Feature Summary

The approach of Biology:

1. Focus on concepts.
Throughout the text we attempted to emphasize even more strongly the ideas of biology, the conceptual framework that is the core of what we want students to learn. Our efforts to reorganize the contents of each chapter into conceptual modules were in large measure driven by our desire to more strongly emphasize concepts, and particularly to bring out clearly the conceptual skeleton of the chapter.

2. Reinforcing ideas.
The most effective way to learn biology is to frame the consideration of new material in terms of what has already been taught. Thus the idea of chemiosmosis, introduced in the discussion of membrane proteins in chapter 6, is subsequently used to explain a key aspect of how cells harvest energy in chapter 9, and form ATP in photosynthesis in chapter 10. The mechanisms used by cells to control the cell cycle, outlined in chapter 11, play a central role in the discussion of molecular mechanisms of cancer in chapter 17. What you learn of viruses in chapter 29 plays a key role in understanding AIDS in chapter 56.

3. Emphasizing relevance to students.
Because so much of what is going on in biology today directly affects the lives of students, we attempted to present very clear explanations of these key issues. The physiological nature of drug addiction, the way in which cigarette-induced mutations disable cell-cycle control mechanisms, the effects of alcohol on fetal development - these and other issues are discussed explicitly and in detail.

4. Keeping up with new developments.
The ability of biologists to study cells in molecular detail continues to revolutionize biology. Much of what is important in cell and molecular biology today had not ever been anticipated a few years ago.

5. Careful editing.
The sixth edition has gone through a scrupulous review process employing experienced instructors as well as a large cadre of expert scientists to eliminate inaccurate information or misstatements.

Evolution is the core of the science of biology, and has always been a central theme of Biology. Evolution provides a context for understanding broad biological phenomena, such as the marked differences in anatomy and physiology among the vertebrates. It also provides a context for exploring the details of quite specific processes, such as the rapid evolution of the HIV virus during the course of an AIDS infection.

Exploration - the way in which scientists investigate the unknown - is a key element of the presentation of biology. Throughout this revision we provide detailed explanations of how experiments have led to our knowledge of life processes.

Structure-and-function provides an orientation for examining how cells and multicellular organisms work. The cause-and-effect relationships that underlie anatomy and physiology are a core element in organizing how we present much of the material in the text. Understanding such mechanisms provides an important element of integration as students learn biology.