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:List and describe the functions of the structural components of a neuronList and describe the four main types of neuronsCompare the functions of different types of glial cells

This course provides an outline of vertebrate functional neuroanatomy, aided by studies of comparative neuroanatomy and evolution, and by studies of brain development. Topics include early steps to a central nervous system, basic patterns of brain and spinal cord connections, regional development and differentiation, regeneration, motor and sensory pathways and structures, systems underlying motivations, innate action patterns, formation of habits, and various cognitive functions. In addition, lab techniques are reviewed and students perform brain dissections.

What does the brain look like? As engineers, how can we look at neural networks without invasive surgery? In this activity, students design and build neuron models based on observations made while viewing neurons through a microscope. The models are used to explain how each structure of the neuron contributes to the overall function. Students share their models with younger students and explain what a neuron is, its function, and how engineers use their understanding of the neuron to make devices to activate neurons.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Distinguish between the two major cell types of the nervous system, neurons and gliaIdentify the basic parts of a neuron

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:

"Membrane-enclosed extracellular vesicles, exosomes, are a critical part of intercellular communication in many biological systems. However, the regulation and biological implications of exosome excretion and uptake remain unclear. A recent study examined the role of cellular retinoic acid (RA) binding protein (Crabp1) in exosome secretion and its relationship to receptor interacting protein 140 (RIP140), a pro-inflammatory transcription co-regulator. Crabp1 knockout mice consistently showed deficits in negative control of exosome secretion and exhibited increased vulnerability to systemic inflammation. Crabp1 knockout mice had significantly elevated RIP140-containing exosomes in their blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Cell culture experiments suggested that exosome secretion can transfer RIP140 from neurons to macrophages, where it promotes macrophage inflammatory polarization..."

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

Students learn about complex networks and how to represent them using graphs. They also learn that graph theory is a useful mathematical tool for studying complex networks in diverse applications of science and engineering, such as neural networks in the brain, biochemical reaction networks in cells, communication networks, such as the internet, and social networks. Topics covered include set theory, defining a graph, as well as defining the degree of a node and the degree distribution of a graph.

This course considers molecular control of neural specification, formation of neuronal connections, construction of neural systems, and the contributions of experience to shaping brain structure and function. Topics include: neural induction and pattern formation, cell lineage and fate determination, neuronal migration, axon guidance, synapse formation and stabilization, activity-dependent development and critical periods, development of behavior.

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:

"An international team of researchers is looking at ways to prevent cognitive impairment following the use of general anesthetics. Their work could lead to better outcomes for the over 312 million surgical patients who undergo anesthesia each year. General anesthetics are associated with the occurrence of postoperative delirium. This complication – often marked by inattention, memory disturbances and confusion – makes it hard for surgical patients to resume daily living activities, and has even been linked to an increased risk of death. The drug dexmedetomidine helps prevent postoperative delirium, but the biological basis for this protection isn’t clear. The researchers previously reported that a single exposure to the common anesthetic etomidate can trigger long-lasting changes to an inhibitory receptor in the brains of mice. Specifically, etomidate increased the number of α5 GABAA receptors expressed on the surface of neurons..."

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

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:

"Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that affects more than 10 million people across the globe. Despite improvements in treating the disease, doctors still have many unanswered questions, including when to start treatment. Now, researchers at the University of Rochester have taken another look at a past clinical trial to begin to answer that key question. Parkinson's occurs when neurons in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra die off. These neurons produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, and with the loss of those neurons, patients develop tremors, have difficulty moving, and show slow movement, among other symptoms. Restoring the dopamine with L-dopa or boosting levels with a dopamine agonist can help. Some studies have suggested that early dopaminergic treatment could protect neurons and slow disease progression. But that evidence isn't yet convincing, and the drugs might also cause uncontrolled, involuntary movements, leaving this an open question in the field..."

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

Students build small-sized prototypes of mountain rescue litters rescue baskets for use in hard-to-get-to places, such as mountainous terrain to evacuate an injured person (modeled by a potato) from the backcountry. Groups design their litters within constraints: they must be stable, lightweight, low-cost, portable and quick to assemble. Students demonstrate their designs in a timed test during which they assemble the litter and transport the rescued person (potato) over a set distance.

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:

"Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability worldwide. Most strokes are classified as ischemic, meaning they involve blockage of blood supply. There are no effective treatments for ischemic stroke or its complications, but several types of cells naturally produce molecules that can help heal ischemic tissue. These molecules are packaged and released within sacs called exosomes that can deliver them to other cells, making exosomes promising targets for stroke therapy. For example, some exosomes can exert anti-inflammatory effects, promote blood vessel formation, and support the development of new neurons. Beneficial exosomes can also suppress cell death and regulate immune responses. Studies on rat and rabbit stroke models have supported the clinical potential of exosomes to promote healing after stroke and a few clinical trials in humans are currently underway..."

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

In this lesson on the brain's neural networks, students investigate the structure and function of the neuron. They discover ways in which engineers apply this knowledge to the development of devices that can activate neurons. After a review of the nervous system specifically its organs, tissue, and specialized cells, called neurons students learn about the parts of the neuron. They explore the cell body, dendrites, axon and axon terminal, and learn how these structures enable neurons to send messages. They learn about the connections between engineering and other fields of study, and the importance of research, as they complete the lesson tasks.

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:

"A critical cellular process that occurs in the wake of a stroke in mice could hint at how to salvage otherwise compromised brain tissue. Strokes happen when the flow of blood to the brain is blocked, most often by a blood clot in a vessel. This creates two zones of injury: a central core and a radiating penumbra. Deprived of oxygen and glucose, brain cells in the core can die within minutes. Those in the penumbra are not as severely damaged. But if blood flow isn’t re-established within hours, those cells will succumb too. That’s why fast responses to strokes are so important—especially among the elderly, who are less resilient than younger sufferers of stroke. New research shows that that disparity between aged and young brains could be due to differences in calcium ion activity brought on by stroke. After inducing stroke in old and young mice, researchers found that spontaneous calcium activity was reduced in the brains of young mice, whereas it was increased in the brains of old mice..."

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

Students learn about complex networks and how to use graphs to represent them. They also learn that graph theory is a useful part of mathematics for studying complex networks in diverse applications of science and engineering, including neural networks in the brain, biochemical reaction networks in cells, communication networks, such as the internet, and social networks. Students are also introduced to random processes on networks. An illustrative example shows how a random process can be used to represent the spread of an infectious disease, such as the flu, on a social network of students, and demonstrates how scientists and engineers use mathematics and computers to model and simulate random processes on complex networks for the purposes of learning more about our world and creating solutions to improve our health, happiness and safety.

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:

"New research published in the journal Anesthesiology provides fresh insights into how volatile anesthetics affect the central nervous system. Although anesthesia has been practiced for nearly 75 years, the precise cellular mechanisms driving anesthetic responses have remained ambiguous. Recent reports suggest mitochondria have a key role in the process, but prior research has only studied this connection in neurons. Now, researchers argue that astrocytes are also important, particularly when it comes to emergence from anesthesia. To reach this conclusion, the team produced a novel knockout mouse lacking the mitochondrial complex I gene known as Ndufs4. In the model, gene knockout is induced only in astrocytes of adult animals – the other cell types comprising the central nervous system retain functional copes of the gene. The result is astrocyte-specific mitochondrial dysfunction..."

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

This lesson describes the function and components of the human nervous system. It helps students understand the purpose of our brain, spinal cord, nerves and the five senses. How the nervous system is affected during spaceflight is also discussed in this lesson.