This course explores the physical, ecological, technological, political, economic, and cultural implications of big plans and mega-urban landscapes in a global context. It uses local and international case studies to understand the process of making major changes to urban landscape and city fabric, and to regional landscape systems. It includes lectures by leading practitioners. The assignments consider planning and design strategies across multiple scales and time frames.

Businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates looks towards a future of sustainable energy and worldwide education. Created by Big History Project.

Have you ever asked what “biobased” means or wondered about the key aspects in developing and commercializing biobased products? This course will answer those questions and more; highlighting the opportunities, hurdles, and driving forces of the bioeconomy.

Today’s industries face enormous global challenges when it comes to the fossil-based economy. Fossil resources are no longer a desirable feedstock for many products and governments’ climate goals put various limitations to its usage. Moreover, consumer perception has become an increasingly important factor. With biobased products as an alternative to the fossil-based economy, the bioeconomy can provide viable solutions to these challenges.

The course describes the different types of biomass, the methods of refinery and typical conversion technologies used for biobased products. You’ll also engage in a study of the practical and real-life examples emerging in the market: biopolymers, bioenergy, bioflavours, and biosurfactants.

The course has been developed by a team of experts from seven different institutions and universities in three different countries, all sharing their personal perspectives on the opportunities and challenges faced by the biobased industry. The three top-ranked institutions Delft University of Technology, RWTH Aachen University, and Wageningen University & Research offer additional, more advanced courses to continue your learning journey:

Industrial Biotechnology: a more advanced course that digs deeper into engineering aspects of bio-based products.
MicroMasters Chemistry and Technology for Sustainability: Help drive the transition from fossil sources to renewable energy ones and engineer a biobased future.
Sustainable Development: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Introduction to sustainable development and its relation to the Water-Energy-Food Nexus.

Students explore the biosphere's environments and ecosystems, learning along the way about the plants, animals, resources and natural cycles of our planet. Over the course of lessons 2-6, students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems - exploring energy and nutrient flows, basic needs of plants and animals, and decomposers. Students learn about food chains and food webs. They are introduced to the roles of the water, carbon and nitrogen cycles. They test the effects of photosynthesis and transpiration. Students are introduced to animal classifications and interactions, including carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, predator and prey. They learn about biomimicry and how engineers often imitate nature in the design of new products. As everyday applications are interwoven into the lessons, students consider why a solid understanding of one's environment and the interdependence within ecosystems can inform the choices we make and the way we engineer our communities.

In this multi-day activity, students explore environments, ecosystems, energy flow and organism interactions by creating a scale model biodome, following the steps of the engineering design process. The Procedure section provides activity instructions for Biodomes unit, lessons 2-6, as students work through Parts 1-6 to develop their model biodome. Subjects include energy flow and food chains, basic needs of plants and animals, and the importance of decomposers. Students consider why a solid understanding of one's environment and the interdependence of an ecosystem can inform the choices we make and the way we engineer our own communities. This activity can be conducted as either a very structured or open-ended design.

This suite of short video clips is part of a series produced by the Switch Energy project. There are several video segments that discuss different perspectives of biofuels as a renewable source of energy.

In this lab activity, students investigate how to prepare a biofuel source for conversion to a combustible product. The activity models how raw materials are refined to process liquid fuels.

This video provides an overview of the research of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on converting biomass to liquid fuels.

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

Biology 101 Vocabulary Quizlet Exercises, Modules 1-16

Module 1: Themes and Concepts of Biology, Process of Science
Module 2: Introduction to Chemistry
Module 3: Biological Macromolecules
Module 4: Cellular Structure and Function
Module 5: The Cell Membrane
Module 6: Energy and Metabolism
Module 7: Cellular Respiration and Fermentation
Module 8: Photosynthesis
Module 9: Somatic Cell Division, Reproductive Cell Division
Module 10: DNA Structure and Replication
Module 11: Gene Expression and Protein Synthesis
Module 12: Genes and Inheritance
Module 13: The Animal Body: Basic Form and Function
Module 14: The Human Digestive System
Module 15: The Human Circulatory and Respiratory Systems
Module 16: The Human Immune System

Based on OpenStax Concepts of Biology, 1st Ed.,
https://openstax.org/details/books/concepts-biology

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Explain why an animal’s diet should be balanced and meet the needs of the bodyDefine the primary components of foodDescribe the essential nutrients required for cellular function that cannot be synthesized by the animal bodyExplain how energy is produced through diet and digestionDescribe how excess carbohydrates and energy are stored in the body

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the various types of body plans that occur in animalsDescribe limits on animal size and shapeRelate bioenergetics to body size, levels of activity, and the environment

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Identify the macronutrients needed by prokaryotes, and explain their importanceDescribe the ways in which prokaryotes get energy and carbon for life processesDescribe the roles of prokaryotes in the carbon and nitrogen cycles

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Define biogeographyList and describe abiotic factors that affect the global distribution of plant and animal speciesCompare the impact of abiotic forces on aquatic and terrestrial environmentsSummarize the affect of abiotic factors on net primary productivity