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.

Life is all around us, both as multicellular organisms such as the iguana and bamboo above, as well as the unicellular microorganisms such as bacteria.  Life is present on every continent, in the air and in the waters of the world.  There is life even in the Mariana Trench, seven miles below the surface of the ocean.  As of 2010 biologists have described and classified 1.7 million plants and animals, and estimate that there are till over five million species still undiscovered.This chapter will introduce the ways we study the science of Biology in the twenty-first century, the characteristics of living organisms and their classification.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the extracellular matrixList examples of the ways that plant cells and animal cells communicate with adjacent cellsSummarize the roles of tight junctions, desmosomes, gap junctions, and plasmodesmata

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the structure of eukaryotic cellsCompare animal cells with plant cellsState the role of the plasma membraneSummarize the functions of the major cell organelles

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the cytoskeletonCompare the roles of microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubulesCompare and contrast cilia and flagellaSummarize the differences among the components of prokaryotic cells, animal cells, and plant cells

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Discuss the fundamental difference between anaerobic cellular respiration and fermentationDescribe the type of fermentation that readily occurs in animal cells and the conditions that initiate that fermentation

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Discuss the fundamental difference between anaerobic cellular respiration and fermentationDescribe the type of fermentation that readily occurs in animal cells and the conditions that initiate that fermentation

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Discuss the role of carbohydrates in cells and in the extracellular materials of animals and plantsExplain the classifications of carbohydratesList common monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Discuss the role of carbohydrates in cells and in the extracellular materials of animals and plantsExplain the classifications of carbohydratesList common monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides

The second in a two-course sequence, this gateway biology course provides a strong foundation in principles of biology for students majoring in life science, medical, and healthcare fields. Primary topics include the history of life; viruses, prokaryotes, protists, and fungi; plant diversity, structure and functions; animal diversity and body systems (nervous, endocrine, reproductive, sensory, circulatory, respiratory, immune, digestive, excretory, musculoskeletal, and integumentary), and the ecology of life. The course incorporates Cerego practice sets to aid students as they learn relevant vocabulary.

This course was developed by Lumen Learning, with contributing work from Shelli Carter and Monisha Scott. The course is based on the OpenStax textbook Biology, supplemented with relevant materials from Khan Academy and videos from multiple sources. Original practice activities were authored by Shelli Carter and Lumen Learning in the development of this course.

Biology for Non-Majors II introduces students to the basics of the scientific process and covers some of biology’s most compelling topics surrounding the history and diversity of life, including discussion on the different kingdoms of life, with focus on plants and animals, as well as an introduction to ecology. Designed for non-life science majors, this course is the first in a two-part series that completes a survey of biological principles.

BioME is an open access, online program providing 11 animated lesson on genetics and 17 embryology lessons. Lessons for molecular and cellular biology have been composed and will be added after they have been reviewed by content experts. The lessons can be used as visual aids for lectures and other presentations, as well as supplemental resources for student self-study. The animations are stop action progressions that advance from step to step, facilitating visualization and comprehension of the dynamic processes. Additional functions of the BioME program include practice questions, PopUps and downloadable excerpts.

Biomass is a semi-renewable energy resource that comes from plants and animals. Biomass can be burned directly for heat or converted to liquid and gaseous fuels for transportation and electricity generation. Humans have been using biomass for heating, cooking, and lighting for thousands of years and 2.4 billion people still use this form of “traditional” biomass. Today, biomass is also used at commercial scale for heating and electricity generation as well as in liquid form for transportation. Advocates for biomass argue it is carbon neutral, but some types of bioenergy actually increase greenhouse gas emissions.

Students will explore the biome in which they live while comparing it to other major biomes around the world.Standard(s): 5.L.2.1Compare the characteristics of several common ecosystems

This seminar based course explores techniques for recognizing, analyzing, and resolving ethical dilemmas facing healthcare professionals and biomedical researchers in today’s highly regulated environment. Guest lectures by practicing clinicians, technologists, researchers, and regulators will include case studies, interactive small group discussions, and role-playing simulations. Professional conduct topics will include authorship, conflict of interest, data acquisition and management, and the protection of human subjects and animals involved in research programs.

This ZOOM video segment shows how to create a self-contained environment and explores evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

Biomimetics is based on the belief that nature, at least at times, is a good engineer. Biomimesis is the scientific method of learning new principles and processes based on systematic study, observation and experimentation with live animals and organisms. This Freshman Advising Seminar on the topic is a way for freshmen to explore some of MIT’s richness and learn more about what they may want to study in later years.

Students learn about biomimicry and how engineers often imitate nature in the design of innovative new products. They demonstrate their knowledge of biomimicry by practicing brainstorming and designing a new product based on what they know about animals and nature.