Biology coursework Essay Example

Biology coursework Essay Example Biology coursework Paper Biology coursework Paper In Madeleine L`Engle`s children`s novel A Wrinkle in Time, the mitochondria in one of the characters starts to die. Describe what would happen to people who lost their mitochondria, and explain why it would happen. It is important to note that mitochondria are cellular organelles and it functions in the energy production within the cell. It is an inevitable component of the cell, in whose absence all cellular functions that require energy cease to be exist, or are replaced by less effective ones.   Anything that happens to the mitochondria first affects the metabolic status of the cell, the tissue in which it is found and the organ formed. Mitochondria functions in the production of energy for various cellular functions such as maintenance of membrane permeability and pumps, transport within the cell, synthesis [anabolism] and catabolism of cellular structures. All these would be lost when mitochondria are lost or reduced in number in an organism. People who lost their mitochondria would experience widespread dysfunction of organ systems. Since there is no energy production, there is lethargy and death may ensue if there is timely intervention addressing the cause of the insult. One of the most dramatic environmental changes today is the increase in carbon-dioxide levels in the atmosphere. We usually hear about it in connection with global warming, but that’s not the only issue. What effect would increased carbon dioxide have on plants? If more trees are planted, would this stand to have any effect on atmospheric levels? Evaluate. Carbon dioxide is an important raw material used by plants, for the production of glucose through photosynthesis. It is produced as a waste product of metabolism in most animals. An excessive concentration of carbon dioxide saturates the atmosphere and there is a distortion in the balance of the ecosystem. This amount can be toxic to plants. Its influence on global warming also contributes to its influence on plants. Carbon dioxide has a limited concentration in atmospheric air, less than 1%. An increase on this amount affects the availability of other constituents of air. Such cycles such as nitrogen, carbon and oxygen are affected creating an imbalance that may be incompatible with life including plants. It is noteworthy that the stomata of the plants are closed and there is reduced uptake of carbon for plant use and transport within the plants transport system. Why is it accurate to think of each human being as the owner of a library of ancient information? This can be explained using biological concepts. Man is made up of cells, as its unit basic structure. This comprises the nucleus and cytoplasm. The nucleus contains the genetic material of each human being, and it is very useful as the control centre of all activities each cell carries out. In this nucleus is the genetic make-up of the individual that contains information that inherited from parents. One notices a sequential and generation inheritance of information through parent and offspring, which is modified through the ages by primary genetic changes, adaptive formulations, and environmental factors. This inheritance constitutes the pathway by which each human individual becomes an owner of a library of ancient information encoded into microscopic structures called genes.   This encoding has helped reduce the space to contain the avalanche of information so that it can be available within the nucleus of the cell. This also points to the fact that the cell is really not as simple as we may think, as Darwin presumes. It is a complex structure reduced to appreciable size. The amount of information stored in the nucleus has proven to be larger than that of the Universe. Each man owns the cell, the information contained therein; heredity and genetics being major contributors.