Basic Biology And Life Lessons: What Secondary School Syllabus Can Teach You About Survival

Biology helps us understand how various living species – humans, work, evolve, and interact with one another. The headway in the study of biology, in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, and many other fields, have raised the standard of living for humans. But there are many biological ideas that can be used to understand and enhance life. These concepts of biology are lessons for life.

This Story also Contains

1. Survival Of The Fittest
2. Division Of Labour And Collaboration
3. Strong Decision-Making Ability
4. Interact - Communicate - Network
5. Respect A Balanced Ecosystem

Survival Of The Fittest

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution gave rise to the expression "survival of the fittest" to describe the process of natural selection.

He concluded that existing living forms share varying degrees of similarities not only with one another but also with life forms that existed millions of years ago.

Throughout the history of this planet, various life forms have perished and new life forms have emerged, some have survived and evolved over time. Any population has inherent variation in its traits. The traits that help some individuals survive better in natural environments (like climate, food, physical factors, etc.) would outdo those who are less equipped to do so. Experts term it as individual or population fitness.

According to Darwin, fitness ultimately only refers to reproductive fitness. As a result, those who fit their environment better produce more offspring than others. Since they have a higher chance of surviving, nature chooses them. He referred to it as natural selection and implied that it was an evolutionary mechanism.

Nature makes fitness-based choices. One must keep in mind that the concept of "fitness" is based on inherited traits. Therefore, for something to evolve, there must be a genetic base. Another way to put it is that some organisms are better at adapting to survive in a hostile environment. Adaptability is a heritable trait. It is genetically based. The ability to adapt and be chosen by nature is what leads to fitness which in turn leads to survival.

Therefore, natural selection theory tells us that adaptation to their environment is essential. Your ability to adapt to your surroundings increases your likelihood of survival. It is applicable to every aspect of your life. Whether it is a school and college, a job or employment, or a goal you want to achieve in life, adapt to the needs of the environment and you will automatically learn to survive further.

Division Of Labour And Collaboration

Cells are the building blocks of all living things. A single cell completes all fundamental tasks in unicellular organisms. For instance, in an amoeba, a single cell is responsible for movement, food intake, gas exchange, and excretion. However, there are millions of cells in multicellular organisms. A majority of these cells, or groups of cells specialise in performing particular tasks and hence are extremely effective.

Blood flows to carry oxygen, food, hormones, waste products, and other substances in humans. Muscle cells contract and relax to produce movement. Nerve cells transmit messages. In plants, vascular tissues conduct food and water from one part of the plant to other parts. Therefore, multicellular organisms exhibit ‘division of labour’. In the body, cells with specialised functions are frequently grouped together.

This indicates that a group of cells located at a specific location in the body perform a specific function. The arrangement and design of this collection of cells is known as tissue, which ensures the highest level of functional efficacy. Examples of tissues include muscle, blood, and phloem. A tissue comprises a collection of cells that share structural similarities and/ or cooperate to perform a specific function.

The body is organised on multiple levels that are interconnected. Cells make up tissues, tissues make up organs, and organs make up organ systems. An organ system's ability to perform depends on the coordinated activity of all of its organs.

These tissues are arranged in a particular ratio and pattern to create various organs, such as the stomach, lungs, heart, and kidney. Organ systems, such as the digestive or respiratory systems, are created when two or more organs work together to accomplish a common task through physical and/ or chemical interaction. The division of labour is demonstrated by the way that cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems divide the work and help the body as a whole to survive.

To complete a task with high efficacy, teamwork is always advantageous. Therefore, working as a team will benefit you both at school and at work. For this reason, group study is always recommended when you have to cover a vast syllabus. Work together to complete a task, divide the work among group members based on their areas of expertise. For instance, if one person is good at Maths and another is good at Chemistry, group study may be beneficial to you because you can learn from each other.

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Strong Decision-Making Ability

With evolution, the nervous system of living organisms has changed, resulting in a wide range of brain ability and behavioural abilities that are specific to different species. For instance, the creation and appreciation of art appear to be characteristics that are exclusively human, a cognitive ability that was only recently developed (approximately 40,000 years ago).

Human brain has grown in size and complexity, which has allowed for the amazing development of our cognitive and mental abilities. This expansion during evolution allowed for the addition of micro circuits with a similar basic structure, which increased the complexity of the human brain and added to its uniqueness.

According to Gottfredson, cognitive ability is a general mental capacity that includes reasoning, problem-solving, planning, abstract thought, understanding complex ideas, and learning from experience. The effectiveness of data visualisation lies in its ability to represent information in a manner that our eyes can recognise and our brains can understand.

High-level cognitive functions like perception, attention, and memory are the foundation of decision-making. All facets of our lives, whether social, professional, or personal, require daily decision-making. So, keep observing your activities, progress or shortcomings; your observations will help you make better decisions in the future.

Interact - Communicate - Network

Cells send and receive signals to communicate. Both environmental and cell-based signals are possible sources of information. Cell signalling is the mechanism behind this powerful and effective form of communication. Critical cellular decisions like development, cell growth and division, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis are governed by cell signalling, which essentially provides the coordination needed for multicellular organisms to function. In the process of morphogenesis, cell to cell communication improves the ability of cell ensembles to detect shallow gradients.

If the cells fail to establish any communication, the result is unchecked cell growth, which frequently causes cancer. There are numerous ways for cancer to develop, but it always needs a number of signalling failures. Cancer frequently starts when a cell develops the capacity to divide and grow even in the absence of a signal.

Now that you know this, you can appreciate the role of communication —without it, cancer may result. Similarly in life, in order to complete tasks as effectively as possible, we must learn to communicate. A key component of being a human being is social interaction. It has been found that interacting with others, helps learners organise their ideas, consider their understanding, and spot loopholes if any. Different points of view can teach you something you don’t already know. To send and receive feedback helps you grow and better understand who you are. Social interaction is widely regarded as a human basic need that is essential to well-being and survival.

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Respect A Balanced Ecosystem

Healthy ecosystems help maintain our soil, clean our air, control the climate, recycle nutrients, and give us food. They supply the necessary resources and raw materials for making medicines and other goods. They support our economies and are the cornerstone of all civilisations.

Ecosystems are closed systems with complex relationships that should not be distributed because that may disturb the harmony of the natural world and the services they offer. Numerous forests have already been destroyed, and as a result, there is a breakdown of ecological balance on our planet. More floods, higher carbon dioxide levels, and large landmasses that have become arid deserts.

An ecosystem's balance depends on the presence of a predator and prey relationship. These chains are either top-down i.e dependent on predators or bottom-up where they are dependent on primary producers. Therefore, if we eliminate a top predator, it will have a domino effect on the entire food chain. The ecological balance is the state of equilibrium and peaceful coexistence between organisms and their surroundings.

A learning from this is, maintaining a sense of balance in life is essential for improving your mental, physical, and social well-being. Growth in only one aspect of life may have a negative impact on others. For overall growth, it is essential to maintain a balance between one's physical and mental well-being, employment, personal life, and family.

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