Sleep is a complex and dynamic process that affects how you function in ways scientists are now beginning to understand. This booklet describes how your need for sleep is regulated and what happens in the brain during sleep.
Stage 3 non-REM sleep is the period of deep sleep that you need to feel refreshed in the morning. It occurs in longer periods during the first half of the night. Your heartbeat and breathing slow to their lowest levels during sleep. Your muscles are relaxed and it may be difficult to awaken you. Brain waves become even slower.
Sleep-wake homeostasis keeps track of your need for sleep. The homeostatic sleep drive reminds the body to sleep after a certain time and regulates sleep intensity. This sleep drive gets stronger every hour you are awake and causes you to sleep longer and more deeply after a period of sleep deprivation.
Factors that influence your sleep-wake needs include medical conditions, medications, stress, sleep environment, and what you eat and drink. Perhaps the greatest influence is the exposure to light. Specialized cells in the retinas of your eyes process light and tell the brain whether it is day or night and can advance or delay our sleep-wake cycle. Exposure to light can make it difficult to fall asleep and return to sleep when awakened.
Your health care provider may recommend a polysomnogram or other test to diagnose a sleep disorder. A polysomnogram typically involves spending the night at a sleep lab or sleep center. It records your breathing, oxygen levels, eye and limb movements, heart rate, and brain waves throughout the night. Your sleep is also video and audio recorded. The data can help a sleep specialist determine if you are reaching and proceeding properly through the various sleep stages. Results may be used to develop a treatment plan or determine if further tests are needed.
By understanding the history and evolution of species, biologists can predict and create treatments for a healthier, more sustainable future. Read on to learn everything you should know about earning a biology degree.
Biology spans several disciplines and specializations, such as microbiology, virology and botany. Many programs offer specializations in particular interest areas, including biomedical science, cell and molecular biology, physiology, or ecology and evolutionary biology.
As biology is a broad field, specializations help students hone their studies. Specialization offerings vary per institution. Here are a few examples of specializations you might pursue as a biology major.
The cell is the building block of life, and cell and molecular biologists dedicate their careers to studying this fundamental component. Students specializing in cell and molecular biology take courses related to the biology, chemistry and metabolism of cells and molecules.
You can think of this as your crash course in biology. General biology courses provide students with a broad overview of the subject. It gives insight into the structure and function of organisms, both as a whole and at their molecular and cellular levels.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Biology Degrees?What do you do in a biology degree program?In a biology degree program, students learn the fundamental principles of biology and may study a specialized facet of biology. Biology degrees include labwork and often incorporate an internship or research projects.
Biology is applicable in a wide selection of industries, making this a versatile and useful degree. A biology degree can lead to lucrative career paths as well; biochemists, for example, take home a median salary of $103,810 per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Biologists are able to study life at multiple levels of organization,[1] from the molecular biology of a cell to the anatomy and physiology of plants and animals, and evolution of populations.[1][6] Hence, there are multiple subdisciplines within biology, each defined by the nature of their research questions and the tools that they use.[7][8][9] Like other scientists, biologists use the scientific method to make observations, pose questions, generate hypotheses, perform experiments, and form conclusions about the world around them.[1]
The basis for modern genetics began with the work of Gregor Mendel in 1865.[26] This outlined the principles of biological inheritance.[27] However, the significance of his work was not realized until the early 20th century when evolution became a unified theory as the modern synthesis reconciled Darwinian evolution with classical genetics.[28] In the 1940s and early 1950s, a series of experiments by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase pointed to DNA as the component of chromosomes that held the trait-carrying units that had become known as genes. A focus on new kinds of model organisms such as viruses and bacteria, along with the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, marked the transition to the era of molecular genetics. From the 1950s onwards, biology has been vastly extended in the molecular domain. The genetic code was cracked by Har Gobind Khorana, Robert W. Holley and Marshall Warren Nirenberg after DNA was understood to contain codons. The Human Genome Project was launched in 1990 to map the human genome.[29]
All organisms are made up of chemical elements;[30] oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen account for most (96%) of the mass of all organisms, with calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium constituting essentially all the remainder. Different elements can combine to form compounds such as water, which is fundamental to life.[30] Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including molecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions.
A gene is a unit of heredity that corresponds to a region of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that carries genetic information that controls form or function of an organism. DNA is composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix.[66] It is found as linear chromosomes in eukaryotes, and circular chromosomes in prokaryotes. The set of chromosomes in a cell is collectively known as its genome. In eukaryotes, DNA is mainly in the cell nucleus.[67] In prokaryotes, the DNA is held within the nucleoid.[68] The genetic information is held within genes, and the complete assemblage in an organism is called its genotype.[69]DNA replication is a semiconservative process whereby each strand serves as a template for a new strand of DNA.[66] Mutations are heritable changes in DNA.[66] They can arise spontaneously as a result of replication errors that were not corrected by proofreading or can be induced by an environmental mutagen such as a chemical (e.g., nitrous acid, benzopyrene) or radiation (e.g., x-ray, gamma ray, ultraviolet radiation, particles emitted by unstable isotopes).[66] Mutations can lead to phenotypic effects such as loss-of-function, gain-of-function, and conditional mutations.[66]Some mutations are beneficial, as they are a source of genetic variation for evolution.[66] Others are harmful if they were to result in a loss of function of genes needed for survival.[66] Mutagens such as carcinogens are typically avoided as a matter of public health policy goals.[66]
Gene expression is the molecular process by which a genotype encoded in DNA gives rise to an observable phenotype in the proteins of an organism's body. This process is summarized by the central dogma of molecular biology, which was formulated by Francis Crick in 1958.[70][71][72] According to the Central Dogma, genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to protein. There are two gene expression processes: transcription (DNA to RNA) and translation (RNA to protein).[73]
Evolution is a central organizing concept in biology. It is the change in heritable characteristics of populations over successive generations.[82][83] In artificial selection, animals were selectively bred for specific traits.[84] Given that traits are inherited, populations contain a varied mix of traits, and reproduction is able to increase any population, Darwin argued that in the natural world, it was nature that played the role of humans in selecting for specific traits.[84] Darwin inferred that individuals who possessed heritable traits better adapted to their environments are more likely to survive and produce more offspring than other individuals.[84] He further inferred that this would lead to the accumulation of favorable traits over successive generations, thereby increasing the match between the organisms and their environment.[85][86][87][84][88]
Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions.[160][161][162] It is concerned with factors that influence the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biodiversity and the science of sustaining evolutionary processes that engender genetic, population, species, and ecosystem diversity.[163][164][165][166] The concern stems from estimates suggesting that up to 50% of all species on the planet will disappear within the next 50 years,[167] which has contributed to poverty, starvation, and will reset the course of evolution on this planet.[168][169] Biodiversity affects the functioning of ecosystems, which provide a variety of services upon which people depend. Conservation biologists research and educate on the trends of biodiversity loss, species extinctions, and the negative effect these are having on our capabilities to sustain the well-being of human society. Organizations and citizens are responding to the current biodiversity crisis through conservation action plans that direct research, monitoring, and education programs that engage concerns at local through global scales.[170][163][164][165]
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