GENERAL BIOLOGY is an introductory level college biology textbook that provides students with an understandable and engaging encounter with the fundamentals of biology. Written for a two-semester undergraduate course of biology majors and presented as a bound set of two distinct volumes, this reader-friendly textbook(s) is concept driven vs. terminology driven. That is, the book(s) are based on the underlying concepts and principles of biology rather than the strict memorization of biological terms and terminology. Written in a student-centered and conversational style, this educational research-based book(s) connects students to all aspects of biology from the molecular to the biosphere. End-of-chapter questions challenge students to think critically and creatively while incorporating science process skills and biological principles.

GENERAL BIOLOGY: Investigating Life is an introductory level college biology textbook that provides students with an accessible and engaging look at the fundamentals of biology. Written for a two-term, undergraduate course of mixed majors and non-majors, this reader-friendly text is concept driven vs. terminology driven. That is, the text is based on the underlying concepts and principles of biology rather than strict memorization of terminology. Written in a student-centered, conversational style, this educational research-based textbook uniquely connects students and our society to living things from various perspectives—economic, ecologic, medical, and cultural, exploring how the biological world and human realm are intimately intertwined. End-of-chapter questions challenge students to think critically and creatively while incorporating science process skills and biological principles.

This book is an accessible resource offering practical information not found in more database-oriented resources. The first chapter lists acronyms with definitions, and a glossary of terms and subjects used in biochemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology, proteomics, genomics, and systems biology. There follows chapters on chemicals employed in biochemistry and molecular biology, complete with properties and structure drawings. Researchers will find this book to be a valuable tool that will save them time, as well as provide essential links to the roots of their science. Key selling features: Contains an extensive list of commonly used acronyms with definitions Offers a highly readable glossary for systems and techniques Provides comprehensive information for the validation of biotechnology assays and manufacturing processes Includes a list of Log P values, water solubility, and molecular weight for selected chemicals Gives a detailed listing of protease inhibitors and cocktails, as well as a list of buffers

Is life a purely physical process? What is human nature? Which of our traits is essential to us? In this volume, Daniel McShea and Alex Rosenberg – a biologist and a philosopher, respectively – join forces to create a new gateway to the philosophy of biology; making the major issues accessible and relevant to biologists and philosophers alike. Exploring concepts such as supervenience; the controversies about genocentrism and genetic determinism; and the debate about major transitions central to contemporary thinking about macroevolution; the authors lay out the broad terms in which we should assess the impact of biology on human capacities, social institutions and ethical values.

One of the distinguishing features of plants is the presence of membrane-bound organelles called plastids. Starting from proplastids (undifferentiated plastids) they readily develop into specialised types, which are involved in a range of cellular functions such as photosynthesis, nitrogen assimilation, biosynthesis of sucrose, starch, chlorophyll, carotenoids, fatty acids, amino acids, and secondary metabolites as well as a number of metabolic reactions like sulphur metabolism, The central role of plastids in many aspects of plant cell biology means an in-depth understanding is key for a holistic view of plant physiology. Despite the vast amount of research, the molecular details of many aspects of plastid biology remains limited. Plastids possess their own high-copy number genome known as the plastome. Manipulation of the plastid genome has been developed as an alternative way to developing transgenic plants for various biotechnological applications. High-copy number of the plastome, site-specific integration of transgenes through homologous recombination, and potential to express proteins at high levels (>70% of total soluble proteins has been reported in some cases) are some of the technologies being developed. Additionally, plastids are inherited maternally, providing a natural gene containment system, and do not follow Mendelian laws of inheritance, allowing each individual member of the progeny of a transplastomic line to uniformly express transgene(s). Both algal and higher plant chloroplast transformation has been demonstrated, and with the ability to be propagated either in bioreactors or in the field, both systems are well suited for scale up of production. The manipulation of chloroplast genes is also essential for many approaches that attempt to increase biomass accumulation or re-routing metabolic pathways for biofortification, food and fuel production. This includes metabolic engineering for lipid production, adapting the light harvesting apparatus to improve solar conversion efficiencies and engineering means of suppressing photorespiration in crop species, which range from the introduction of artificial carbon concentrating mechanisms, or those pre-existing elsewhere in nature, to bypassing ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase entirely. The purpose of this eBook is to provide a compilation of the latest research on various aspects of plastid biology including basic biology, biopharming, metabolic engineering, bio-fortification, stress physiology, and biofuel production.