Biology Today is a college-level biology textbook that went through three editions in 1972, 1975, and 1980. The first edition, published by Communications Research Machines, Inc. (CRM) and written by a small editorial team and large set of prominent "contributing consultants", is notable for its lavish illustrations and its humanistic approach. It was significantly rewritten by David L. Kirk and others for the second and third editions, which were issued by Random House.
The 1972 first edition of Biology Today had no principal author but was written by fifty-four contributing consultants, many of whom were leading figures in biology (and seven of whom were Nobel laureates). Visually, it features numerous artistic interpretations of biological topics as well as striking diagrams and photographs. Many of these images, such as a surreal depiction of the injection of heroin, a series of diagrams showing how to use a contraceptive diaphragm, and a painting titled Noah's Ark depicting copulating humans and animals, proved controversial and led to few adoptions of the textbook. By 1981, a reviewer of a later, much-changed edition wrote that the original "might now be considered a 'classic' for it is hardly likely that such a fine humanistic biology textbook will be published again. (If you have a copy, hold on to it.)" [1]
In the preface, John H. Painter, Jr.—leader of the editorial team and credited as the book's publisher—explains that "science is a peculiarly human endeavor that seeks to newer and better solutions to the problems plaguing us all"; that modern biological sciences are rooted in work of physicists who turned to biology after World War II; that understanding life at the molecular level allows science to find "solutions to problems of immediate concern", rather than earlier biological studies that "floated disconnectedly above the physical and chemical substrate of life"; and that information processing is at the core of many biological advances. [2]
The introduction is an illustrated essay, "What Is Life?", by Albert Szent-Györgyi —a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and, as the essay's biographical tag explains, a protester against "the irrational pursuit of war and politics that characterizes our Western culture" as well as an advocate of using technology "to create a psychologically and socially progressive world where humanistic values are paramount". The essay explains Szent-Györgyi's outlook on the fundamental problems of biology, the relationship between biological and physical sciences, and reasons for pursuing biology. Szent-Györgyi concludes that "To express the marvels of nature in the language of science is one of man's noblest endeavors. I no reason to expect the completion of that task within the near future." [3]
CRM produced a series of films associated with Biology Today: The Origin of Life and Evolution, The Cell: A Functioning Structure (in two parts), and Muscle. Like the textbook, the films were visually innovative, featuring extensive animation to depict complex aspects of biology.
According to a review in The American Biology Teacher , The Origin of Life and Evolution used "creative cinematography to recreate current views" and won awards at "two major education film festivals". While the reviewer considered it the best of its kind (in 1977) and praised it both for educational value and captivating "visual imagery", he noted that it was too sophisticated for the full range of its intended audiences and that "basic knowledge of DNA is a prerequisite for gaining maximum usefulness from the film." [4]
The second and third editions (published in 1975 and 1980 by CRM/Random and Random House alone, respectively) were significantly rewritten by Washington University biologist David L. Kirk and others. Kirk wrote fifteen chapters of the second edition and co-wrote five more. [6] With the second edition, the controversial material from the original was removed, and the list of contributing consultants was smaller. [1]
The third edition was very different from the first. It had, for the first time, a principal author credited (David L. Kirk) and had a long list of consultants (not "contributing consultants" as in the earlier editions). The third edition had just 31 chapters grouped into six sections (there were 45 chapters in 8 sections in the original), and rather than a humanistic approach for a broad college audience, it employed what Kirk described as "a somewhat more rigorous approach than many competing textbooks". A reviewer judged it "well-written, pedogogically sound, and, generally, scientifically accurate", but lacking the stylistic flair (and the seven Nobel Prize-winning contributors) of the original. [1]
Ascorbic acid is an organic compound with formula C
6H
8O
6, originally called hexuronic acid. It is a white solid, but impure samples can appear yellowish. It dissolves well in water to give mildly acidic solutions. It is a mild reducing agent.
Evolutionary linguistics or Darwinian linguistics is a sociobiological approach to the study of language. Evolutionary linguists consider linguistics as a subfield of evolutionary biology and evolutionary psychology. The approach is also closely linked with evolutionary anthropology, cognitive linguistics and biolinguistics. Studying languages as the products of nature, it is interested in the biological origin and development of language. Evolutionary linguistics is contrasted with humanistic approaches, especially structural linguistics.
James Dewey Watson is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. Watson, Crick and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material". In subsequent years, it has been recognized that Watson and his colleagues did not properly attribute colleague Rosalind Franklin for her contributions to the discovery of the double helix structure.
Theodosius Grygorovych Dobzhansky was a prominent Ukrainian-American geneticist and evolutionary biologist, and a central figure in the field of evolutionary biology for his work in shaping the modern synthesis. Dobzhansky was born in Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire, and became an immigrant to the United States in 1927, aged 27.
Max Ludwig Henning Delbrück was a German–American biophysicist who participated in launching the molecular biology research program in the late 1930s. He stimulated physical scientists' interest into biology, especially as to basic research to physically explain genes, mysterious at the time. Formed in 1945 and led by Delbrück along with Salvador Luria and Alfred Hershey, the Phage Group made substantial headway unraveling important aspects of genetics. The three shared the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses". He was the first physicist to predict what is now called Delbrück scattering.
Albert Szent-Györgyi de Nagyrápolt was a Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937. He is credited with first isolating vitamin C and discovering the components and reactions of the citric acid cycle. He was also active in the Hungarian Resistance during World War II and entered Hungarian politics after the war.
The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is an international center for research and education in biological and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution affiliated with the University of Chicago. After being independent for most of its history, it became officially affiliated with the university on July 1, 2013. It also collaborates with numerous other institutions.
Sir Walter Norman Haworth FRS was a British chemist best known for his groundbreaking work on ascorbic acid while working at the University of Birmingham. He received the 1937 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his investigations on carbohydrates and vitamin C". The prize was shared with Swiss chemist Paul Karrer for his work on other vitamins.
A Civic Biology: Presented in Problems was a biology textbook written by George William Hunter, published in 1914. It is the book which the state of Tennessee required high school teachers to use in 1925 and is best known for its section about evolution that was ruled by a local court to be in violation of the state Butler Act. It was for teaching from this textbook that John T. Scopes was brought to trial in Dayton, Tennessee in the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. The views espoused in the book about evolution, race, and eugenics were common to American Progressives.
Edmund Ware Sinnott was an American botanist and educator. Sinnott is best known for his work in plant morphology.
John Tyler Bonner was an American biologist who was a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. He was a pioneer in the use of cellular slime molds to understand evolution and development over a career of 40 years and was one of the world's leading experts on cellular slime moulds. Arizona State University says that the establishment and growth of developmental-evolutionary biology owes a great debt to the work of Bonner's studies. His work is highly readable and unusually clearly written and his contributions have made many complicated ideas of biology accessible to a wide audience.
Explore Evolution: The Arguments For and Against Neo-Darwinism is a controversial biology textbook written by a group of intelligent design supporters and published in 2007. Its promoters describe it as aimed at helping educators and students to discuss "the controversial aspects of evolutionary theory that are discussed openly in scientific books and journals but which are not widely reported in textbooks." As one of the Discovery Institute intelligent design campaigns to "teach the controversy" its evident purpose is to provide a "lawsuit-proof" way of attacking evolution and promoting pseudoscientific creationism without being explicit.
Biology Today: An Issues Approach is a college-oriented Biology textbook by Eli C. Minkoff and Pamela J. Baker designed to integrate the teaching of biological concepts within the context of current societal issues relating to these topics. It is the original issues-oriented introductory-level general biology textbook. The latest edition is currently published by the textbooks division of Garland Science. It is 768 pages long.
The internal environment was a concept developed by Claude Bernard, a French physiologist in the 19th century, to describe the interstitial fluid and its physiological capacity to ensure protective stability for the tissues and organs of multicellular organisms.
George Karreman was a Dutch-born US physicist, mathematical biophysicist and mathematical/theoretical biologist. He was the first president of the Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB).
Michael Anthony DiSpezio is an American author, television host and stage edutainment performer who specializes in science and science education. He is known for his quick wit and playful style. Along with infusing his performances with humor and theatrics, he often engages audiences in hands-on activities, puzzle solving and 3D illusions.
The Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research, established by National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) and named in honor of Albert Szent-Györgyi, Nobel Laureate and co-founder of NFCR, has been awarded annually since 2006 to outstanding researchers whose scientific achievements have expanded the understanding of cancer and whose vision has moved cancer research in new directions. The Szent-Györgyi Prize honors researchers whose discoveries have made possible new approaches to preventing, diagnosing and/or treating cancer. The Prize recipient is honored at a formal dinner and award ceremony and receives a $25,000 cash prize. In addition, the recipient leads the next "Szent-Györgyi Prize Committee" as honorary chairman.
The sliding filament theory explains the mechanism of muscle contraction based on muscle proteins that slide past each other to generate movement. According to the sliding filament theory, the myosin of muscle fibers slide past the actin during muscle contraction, while the two groups of filaments remain at relatively constant length.
Endre Bíró was a Hungarian biochemist whose research findings in the biochemistry of the muscle and muscle contraction found international recognition.
Lajos Kemény is a Hungarian dermatologist, venereologist, allergologist, medical researcher, full professor and the Head of the Department of Dermatology and Allergology, the director of the Albert Szent-Györgyi Health Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged and the Vice-Rector for Science, Research Development and Innovation. He is a notable and respected scientist both in Hungary and around the world.