Fundamentals of Biology

 Biomes  What is a Biome?      A biome is a very large-scale community of organisms. National Geographic’s education article called “Putting the ‘Me’ in Biome” further defines biome by stating, “Biomes are classified based on the local environmental conditions and the living organisms, particularly the flora, or plants.” Biomes are how scientists classify ecosystems.  Within these ecosystems or biomes there is often competition for resources. Dynamics within the community of the ecosystems are affected by the physical environment such as elevation and geology as well as its climate such as season, sunlight, and rainfall. There are terrestrial (land) and aquatic (water) biomes. Terrestrial Biomes      Terrestrial biomes are typically classified by their dominant plant types (plants most common in the area) existing in the same area with similar climate conditions. There are some terrestrial biomes you might be familiar with, such as the tropical rainforest. Although there may be some yo

What is the cell cycle? The National Human Genome Research Institute defines the cell cycle as “a series of events that takes place in a cell as it grows and divides.” Have you ever got a cut or a scrape and wondered how your body is able to regrow that skin to heal it? Your body is able to do this through a process called the cell cycle, more specifically the mitosis portion. The cell cycle includes two major phases, interphase, and the mitotic phase. The mitotic phase is when mitosis (cellular division) and cytokinesis happens. According to an article published by the University of Hawaii at Manoa, "Mitosis helps organisms grow in size and repair damaged tissue." The outcome of mitosis is two identical daughter cells. That means your body goes through the process of cellular division countless times just to heal a simple paper cut. Mitosis is divided into a series of distinct phases. The phases include prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. There are al