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Oct 2009
46m 54s

Lecture 17: Life on the Edge

Richard Pogge
About this episode
Extremophiles are organisms that are adapted to survive in extreme environments. This lecture describes the challenges that extremes of heat, cold, acidity, salinity, and radiation pose to organisms, and show examples of how evolution has nonetheless allowed some organisms to adapt to not just survive but thrive in such extreme conditions. Finally, we wi ... Show More
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Oct 2009
Lecture 16: DNA and Heredity
DNA and RNA are the key molecules of living cells. DNA plays a vital role in storing and transmitting the hereditary information that constitutes the "operating instructions" of living cells; how to construct the functional and structural proteins that perform vital cell function ... Show More
46m 53s
Oct 2009
Lecture 15: The Chemistry of Life
What is the basic chemistry of living organisms? We introduce the requirements for metabolism (raw materials and energy), the ATP/ADP energy cycle in cells, auto- and heterotrophs, photosynthesis and chemosynthesis, and the role played by liquid water. The goal of today's lecture ... Show More
45m 4s
Oct 2009
Lecture 14: Cells
Cells are the basic structural and functional unit of all life on Earth. This lecture reviews the basic building blocks of cells, the main chemical components, the two basic types of cells (Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes), and introduces the Phylogenetic Tree of Life, the way biologi ... Show More
45m 32s
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