Biology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Biology - Essay Example Adaptation, is the accommodation of a living organism to its present or to a new environment, is fundamental to the process of evolution and is determined by the individuals heredity. The division of one cell to form two new cells is reproduction; usually the term is applied to the production of a new individual (either asexually, from a single parent organism, or sexually, from two differing parent organisms.) Taxonomy1 may refer to either a hierarchical classification of things, or the principles underlying the classification. The root is the Organism (as this applies to all living things, it is implied rather than stated explicitly). Below this are the Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species, with various other ranks sometimes inserted. The atom consists of a central, positively charged core, the nucleus, and negatively charged particles called electrons that are found in orbits around the nucleus. Molecules are made up of two or more atoms, either of the same element or of two or more different elements, joined by one or more covalent chemical bonds. In biology, it is the unit of structure and function of which all plants and animals are composed. The cell is the smallest unit in the living organism that is capable of integrating the essential life processes. Cells can be separated into two major groups—prokaryotes, cells whose DNA is not segregated within a well-defined nucleus surrounded by a membranous nuclear envelope, and eukaryotes, those with a membrane-enveloped nucleus. Within cells there is an intricate network of organelles ( nucleus, nucleolus, cytoplasm, mitochondria, golgi apparatus etc.) that all have unique functions. These organelles allow the cell to function properly. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or deoxyribose nucleic acid1 is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and many viruses). DNA is often