1. Describe the significance of the works of the following personages:
a. Alcmaeon- He is a Greek philosopher who was considered the founder of
embryology. He started the studies in the development of the embryo. He
discovered the optic nerve when he was investigating animal structures. From
his investigation, he concluded that the brain is the center of intellect.
b. Vesalius- Andrea Vesalius is considered to father of modern human anatomy. He
was a teacher who dissected cadavers while lecturing in front of his students. He
published a book De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (1543; “The Seven Books
on the Structure of the Human Body”), which provided the most accurate work on
anatomy during his time. His book became one of the foundations for biology. From
then on, he has inspired younger scientists to question things.
c. Marcello Malpighi - He is an Italian biologist who extensively studied animal anatomy
and histology. He is considered the first histologist. He describes the details of red
blood cells, papillae of the tongue, cerebral area of the brain, and the inner layer of
the skin. He also made detailed observations and investigations in plant anatomy. He
described the parts of the plants. In animals, we wrote a detailed monograph on the
silkworm. His discoveries paved way for many advances in biology.
d. Frederick Griffith- He is a British bacteriologist who experimented with the bacterium,
and this led to the discovery that DNA is a carrier of genetic information.
e. Rosalind Franklin- She is a British scientist known for contributing to the discovery of
DNA. She discovered the density of DNA and authored the idea that DNA existed in
a helical conformation.
2. Discuss at least three important conceptual and technological developments in the
20th and 21st centuries.
Technological advancement was exponential in the 20th and 21st centuries. First, sequencing
technologies rose in the 1970s and continued to improve. We now have DNA sequencing
and polymerase chain reaction allowing biologists to peer into genetic blueprints. These
technologies display result fast and are cost-efficient. Bioinformatics, a new field of biological
study, has become important because it involves information about genetic data.
Genetically modified organisms became possible because of genetic engineering. The
recombinant DNA technology enabled researchers to recombine nucleic acids and give a
new organism. Cloning technologies were also developed.
Biology has become an intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary study in the 20th and 21st
centuries. There are areas of study that cross to another type of study, which indicates that
biology is intradisciplinary. Developments in a specific study resulted in the other study. For
example, developments in physiology resulted from biophysics.
3. Prepare a timeline on the history of biology from the ancient past to the present. Include
only notable discoveries/achievement
Prominent Scientist
Year
335 BC
Aristotle
Proposed that plants require food
1590
Zacharias Janssen
1665
Robert Hooke
1667
Jean-Baptiste Denys
First human blood transfusion
1674
Anton Van
Leeuwenhoek
Simple microscope was built
Invention of the microscope
Discovery of the cell
Bacteria was first described by Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Father of Microscopy
1735
Carl von Linne
Binomial nomenclature
1772
Joseph Priestley
1839
Theodor Schwann
1858
Roudolf Virchow
Cellular Pathology became the foundations of modern
pathology
1859
Charles Darwin
Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species was published
Discovery of oxygen
Discovery of plant cells and animal cells
Theory of Evolution
1861
Louis Pasteur
Germ theory, bacteriology
1866
Gregor Mendel
Basic law of inheritance, DNA
Father of Genetics
1875 and 1882
Walther Flemming
Mitosis was described
Study of Cytogenesis
1902
Walter Sutton and
Theodor Boveri
The Chromosome theory was proposed
1932
Fritz Zernike
Phase contrast microscope was invented
Hans Krebs
Krebs Cycle
1953
Francis H.C Crick and
James D. Watson
Chemical structure of DNA was discovered
1969
R.R. Whittaker
Organisms are classified into five kingdoms
2001
Human Genome Project
2009
Stem cell research was allowed
Reflection Paper on Van Regenmortel MHV. Reductionism and complexity in molecular
biology.
Even in this modern age, there are so many things that humans have not discovered. More
truths are unraveling in the continuous seek for knowledge and the answers to our
questions. We are faced with new opportunities for learning. Science is a broad system of
knowledge where there are so many branches and areas of study. These studies range from
nonliving and living organisms. This also studies human behavior and attitude. It is hard to
reduce a very complex subject into a specific area of study.
Reductionism is a theoretical approach aiming at the simplification of all phenomena by
identifying underlying connections. This is an intellectual position to interpret a complex idea
as different parts that are put into one idea. I believe that this kind of approach does not
apply to all fields in science, especially in molecular biology.
We recognize that Biology is an intradisciplinary area of study, which indicates that there are
certain biological phenomena that can be described by another area of study. But this idea
does not always right and does not apply to kinds of study. The reductionist approach limits
the insights that can be drawn from the studies because we only look at the commonalities
and find a pattern. This ignores the complexity of biological systems because, in a
reductionist approach, individual components are separately studied.
Because of the changes in biological systems and networks, scientists discovered that
components do not work alone and are highly structured. For example, in the study
regarding health and diseases, we cannot analyze each part of the body and draw a
conclusion. We need to understand the body wholesomely because it needs an integrated
analysis to determine the cause of the disease or the cure. Rather than going down to a
single idea, a system-based study is preferable to better understand the human body and
health.
Reductionism limits the capacity of scientists to discover what is beyond the relation of a
particular phenomenon. Today, as technology is continuously developing, scientific
developments are also advancing. There are already tools developed to aid the analysis of
the complexity of molecular biology. We must seek the truth that is beyond the box.