Life: The Science of Biology

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While this “warm classroom” example is based on observational results, other hypotheses and experiments might have clearer controls. For instance, a student might attend class on Monday and realize she had difficulty concentrating on the lecture. One observation to explain this occurrence might be, “When I eat breakfast before class, I am better able to pay attention.” The student could then design an experiment with a control to test this hypothesis. Not surprisingly, the natural science of biology has many branches or subdisciplines. Cell biologists study cell structure and function, while biologists who study anatomy investigate the structure of an entire organism. Those biologists studying physiology, however, focus on the internal functioning of an organism. Some areas of biology focus on only particular types of living things. For example, botanists explore plants, while zoologists specialize in animals. Scientific Reasoning

A new online, interactive version of the in-text Statistics Primer offers students the opportunity to actually perform statistical analysis and calculations. Figure 1.9 The Human Genome Project was a 13-year collaborative effort among researchers working in several different science fields. Researchers completed the project, which sequenced the entire human genome, in 2003. (credit: the U.S. Department of Energy Genome Programs ( http://genomics.energy.gov) Figure 1.3 Escherichia coli ( E. coli) bacteria, in this scanning electron micrograph, are normal residents of our digestive tracts that aid in absorbing vitamin K and other nutrients. However, virulent strains are sometimes responsible for disease outbreaks. (credit: Eric Erbe, digital colorization by Christopher Pooley, both of USDA, ARS, EMU) The Process of Science A new in-text Visual Summary takes the place of standard text-only summaries to help students better master concepts and competencies via a visual trigger (a key in-text figure) and short concise text entries, to aid their memory. Relevant animations and activities are referenced in each summary entry. For example, bioethicists may examine the implications of gene editing technologies, including the ability to create organisms that may displace others in the environment, as well as the ability to “design” human beings. In that effort, ethicists will likely seek to balance the positive outcomes -- such as improved therapies or prevention of certain illnesses -- with negative outcomes.The Experiments and Work with the Data exercises highlight important research and instill the foundation of scientific investigation in students by always following the hypothesis–method–-results–conclusion framework. These include research assignments to help students understand how the concepts they are learning are reflected in real world research. Review articles do not follow the IMRAD format because they do not present original scientific findings, or primary literature. Instead, they summarize and comment on findings that were published as primary literature and typically include extensive reference sections. Scientific Ethics

We lead by example by exposing students to many thoughtful questions throughout the body of the text, reinforcing the importance of asking questions in biology. The science of biology is very broad in scope because there is a tremendous diversity of life on Earth. The source of this diversity is evolution, the process of gradual change during which new species arise from older species. Evolutionary biologists study the evolution of living things in everything from the microscopic world to ecosystems. Jul 7, 2023 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo Skills focused throughout to support teaching and learning in biology through asking questions. ‘Data in Depth’ features enhance scientific literacy skills through data visualisations, experimental design, graphing and mathematical calculations.These areas of study are still sciences, however. Consider archaeology—even though one cannot perform repeatable experiments, hypotheses may still be supported. For instance, archaeologists can hypothesize that an ancient culture existed based on finding a piece of pottery. They could make further hypotheses about various characteristics of this culture, which could be correct or false through continued support or contradictions from other findings. A hypothesis may become a verified theory. A theory is a tested and confirmed explanation for observations or phenomena. Therefore, we may be better off to define science as fields of study that attempt to comprehend the nature of the universe. Natural Sciences