biology are raising a bunch of questions that make scientists think that everything is not so simple in this world. The search for truth is the main goal of researchers.

Discoveries in the biology of the XX century

In 1951, researcher Erwin Chargaffu came to one conclusion that radically changed the view of the structure of nucleic acids. Previously, it was believed that all nucleic acids are created from tetra-blocks, and therefore lack specificity. For three years, the scientist was engaged in research and, finally, was able to prove that nucleic acids obtained from different sources, differ in their composition from each other - they are specific. The scientist built a model of DNA, which in its appearance looked like a double helix, when placed on a plane, it looked like a ladder. It was found that the structure of one single DNA branch determines the structure of its other branch - this is due to the fact that the base of the adjacent ones determines the sequence of other guides. Thus, a new property of DNA was defined - complementarity.

Further studies were needed in the field of molecular biology, which would decipher the mechanism of DNA replication and transcription. Scientists suggested that the thread unwinds, its threads diverge, and then, in accordance with the rule of complementarity, a molecule is formed from each thread. A little later, experiments confirmed this hypothesis.

In 1954, Georgy Antonovich Gamov, based on a study by Erwin Chargaff, suggested that amino acids are encoded from a combination of three nucleotides.

In 1961, French scientists Jacques Monod and François Jacob recreated the circuit that regulates active genes. Scientists said that DNA has not only informational genes, but also operator genes and regulator genes.

New discoveries in the biology of the XXI century

In 2007, a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsis-Madison and Kyoto University conducted an experiment that made adult skin cells behave like embryonic stem cells. The cell was able to transform into almost any kind. The financial framework can be discarded, because in this way, cells from human DNA can become an organ for transplantation. An organ grown in this way will not be rejected by the patient's body.

The Human Genome Study ended in 2006. This project has been called the most important research in the field of biology. The main goal of the work is to determine the nucleotide sequence, as well as to study about 20,000 thousand human genes. Under the guidance of scientist James Watson, in 2000. part of the structure of the genome was presented, and in 2003. structure studies have been completed. Despite the fact that the "Human Genome" was officially completed in 2006, the analysis of some sections continues today. This study opens up new theories of evolution. The knowledge gained during the work is already actively used in medicine.

In the 20th century, biology as a science made great strides forward, and the beginning of the 21st century is already remarkable for discoveries. It can be assumed that new discoveries in biology will reveal many secrets and mysteries, which, perhaps, will be able to turn over all past knowledge and approved theories.

Ten significant discoveries of the first decade of the XXI century - video

Lecture:

Biology as a science

Biology became a separate science in the 19th century, when several scientists began to use the term "biology" at once - Jean Baptiste Lamarck and Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus in 1802 and Friedrich Burdach in 1800. Before that, natural history and medicine were engaged in the study of some aspects of the living.

The object of study of biology is life in all its manifestations - evolution, distribution of life on the planet, its structure, functioning processes, classification, relationships of organisms with each other and with the environment.

The basis of modern biology are 5 basic principles:

cell theory;

genetics;

evolution;

homeostasis;

biology methods

Biology methods called the techniques used by scientists to acquire new knowledge about living organisms.

The basic rule for any scientist is the principle of "taking nothing for granted" - each phenomenon must be accurately studied and reliable knowledge must be obtained about it.

The methods of biology are the methods by which a system of exact scientific knowledge is built. These include:

observation. The first collision of scientists with something not yet studied.

Description phenomena, a new organism, its features;

Systematization. This is the process of correlating new knowledge with existing systems - determining the place of a newly discovered organism on the tree of evolution, its chemical structure, reproduction features and other properties with existing knowledge systems;

Comparison. Search for similar phenomena, the study of already encountered similar evidence from other scientists, descriptions and unfinished studies;

Experiment. Conducting a series of experiments to confirm or refute a new theory or hypothesis.

Analytical method. It implies the collection and comparison of all information on any issue.

historical method. Allows you to study patterns historical development organisms, referring to existing knowledge.

Modeling. Construction and calculation options the structure of the body, the functioning of its organs, its interaction with other living organisms. These can be computer models, three-dimensional models of the structure, a mathematical method.

Universal, common to all sciences are usedrules for constructing scientific theories:

observation any phenomenon, properties of a living organism, its features;

hypothesizing – how and why the observed phenomenon is possible, its preliminary explanation on the basis of previously known knowledge;

experiment- whether the phenomenon is constant or has a random character, whether it manifests itself in the same way when the conditions of the experiment change, what specific conditions affect it;

after experimental confirmation hypothesis becomes theory ;

to test the theory and search for exact answers to questions, scientists conduct additional experiments.

And also the methods inherent in each particular science are applied, for biology it is:

genealogical . Search for ancestors, correlation of a newly discovered organism with possible relatives on the tree of evolution;

tissue culture. For studying physiological features organism, influence on it various factors studies are being carried out on samples of his tissues;

embryological. The study of the development process of a living organism before its birth;

cytogenetic. Studies of the genome and cell structure;

biochemical. Chemical studies of cellular contents, tissues, internal environment and body secretions.

There are a lot of biological methods, in addition to those listed above, in science are widely used: hybridization, paleontological, centrifugation and many others.

The role of biology in the formation of the natural-science picture of the world

Knowledge about the biosphere helps mankind to make forecasts of long-term and short-term processes on Earth and try to manage them. Thus, knowing about the role of green plants in shaping the planet's oxygen environment, a person understands the importance of forest conservation. Possessing knowledge about the relationships of organisms - at present, humanity no longer allows dangerous experiments to introduce new animals and plants into a sustainable ecosystem, this is even spelled out in international law. People no longer make such mistakes as importing rabbits to Australia or a raccoon dog to the Far East of the USSR. Currently, alien plant species have become a problem in California, oppressing relict valuable species of local flora.

Biological sciences can solve many problems with food security. Breeding new varieties of plants and animal species can increase productivity, protect crops from pests, and increase agricultural productivity.

GeneticsAndphysiology currently playing very important role in obtaining medical knowledge, contributing to the development of new methods of treatment, the creation of drugs, making it possible to defeat diseases and pathologies that were considered incurable, as well as to prevent and stop their development in advance.

By using microbiology vaccines and sera, new varieties of foods and drinks are being developed.

Dendrology and ecology allow to provide replenished natural resource- timber construction and pulp and paper industries.

Entomology and botany – help to develop and improve already famous species fabrics.

Any of the biological sciences, including paleontology and others that seem unimportant, has a strong influence on the representation of knowledge about the history of the planet, the place of man among living organisms, helps to improve the quality of life and protect against the influence of harmful environmental factors.