The Physical Foundation of Biology: An Analytical Study offers a detailed account of the relationship between physics and biology. The discussion is based on a threefold development in theoretical science: the theory of automata (often designated as computers); the theory of information (mainly developed in communication engineering); and the theory of microscopic measurement in the atomic and molecular domain (based largely on quantum mechanics). This book is comprised of five chapters and begins with an overview of the physical foundation of biology, paying particular attention to preformationism and the theory of epigenesis. The first chapter explores feedback and control by comparing the control apparatus of a more differentiated organism, the nervous system, with the corresponding achievements of electronic engineering. The reader is then introduced to the theory of information, focusing on the idea that certain quantitative aspects of the information content of messages can be separated from the specific physical features of the device sending the message. The following chapters deal with the importance of storage or memory devices for a complex functional mechanism; the compatibility of biotonic laws with the ordinary laws of physics; and physical interpretation of the theory of microscopic processes. This monograph will be of interest to physicists, biologists, and chemists.

Black & white print. Concepts of Biology is designed for the typical introductory biology course for nonmajors, covering standard scope and sequence requirements. The text includes interesting applications and conveys the major themes of biology, with content that is meaningful and easy to understand. The book is designed to demonstrate biology concepts and to promote scientific literacy.

This collection of essays focuses on the connection between biology and questions in ethics.

An overview of the methodologies and techniques of the emerging field of systems biology.

This textbook provides a strong foundation and a clear overview for students of membrane biology and an invaluable synthesis of cutting-edge research for working scientists. The text retains its clear and engaging style, providing a solid background in membrane biochemistry, while also incorporating the approaches of biophysics, genetics and cell biology to investigations of membrane structure, function and biogenesis to provide a unique overview of this fast-moving field. A wealth of new high resolution structures of membrane proteins are presented, including the Na/K pump and a receptor-G protein complex, offering exciting insights into how they function. All key tools of current membrane research are described, including detergents and model systems, bioinformatics, protein-folding methodology, crystallography and diffraction, and molecular modeling. This comprehensive and up-to-date text, emphasising the correlations between membrane research and human health, provides a solid foundation for all those working in this field.

A lab manual designed to build a strong foundation for cell biology through laboratory exercises; to build skills in following written instructions and in making careful observations; and to provide the laboratory instructor with the flexibility of allowing students to work in teams or individually.

This book presents a timely collection of pioneering work in the study of these diverse and fascinating ecosystems. It consists of facsimiles of papers chosen by world experts in tropical biology as the 'classics' in the field.

Fred Van Dyke’s new textbook, Conservation Biology: Foundations, Concepts, Applications, 2nd Edition, represents a major new text for anyone interested in conservation. Drawing on his vast experience, Van Dyke’s organizational clarity and readable style make this book an invaluable resource for students in conservation around the globe. Presenting key information and well-selected examples, this student-friendly volume carefully integrates the science of conservation biology with its implications for ethics, law, policy and economics.

An essential introduction to the philosophy of biology This is a concise, comprehensive, and accessible introduction to the philosophy of biology written by a leading authority on the subject. Geared to philosophers, biologists, and students of both, the book provides sophisticated and innovative coverage of the central topics and many of the latest developments in the field. Emphasizing connections between biological theories and other areas of philosophy, and carefully explaining both philosophical and biological terms, Peter Godfrey-Smith discusses the relation between philosophy and science; examines the role of laws, mechanistic explanation, and idealized models in biological theories; describes evolution by natural selection; and assesses attempts to extend Darwin's mechanism to explain changes in ideas, culture, and other phenomena. Further topics include functions and teleology, individuality and organisms, species, the tree of life, and human nature. The book closes with detailed, cutting-edge treatments of the evolution of cooperation, of information in biology, and of the role of communication in living systems at all scales. Authoritative and up-to-date, this is an essential guide for anyone interested in the important philosophical issues raised by the biological sciences.

Systems biology is a vigorous and expanding discipline, in many ways a successor to genomics and perhaps unprecedented in its combination of biology with a great many other sciences, from physics to ecology, from mathematics to medicine, and from philosophy to chemistry. Studying the philosophical foundations of systems biology may resolve a longer standing issue, i.e., the extent to which Biology is entitled to its own scientific foundations rather than being dominated by existing philosophies.* Answers the question of what distinguishes the living from the non-living* An in-depth look to a vigorous and expanding discipline, from molecule to system* Explores the region between individual components and the system