Tree of life

All Organisms Share Common Characteristics

As I explained in April’s column, all life forms share at least six common properties (variations of this list that include additional properties):

Order
Growth
Homeostasis
Metabolism
Reproduction
Respiration

In April I focused on order and growth. In May I covered homeostasis and metabolism and in July, reproduction. In this month’s article I will focus on respiration.

Respiration

Respiration…

Tree of life

All Organisms Share Common Characteristics

As I explained in April’s column, all life forms share at least six common properties (variations of this list that include additional properties):

Order
Growth
Homeostasis
Metabolism
Reproduction
Respiration

In April I focused on order and growth. I followed with a discussion of homeostasis and metabolism in May. In this month’s article I will focus on reproduction.

Reproduction

The online…

Tree of life

All Organisms Share Common Characteristics

As I explained in last month’s column, all life forms share at least six common properties (variations of this list that include additional properties):

Order
Growth
Homeostasis
Metabolism
Reproduction
Respiration

In April I focused on order and growth. This article will focus on homeostasis and metabolism.

Homeostasis

To survive, cells must be able to regulate their internal environment….

Tree of life

All Organisms Share Common Characteristics

In last month’s column, I wrote about what microbes are, where they are found, and why everyone should have some understanding of the microbial world. In this article, I will provide a superficial overview of how microbes live. I’ll start with a summary of the common characteristics of all living things. As illustrated in Figure 1, all life forms share at least six common properties (variations of this list that include…

Microorganisms – a) virus; b) bacteria; c) archaea; d) yeast; d) mold.

Each year, on the first morning of STLE’s Metalworking Fluid Management Certificate Training Course, I ask attendees about their backgrounds. Invariably, the majority have at least undergraduate degrees in chemistry, engineering, or chemical engineering. However, of the more than 600 people who have taken the course since 2004, fewer than 50 have had a microbiology course.

Globally, biodeterioration –…