6 Themes of Biology

6 Themes of Biology

1. Cell Structure and Function

   • unicellular organisms
     • living things that are a single cell
   • multicellular organisms
     • living things that have more than one cell

2. Stability and Homeostasis

   • homeostasis
     • homeostasis is an organism's ability to maintain stable internal conditions (like temperature)

3. Reproduction and Inheritance

   • sexual reproduction
     • Reproduction that involves two organisms (parents) combining DNA to form a new organism (offspring or child) 
   • asexual reproduction
     • reproduction involving only one organism (usually a unicellular organism) that creates a copy of itself (a clone) 

4. Evolution

   • natural selection
     • the theory that organisms with helpful traits will survive to have more offspring than organisms with less helpful traits

5. Interdependence of Organisms

   • ecology
     • the study of how organisms interact with one another and their environment.   From the greek "eko" meaning "home" and "logy" meaning "study." 
   • ecosystem
     • All the living and non-living things in an area that interact with each other

6. Matter, Energy, and Organization

   • autotrophs
     • organisms that make their own food (plants)
   • heterotrophs
     • Organisms that eat other organisms to survive (all animals and fungi, some plants and unicellular organisms)