Description
Book SynopsisAbout our authors
Lisa A. Urry (Units 1 and 2) is Gibbons Young Professor of Biology at Mills College. After earning a B.A. at Tufts University, she completed her Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Lisa has conducted research on gene expression during embryonic and larval development in sea urchins. Deeply committed to promoting opportunities in science for women and underrepresented minorities, she has taught courses ranging from introductory and developmental biology to a nonmajors course called Evolution for Future President.
Michael L. Cain (Chapter 1 and Units 3, 4, and 7) is an ecologist and evolutionary biologist who is now writing full-time. Michael earned an A.B. from Bowdoin College, an M.Sc. from Brown University, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. As a faculty member at New Mexico State University, he taught introductory biology, ecology, evolution, botany, and conservation biology. Michael is the
Table of Contents
- Introduction: Evolution and the Foundations of Biology
UNIT 1: Chemistry and Cells
- The Chemical Context of Life
- Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life
- A Tour of the Cell
- Membrane Transport and Cell Signaling
- An Introduction to Metabolism
- Cellular Respiration and Fermentation
- Photosynthesis
- The Cell Cycle
UNIT 2: Genetics
- Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles
- Mendel and the Gene Idea
- The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
- The Molecular Basis of Inheritance
- Gene Expression: From Gene to Protein
- Regulation of Gene Expression
- Development, Stem Cells, and Cancer
- Viruses
- Genomes and Their Evolution
UNIT 3: Evolution
- Descent with Modification
- Phylogeny
- The Evolution of Populations
- The Origin of Species
- Broad Patterns of Evolution
UNIT 4: The Evolutionary History of Life
- Early Life and the Diversification of Prokaryotes
- The Origin and Diversification of Eukaryotes
- The Colonization of Land
- The Rise of Animal Diversity
UNIT 5: Plant Form and Function
- Vascular Plant Structure and Growth
- Resource Acquisition, Nutrition, and Transport in Vascular Plants
- Reproduction and Domestication of Flowering Plants
- Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals
UNIT 6: Animal Form and Function
- The Internal Environment of Animals: Organization and Regulation
- Animal Nutrition
- Circulation and Gas Exchange
- The Immune System
- Reproduction and Development
- Neurons, Synapses, and Signaling
- Nervous and Sensory Systems
- Motor Mechanisms and Behavior
UNIT 7: Ecology
- Population Ecology and the Distribution of Organisms
- Ecological Communities
- Ecosystems and Energy
- Conservation Biology and Global Change
