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.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Explain how the kidneys serve as the main osmoregulatory organs in mammalian systemsDescribe the structure of the kidneys and the functions of the parts of the kidneyDescribe how the nephron is the functional unit of the kidney and explain how it actively filters blood and generates urineDetail the three steps in the formation of urine: glomerular filtration, tubular reabsorption, and tubular secretion

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Explain in what way smell and taste stimuli differ from other sensory stimuliIdentify the five primary tastes that can be distinguished by humansExplain in anatomical terms why a dog’s sense of smell is more acute than a human’s

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Diabetic kidney disease is one of the major causes of death in patients with diabetes and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in the United States. One early sign believed to contribute to diabetic kidney disease is injury to the glomerulus. The glomerulus is a cluster of blood vessels in the kidney that filters excess fluid and waste products out of the blood. However, the molecular mechanisms that lead to irreversible glomerular injury in the setting of diabetes are poorly understood. To gain a clearer picture, researchers evaluated the impact of the diabetic microenvironment on glomerular endothelial cells. Prolonged exposure to diabetic serum affected mitochondria. resulting in cellular dysfunction, but not cell death..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Hank takes us on a fascinating journey through our excretory system to learn how our kidneys make pee.

Chapters:
1) Homeostasis & Osmoregulation
2) Urea & Uric Acid
3) Kidneys
4) Nephron
5) Glomerulus
6) Bowman's Capsule
7) Proximal Convoluted Tubule
8) Biolography
9) Loop of Henle
10) Distal Convoluted Tubule
11) Collecting Ducts
12) Ureters, Bladder & Urethra
Review

This lesson helps students explore the functions of the kidney and its place in the urinary system. Students learn how engineers design instruments to help people when kidneys are not functioning properly or when environmental conditions change, such as kidney function in space.

Hank resists the urge to devour a slice of pizza so that he can walk you through the way we experience our major special senses. It all boils down to one thing: sensory cells translate chemical, electromagnetic, and mechanical stimuli into action potentials that our nervous system can make sense of. Today we're focusing on smell (olfaction) and taste (gustation), which are chemical senses that call on chemoreceptors. As usual, we'll begin with a quick look at how these things can go wrong.

Chapters:
Introduction: Anosmia
How Smell Works
Olfactory Epithelium
Olfactory Sensory Neurons
Glomerulus
How the Brain Processes Smell
How Taste Works
What Are Taste Buds (Taste Receptor Epithelial Cells)?
Types of Taste Receptor Epithelial Cells: Gustatory and Basal
How Different Tastants are Sensed
Review
Credits