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Lectures by Mark Manteuffel, St. Louis Community College
 Learning Goals
r Describe what science is.
r Describe the scientific method.
r Describe key aspects of well-designed
experiments.
r Describe how the scientific method can be
used to help make wise decisions.
r Describe the major themes in biology.






 Scientists
þ Are curious
þ Ask questions about how the world works
þ Seek answers

ƥ Does the radiation released by cell phones

cause brain tumors?
ƥ Are anti-bacterial hand soaps better than
regular soap?
ƥ Do large doses of vitamin C reduce the
likelihood of getting a cold?
ƥ Why is morning breath so stinky? And can
you do anything to prevent it?

ƥ Why is it always windy on streets with tall

buildings?

ƥ Does taking aspirin before drinking alcohol

lead to faster intoxication?
 Science
þ Not simply a body of knowledge or a list
of facts to be rememberedƦ

þ Ʀbut rather an intellectual activity,

encompassing observation, description,
experimentation, and explanation of
natural phenomena.
ã






 




 
 
Ʀthe importance of questioning the truth of many
Ơscientificơ claims you see on merchandise packages
or read in the newspaper or on the internet.
c
 
















 


CEO says: people Ơare really not scientifically

minded enough to be able to understand a
clinical study.ơ
 ou donƞt have to be at the mercy of
cranks, charlatans, advertising, or slick
packaging.

þ Learn exactly what it means to have


 
  
.

þ Learn what it means to 




.
ahe most important questions in biology:

þ What is the chemical and physical basis for

life and its maintenance?

þ How do organisms use genetic information

to build themselves and to reproduce?
ahe most important questions in biology:

þ What are the diverse forms that life on

earth takes and how has that diversity
arisen?

þ How do organisms interact with each

other and with their environment?
 Scientific Literacy
þ how to think scientifically
þ how to use the knowledge we gain to
make wise decisions
þ increasingly important in our lives
þ literacy in matters of biology is especially
essential
 
!


þ ahrough its emphasis on objective
observation, description, and
experimentation, science is a pathway by
which we can come to discover and better
understand the world around us.
 "#







 



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þ Why are unsaturated fats healthier for you
than saturated fats?

þ What are allergies? Why do they strike

children from clean homes more than
children from dirty homes?

þ Why do new agricultural pests appear

faster than new pesticides?
 Diological Literacy
ahe ability to:
1. use the process of scientific inquiry to
think creatively about real-world issues,
2. communicate those thoughts to others,
and
3. integrate them into your decision-
making.
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þ Diological issues permeate all aspects of
our lives.

þ ao make wise decisions, it is essential for

individuals and societies to attain
biological literacy.
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 Understanding How the World Works

þ Someone wonders about why something

is the way it is and then decides to try to
find out the answer.

þ ahis process of examination and discovery

is called the 
 

.
 ahe Scientific Method
þ Observe a phenomenon

þ Propose an explanation for it

þ aest the proposed explanation through a

series of experiments
Ļ
Accurate & valid,
orƦ
Revised or alternative explanations proposed
Scientific ahinking Is EmpiricalƦ

Ʀbased on experience and observations

that are rational, testable, and repeatable.
 
!

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þ ahere are numerous ways of gaining an
understanding of the world.

þ Decause it is empirical, rational, testable,

repeatable, and self-correcting, the
scientific method is a particularly effective
approach.
& 




 
 



 ƠScientific Methodơ

þ A rigid process to follow?

þ A Ơrecipeơ?
þ An adaptable process?
þ One that includes many different
methods?
ahe basic steps in the scientific method are:

þ  Make observations.

þ " wormulate a hypothesis.
þ % Devise a testable prediction.
þ & Conduct a critical experiment.
þ ' Draw conclusions and make
revisions.
 



 

 
 





ahis may be the most important feature of

the scientific method:
it tes us hen e shoud chane our minds.
How reliable is eyewitness testimony
in criminal courts?
ahe scientific method can be used to
examine a wide variety of issues.

þ Does echinacea reduce the intensity or duration

of the common cold?

þ Does chemical runoff give rise to hermaphrodite

fish?

þ Does shaving hair from your face, legs, or

anywhere else cause it to grow back coarser or
darker?
 
!

&

þ ahe scientific method (observation,

hypothesis, prediction, test, and
conclusion) is a flexible, adaptable, and
efficient pathway to understanding the
world because it tells us when we must
change our beliefs.
' (





)






!
!


 
Does taking echinacea reduce the intensity or
duration of the common cold?
Using the scientific method, we can answer
these (and other) questions:

þ Does chemical runoff give rise to

hermaphrodite fish?

þ Does hair that is shaved grow back

coarser or darker?
 
!

'

þ ahe scientific method begins by making

observations about the world, noting
apparent patterns or cause-and-effect
relationships.
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ao be most useful, a hypothesis must
accomplish two things:

1. It must clearly establish mutually

exclusive alternative explanations for a
phenomenon.

2. It must generate testable predictions.

 ahe Null Hypothesis
þ A 
that proposes that
there is no relationship between two factors

þ ahese hypotheses are equally valid but are

easier to disprove.

þ An 
  


þ Vt is impossible to prove a hypothesis is

absolutely and permanently true.
Null and Alternative Hypotheses
þ Echinacea reduces the duration and
severity of the symptoms of the common
cold.
È   

ƥ Echinacea has no effect on the duration or
severity of the symptoms of the common
cold.
Null and Alternative Hypotheses
þ Estrogens in sewage runoff turn fish into
hermaphrodites.
È   

ƥ Estrogens in sewage runoff have no effect in
turning fish into hermaphrodites.
Null and Alternative Hypotheses
þ Hair that is shaved grows back coarser
and darker.
È   

ƥ ahere is no difference in the coarseness or
color of hair that is shaved relative to hair
that is not shaved.
 
!

*

þ A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for

a phenomenon.
- %. 




















 Devising a aestable Prediction from a
Hypothesis

þ Keep in mind any one of several possible

explanations could be true.
 Devising a aestable Prediction from a
Hypothesis

a 

þ Propose a situation that will give a particular
outcome if your hypothesis is trueƦ

þ Ʀbut that will give a different outcome if your

hypothesis is not true.
( 
 Eyewitness testimony is
always accurate.

þ  

 Vndividuals who have

witnessed a crime will correctly identify
the criminal regardless of whether multiple
suspects are presented one at a time or all
at the same time in a lineup.
( 
Echinacea reduces the duration and
severity of the symptoms of the common cold.
( 
 Estrogens in sewage runoff
turn fish into hermaphrodites.

þ  

 I estrogens in sewage runo

turn ish into hermaphrodites, then
exposing ish to estrogens should cause
them to turn into hermaphrodites more
requently than ish not exposed to
estrogens.
( 
 Hair that is shaved grows
back coarser and darker.

þ  

 Vf shaving leads to coarser,

darker hair growing back, then if
individuals shaved one leg only, the hair
that grows on that leg should become
darker and coarser than the hair growing
on the other leg.
 
!

-

þ wor a hypothesis to be useful, it must

generate a testable prediction.
 / &c






,

,





   




 
 



( 
 Echinacea
reduces the duration and
severity of the symptoms
of the common cold.
( 
 Estrogens in sewage runoff
turn fish into hermaphrodites.

þ Critical experiment ideas?

Does shaving or cutting hair make it grow
back more thickly?

þ ( 
 Hair that

is shaved grows back
coarser and darker.

þ Critical experiment
ideas?
 
!

/

þ A critical experiment is one that makes it

possible to decisively determine whether a
particular hypothesis is correct.
 0 '.




 
 


a



 ahe Role of Experiments

þ What is important is that we attempt to

demonstrate that our initial hypothesis is
not supported by the data.

þ Vf it is not, we might then adjust our

hypothesis.
 Making Revisions

þ ary to further refine a hypothesis.

þ Make new and more specific testable

predictions.
Does echinacea help prevent the common cold?

( 
 Echinacea reduces the duration and

severity of the symptoms of the common cold.
( 
 Estrogens in sewage
runoff turn fish into hermaphrodites.

( 
 Hair that is shaved

grows back coarser and darker.
 
!

0
þ Experimental test results can be used to
revise hypotheses and explain the
observable world more accurately.

þ Scientific thinking helps us to understand

when we should change our minds.
1 
 
 


 

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 Hypotheses and aheories

þ A 
  is a proposed explanation

for a phenomenon.

ƥ a good hypothesis leads to testable

predictions.
 Hypotheses and aheories
þ A  
 is a hypothesis for natural
phenomena that is ex eptionally ell-
supporte by the ata.

ƥ a hypothesis that has ithstoo the test of

time an is unlikely to be altere by any ne
evi en e
aheories vs. Hypotheses

Ö

#  

 
!

1

þ Scientific theories do not represent

speculation or guesses about the natural
world.
 
!

1
þ aheories are hypotheses that have been
so strongly supported by empirical
observation that the scientific community
views them as very unlikely to be altered
by new evidence.
c





,

 
 Elements Common
to Most Experiments
1. 

r any experimental condition applied to individuals.
 Elements Common
to Most Experiments
2. ±,


r a group of individuals who are exposed to a
particular treatment
 Elements Common
to Most Experiments
3. c



r a group of individuals who are treated identically
to the experimental group with the one exception:
they are not exposed to the treatment
 Elements Common
to Most Experiments
4. '


r characteristics of your experimental system that
are subject to change
 Elements Common
to Most Experiments
1. 

r any experimental condition applied to individuals
2. ±,


r a group of individuals who are exposed to a
particular treatment
3. c



r a group of individuals who are treated identically
to the experimental group with the one exception:
they are not exposed to the treatment
4. '


r characteristics of your experimental system that
are subject to change
 Controlling Variables
þ the most important feature of a good
experiment

þ the attempt to minimize any differences

between a control group and an
experimental group other than the
treatment itself
Why does this experiment fall short of
qualifying as a good example of the
scientific method?
þ Experimental design

þ Control group with whom to compare the

treatment group?
Design a more carefully controlled study.

þ 160 ulcer patients

þ Experimental group?

þ Control group?
V
 






  


 
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 ahe Placebo Effect
þ ahe phenomenon in which people respond
favorably to any treatment

þ ahe placebo effect highlights the need for

comparison of treatment effects with an
appropriate control group.
Clever Hans
When given a numerical
problem, Hans could tap out
the answer number with his
foot.

Hans was only able to solve

problems when he could see the
person asking the questions and
when that person knew the
answer.
The questioners unintentionally
revealed the answers through
very subtle body language!
 Experimental Designs
þ #,

ƥ ahe experimental subjects do not know which
treatment (if any) they are receiving.

þ .
!,


ƥ Neither the experimental subjects nor the
experimenter knows which treatment the
subject is receiving.
 Hallmarks of an Extremely
Well-designed Experiment

þ Dlind/double-blind strategies

þ Randomized
ƥ ahe subjects are randomly assigned into
experimental and control groups.
 
!


þ Vn experiments, it is essential to hold constant
all those variables we are not interested in.

þ Control and experimental groups should vary

only with respect to the treatment of interest.

þ Differences in them can then be attributed to

the treatment.
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þ Experiments and their outcomes must be
repeatable for their conclusions to be valid
and widely accepted.
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!

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þ Diases can influence our behavior,
including our collection and interpretation
of data.

þ With careful controls, it is possible to

minimize such biases.
& 



 





 Statistics

A set of analytical and mathematical tools

designed to help researchers gain
understanding from the data they gather.
Larger numbers of
participants are
better than fewer
if you want to
draw general
conclusions about
natural
phenomena.
 Making Wise Decisions
About Concrete ahings
þ Does having access to a textbook help a
student to perform better in a biology
class?
ƥ Students who had access to a textbook
scored an average of 81% ± 8% on their
examsƦ
ƥ Ʀwhile those who did not scored an average
of 76% ± 7%.
Statistics can also help us to identify
relationships (or the lack of
relationships) between variables.

þ a 
 




ƥ meaning that when one variable increases, so
does the other
þ ƠCorrelation is not causation.ơ

þ Statistical analyses can help us to organize

and summarize.
 
!

&
þ Decause much variation exists in the
world, statistics can help us evaluate
whether differences between a treatment
and control group can be attributed to the
treatment rather than random chance.
'4









 




 
 
How to Prevent Deing aaken in or wooled by
walse Claims

þ Vdentify two types of Ơscientific evidenceơ

that frequently are cited in the popular
media and are responsible for people
erroneously believing that links between
two things exist, when in fact they do not.
 4


 individuals make
scientific-sounding claims that are not
supported by trustworthy, methodical
scientific studies.

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: based on only
one or a few observations, people
conclude that there is or is not a link
between two things.
Ơwour out of five dentists surveyed
recommend sugarless gum for their
patients who chew gum.ơ

þ ƠHow do they know what they know?ơ

þ Maybe the statement is factually true, but the

  

it implies may not be.
 Anecdotal Observations
þ do not include a
sufficiently large and
representative set of
observations of the
world

þ data are more

reliable than
anecdotes
 
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!

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þ Pseudoscience and anecdotal observations
often lead people to believe that links
between two phenomena exist, when in
fact there are no such links.
* 









þ ahe scientific method will never prove or

disprove the existence of God.

þ Understand elegance?

þ What is beauty?
 One of Several Approaches to the
Acquisition of Knowledge

þ ahe scientific method is, above all, 

.

þ '
5and 5

 




þ (

 
 and  

 

 
!

*
þ Although the scientific method may be the
most effective path toward understanding
the observable world, it cannot give us
insights into the generation of value
judgments and other types of non-
quantifiable, subjective information.
 -$ 

 

   




 awo Unifying ahemes

þ 





6


þ  




 ..awo Unifying ahemes
 





6


þ Atoms, molecules, organelles, cells, tissues,
organs, organ systems, multicellular
organism, population, community, ecosystem,
biosphere

þ All living organisms are made of cells

þ Cells have smaller structures called organelles
þ Organelles are made from molecules
þ Molecules are made from atoms
þ An atom is the smallest part of matter
*7
8


!



 

Èrgan system
Èrgan
Tissue
Cell
Èrganelle
Molecule
Atom


 
 
An entity made up of many organ
Multicellular Organism systems
Organs, tissues and cells that
Organ System make up a structural unit that
carries out a function
A functional unit made up of many
Organ tissues
Many similar cells carrying out a
Tissue similar function
Smallest unit of life
c


Part of a cell that carries out a
Organelle specific function; `




Atoms combined in fixed ratios
Molecule
Smallest unit of matter
Atom


 
 



 
 
c


Dacteria Amoeba


Ribosome Nucleus



RNA DNA

C, H, N, O, C, H, O, N,
P, etc. P, etc.


 
 
!



 
 




 Human Oak tree


  
Nervous system

 Drain Leaf

  Nerve tissue Mesophyll tissue
c

Nerve cell Mesophyll cell


Nucleus Chloroplast


DNA Chlorophyll

C, H, O, N, P C, H, O, N, Mg


 
 

Biosphere

Ecosystem

Community

Population

Multicelled Èrganism


 
 
Biosphere The part of the earth inhabited
by living organisms

Ecosystem A community with its

nonliving surroundings

Community All the living organisms that

inhabit the same area
Population All the organisms of the same
species that inhabit the same area
at the same time
Multicelled A living organism made up of
Èrganism many cells
 awo Unifying ahemes

" 





þ Explains how and why all living organisms are
similar
þ DNA based genetic code
þ Every living organism from a bacteria to an elephant
have DNA as their genetic material
þ Offspring inherit DNA from their parents
þ New species can arise from mutations in DNA
   
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!

-
þ Although the diversity of life on earth is
tremendous, the study of life is unified by
the themes of hierarchical organization
and the power of evolution.
oc Who Tied Vaccine to Autism Ruled Unethical
By EBEN HARRELL / LONDON Mon Feb 1, 4:50 pm ET

Vn 1998, Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist at London's Royal Free

Hospital, published a study in the prestigious medical journal Lancet that
linked the triple Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine with autism and
bowel disorders in children. The study - and Wakefield's subsequent public
statements that parents should refuse the vaccines - sparked a public health
panic that led vaccination rates in Britain to plunge.
Wakefield's study has since been discredited, and the MMR vaccine deemed
to be safe. But now medical authorities in the U.K. have also ruled that the
manner in which Wakefield carried out his research was unethical. Vn a ruling
on Jan. 28, The General Medical Council, which registers and regulates
doctors in the U.K., ruled that Wakefield acted "dishonestly and irresponsibly"
during his research and with "callous disregard" for the children involved in his
study.
Mechanism of the aspirin-induced rise in blood alcohol levels
R. Thomas Gentry, Enrique Baraona, Imran Amir, Risto Roine, Zev W. Chayes,
Rajish Sharma and Charles S. Lieber , *
Alcohol Research and Treatment Center, Bronx Veterans Affair Medical Center and Mount Sinai School of Medicine,
New York 10468, USA
Revised 30 July 1999.
Available online 2 ecember 1999
Abstract
Aspirin increases blood alcohol levels after post-prandial alcohol
consumption in men. This was attributed to a decrease in first pass
metabolism secondary to inhibition of gastric alcohol dehydrogenase. Since
accelerated gastric emptying, decreased volume of distribution or delayed
elimination could also result in higher blood alcohol levels, we investigated the
effect of aspirin (1 g taken with a meal) on these parameters. Aspirin did not
change the volume of ethanol distribution or the rate of its elimination. Moreover, it
did not have a significant effect on gastric emptying. The half-time of 99mTc-DTPA
loss was 65.5 ± 5.4 minutes without and 71.3 ± 6.5, with aspirin. Despite a trend for
slower gastric emptying with aspirin, the alcohol bioavailability increased and was
associated with a 39% decrease in the first pass metabolism of alcohol (from 106 ±
4 to 65 ± 19 mg/kg, p < 0.05), consistent with the inhibition of gastric ADH activity.
Vn keeping with this interpretation, the effect of aspirin was virtually absent in
women, who have a much smaller first pass metabolism available for inhibition by
aspirin.
No cell phone, brain tumor link, study says
Large, 30-year Scandinavian study shows no connection

updated 8:15 p.m. ET, Thurs., Dec . 3, 2009

WASHVNGTON - A very large, 30-year study of just about everyone in

Scandinavia shows no link between cell phone use and brain tumors,
researchers reported on Thursday.
Even though mobile telephone use soared in the 1990s and afterward, brain
tumors did not become any more common during this time, the researchers
reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Vnstitute.
Some activist groups and a few researchers have raised concerns about a link
between cell phones and several kinds of cancer, including brain tumors,
although years of research have failed to establish a connection.
Cellphones Cause Brain Tumors, Says New Report By International EMF
Collaborative
Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Vncluded Vn: Neurology / Neuroscience; Radiology / Nuclear Medicine
Article Date: 26 Aug 2009 - 6:00 PDT
«.The exposé discusses research on cellphones and brain tumors and concludes:

- There is a risk of brain tumors from cellphone use;

- Telecom funded studies underestimate the risk of brain tumors, and;
- Children have larger risks than adults for brain tumors.

This report, sent to government leaders and media today, details eleven design flaws of
the 13-country, Telecom-funded Vnterphone study. The Vnterphone study, begun in 1999,
was intended to determine the risks of brain tumors, but its full publication has been
held up for years. Components of this study published to date reveal what the authors
call a 'systemic-skew', greatly underestimating brain tumor risk.

The design flaws include categorizing subjects who used portable phones (which emit
the same microwave radiation as cellphones,) as 'unexposed'; exclusion of many types
of brain tumors; exclusion of people who had died, or were too ill to be interviewed, as a
consequence of their brain tumor; and exclusion of children and young adults, who are
more vulnerable