Breathing Life Into Biology

This book shows that contemporary biology is focused almost exclusively on genes and molecules. This approach, despite giving rise to exciting developments, such as DNA sequencing and genetic engineering, does not take into account the living organisms themselves. This text redresses this imbalance: firstly, by providing a sketch of a fully-fledged theory of what living organisms are; and then putting this theory to work by recounting the story of the evolution of living organisms on Earth.

Oxygen uptake for metabolic energy demand and the elimination of the resulting carbon dioxide is one of the essential processes in all higher life forms; in the case of animals, everything from protozoans to insects and vertebrates including humans.� Respiratory Biology of Animals provides a contemporary and truly integrative approach to the topic, adopting a strong evolutionary theme. It covers aerobic metabolism at all levels, from gas exchange organs such as skin, gills, and lungs to mitochondria - the site of cellular respiration. The book also describes the functional morphology and physiology of the circulatory system, which often contains gas-carrying pigments and is important for pH regulation in the organism. A final section describes the evolution of animal respiratory systems. Throughout the book, examples are selected from the entire breadth of the animal kingdom, identifying common themes that transcend taxonomy. Respiratory Biology of Animals is an accessible supplementary text suitable for both senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in respiratory biology, comparative animal physiology, and environmental physiology. It is also of relevance and use to the many professional academics requiring a concise but authoritative overview of the topic.

PEOPLE HAVE BECOME SO BUSY WITH EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES THAT THEY SELDOM HAVE TIME TO THINK ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT SURROUNDS THEM. THE WORLD IS FULL OF LIFE, EVEN IN THE SEEMINGLY MOST INSIGNIFICANT THINGS. WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL TO JUST SIT BACK AND TRY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LIVING AND BREATHING SPECIES THAT SURROUND US BUT GO UNNOTICED EVERYDAY? Biology is the science of life, but while many of us may be familiar with the subject, only a few may be aware that biology encompasses much more than just humans and the other species that inhabit the earth. It is, perhaps, the most expansive and interesting subject that you could learn about. You may ask, if it is so expansive, then how would it be possible to learn all the important things there are to know about biology? The answer lies in this book, which would teach you all the most significant concepts to make you realize how biology has implications in our past, our present, and yes, even our future. This book is the only one you need to delve into the world of biology. It will teach you, in simple and easy-to-understand terms, how biology comes alive in our daily activities. Here's what this book contains: What exactly does the study of biology include How can biology help us understand our past Which branches of biology is relevant to our present What implications biology has on our future PLUS: Delve into the world of genetics Understand the how and why of human evolution Know the men and women who have spearheaded breakthroughs in biology You won't get information this comprehensive anywhere else! So act right now! GET YOUR COPY TODAY!

Concepts of Biology is designed for the single-semester introduction to biology course for non-science majors, which for many students is their only college-level science course. As such, this course represents an important opportunity for students to develop the necessary knowledge, tools, and skills to make informed decisions as they continue with their lives. Rather than being mired down with facts and vocabulary, the typical non-science major student needs information presented in a way that is easy to read and understand. Even more importantly, the content should be meaningful. Students do much better when they understand why biology is relevant to their everyday lives. For these reasons, Concepts of Biology 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.We also strive to show the interconnectedness of topics within this extremely broad discipline. In order to meet the needs of today's instructors and students, we maintain the overall organization and coverage found in most syllabi for this course. A strength of Concepts of Biology is that instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Concepts of Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand--and apply--key concepts.

Why is life the way it is? Bacteria evolved into complex life just once in four billion years of life on earth-and all complex life shares many strange properties, from sex to ageing and death. If life evolved on other planets, would it be the same or completely different? In The Vital Question, Nick Lane radically reframes evolutionary history, putting forward a cogent solution to conundrums that have troubled scientists for decades. The answer, he argues, lies in energy: how all life on Earth lives off a voltage with the strength of a bolt of lightning. In unravelling these scientific enigmas, making sense of life's quirks, Lane's explanation provides a solution to life's vital questions: why are we as we are, and why are we here at all? This is ground-breaking science in an accessible form, in the tradition of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene, and Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel.

The range of environments in which people can survive is extensive, yet most of the natural world cannot support human life. The Biology of Human Survival identifies the key determinants of life or death in extreme environments from a physiologist's perspective, integrating modern concepts of stress, tolerance, and adaptation into explanations of life under Nature's most austere conditions. The book examines how individuals survive when faced with extremes of immersion, heat, cold or altitude, emphasizing the body's recognition of stress and the brain's role in optimizing physiological function in order to provide time to escape or to adapt. In illustrating how human biology adapts to extremes, the book also explains how we learn to cope by blending behavior and biology, first by trial and error, then by rigorous scientific observation, and finally by technological innovation. The book describes life-support technology and how it enables humans to enter once unendurable realm, from the depths of the ocean to the upper reaches of the atmosphere and beyond. Finally, it explores the role that advanced technology might play in special environments of the future, such as long journeys into space.

The Synthetic Biology Handbook explains the major goals of the field of synthetic biology and presents the technical details of the latest advances made in achieving those goals. Offering a comprehensive overview of the current areas of focus in synthetic biology, this handbook:Explores the standardisation of classic molecular bioscience approaches

The 5th Transactions on Computational Systems Biology volume, edited by Gordon Plotkin, features carefully selected and enhanced contributions initially presented at the 2005 IEEE International Conference on Granular Computing. The 9 papers selected for this special issue discuss various aspects of computational methods, algorithm and techniques in bioinformatics such as gene expression analysis, biomedical literature mining and natural language processing, protein structure prediction, biological database management and biomedical information retrieval.