Discover Biology 3e : W. W. Norton College Books

UNIT 1—THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE

Chapter 1: The Nature of Science and the Characteristics of Life
1.1 Asking Questions, Testing Answers: The Work of Science
1.2 The Characteristics That All Living Organisms Share
1.3 Viruses—A Gray Zone Between Life and Nonlife?
1.4 The Biological Hierarchy
1.5 Energy Flow Through Biological Systems
Chapter 2: Organizing the Diversity of Life
2.1 Building Evolutionary Trees
2.2 Using Evolutionary Trees to Predict the Biology of Organisms
2.3 A Classification System for Organizing Life: The Linnaean Hierarchy and Beyond
2.4 Branches on the Tree of Life
Chapter 3: Major Groups of Living Organisms
3.1 The Major Groups in Context
3.2 The Bacteria and Archaea: Tiny, Successful, and Abundant
3.3 The Protista: A Window into the Early Evolution of the Eucarya
3.4 The Plantae: Pioneers of Life on Land
3.5 The Fungi: A World of Decomposers
3.5 The Animalia: Complex, Diverse, and Mobile
3.6 The Difficulty of Viruses
Interlude A—Applying What We Learned: Biodiversity and People
How Many Species Are There on Earth?
The Beginnings of a Present-Day Mass Extinction
The Many Threats to Biodiversity
Extinctions of the Past
The Importance of Biodiversity

UNIT 2—CELLS: THE BASIC UNITS OF LIFE

Chapter 4: Chemical Building Blocks
4.1 Atoms Make Up the Physical World
4.2 Covalent Bonds: The Strongest Linkages in Nature
4.3 Noncovalent Bonds: Dynamic Linkages between Molecules
4.4 How Chemical Reactions Rearrange Atoms within Molecules
4.5 The Chemical Building Blocks of Living Systems
Chapter 5: Cell Structure and Compartments
5.1 Cells: The Simplest Units of Life
5.2 The Plasma Membrane: Separating Cells from the Environment
5.3 Comparing Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
5.4 The Specialized Internal Compartments of Eukaryotic Cells
5.5 The Cytoskeleton: Providing Shape and Movement
Chapter 6: Membrane Structure and Transport
6.1 The Plasma Membrane Is Both Gate and Gatekeeper
6.2 Water Requires a Cellular Balancing Act
6.3 Cell Membrane as Transport Luggage,
6.4 Cells in Multicellular Organisms
6.5 Connections Between Neighboring Cells
6.6 Signaling Molecules in Cell Communication
Chapter 7: Energy and Enzymes
7.1 The Role of Energy in Living Systems
7.2 Using Energy from the Controlled Burning of Food
7.3 How Cells Speed Up Chemical Reactions
7.4 Take It Easy, You Might Live Longer!
Chapter 8: Photosynthesis and Respiration
8.1 Energy Carriers: Powering All Activities of the Cell
8.2 Photosynthesis: Capturing Energy from Sunlight
8.3 Catabolism: Breaking Down Molecules for Energy
Chapter 9: Cell Division
9.1 Stages of the Cell Cycle
9.2 Interphase: Preparing the Cell for Division
9.3 Mitosis and Cytokinesis: From One Cell to Two Identical Cells
9.4 Meiosis: Halving the Chromosome Number
Interlude B—Applying What We Learned: Cancer: Cell Division Out of Control
What Is Cancer?
Positive Growth Regulators: Promoting Cell Division
Negative Growth Regulators: Inhibiting Cell Division
An Interplay of Factors Can Cause Cancer
Making the Most of Losing p53

UNIT 3—GENETICS

Chapter 10: Patterns of Inheritance
10.1 Essential Terms in Genetics
10.2 Gene Mutations: The Source of New Alleles
10.3 Basic Patterns of Inheritance
10.4 Mendel’s Laws
10.5 Extensions of Mendel’s Laws
10.6 Putting It All Together
Chapter 11: Chromosomes and Human Genetics
11.1 The Role of Chromosomes in Inheritance
11.2 Autosomes and Sex Chromosomes
11.3 Linkage and Crossing-Over
11.4 Origins of Genetic Differences among Individuals
11.5 Human Genetic Disorders
11.6 Autosomal Inheritance of Single-Gene Mutations
11.7 Sex-Linked Inheritance of Single-Gene Mutations
11.8 Inherited Chromosomal Abnormalities
Chapter 12: DNA
12.1 The Search for the Genetic Material
12.2 The Three-Dimensional Structure of DNA
12.3 How DNA Is Replicated
12.4 Repairing Replication Errors and Damaged DNA
Chapter 13: From Gene to Protein
13.1 Genes Encode Proteins
13.2 How Genes Control the Production of Proteins
13.3 Transcription: Information Flow from DNA to RNA
13.4 The Genetic Code
13.5 Translation: Information Flow from mRNA to Protein
13.6 The Effect of Mutations on Protein Synthesis
13.7 Putting It All Together: From Gene to Phenotype
Chapter 14: Control of Gene Expression
14.1 The Structural and Functional Organization of DNA
14.2 DNA Packing in Eukaryotes
14.3 Patterns of Gene Expression
14.4 How Cells Control Gene Expression
14.5 The Consequences of Controlling Gene Expression
Chapter 15: DNA Technology
15.1 Working with DNA: Basic Techniques
15.2 Working with DNA: DNA Cloning
15.3 Applications of DNA Technology
15.4 Ethical Issues and Risks of DNA Technology
Interlude C—Applying What We Learned: Harnessing the Human Genome
The Quest for the Human Genome
A Preview of Our Blueprint
Health Care for You Alone
Genetic Testing Raises Ethical Issues

UNIT 4—EVOLUTION

Chapter 16: How Evolution Works
16.1 Biological Evolution: The Sum of Genetic Changes
16.2 Mechanisms of Evolution
16.3 Consequences of Evolution for Life on Earth
16.4 Strong Evidence Shows That Evolution Happens
16.5 The Impact of Evolutionary Thought
Chapter 17: Evolution of Populations
17.1 Key Definitions: Allele and Genotype Frequencies
17.2 Genetic Variation: The Raw Material of Evolution
17.3 Four Mechanisms Can Cause Populations to Evolve
17.4 Mutation: The Random Production of New Alleles
17.5 Gene Flow: Exchanging Alleles Between Populations
17.6 Genetic Drift: The Effects of Chance
17.7 Natural Selection: The Effects of Advantageous Alleles
17.8 Sexual Selection: Where Sex and Selection Meet
17.9 Putting It All Together: How Evolution in Populations Works
Chapter 18: Adaptation and Speciation
18.1 Adaptation: Adjusting to Environmental Challenges
18.2 Adaptation Does Not Craft Perfect Organisms
18.3 What Are Species?
18.4 Speciation: Generating Biodiversity
18.5 Rates of Speciation
18.6 Implications of Adaptation and Speciation
Chapter 19: The Evolutionary History of Life
19.1 The Fossil Record: A Guide to the Past
19.2 The History of Life on Earth
19.3 The Effect of Continental Drift
19.4 Mass Extinctions: Worldwide Losses of Species
19.5 Adaptive Radiations: Increases in the Diversity of Life
19.6 The Origin and Adaptive Radiation of Mammals
19.7 An Overview of the Evolutionary History of Life
Interlude D—Applying What We Learned: Humans and Evolution
We Are Apes
Hominid Evolution: From Early Primate to Walking Upright
Evolution in the Genus Homo
The Origin and Spread of Modern Humans
The Evolutionary Future of Humans
The Impact of People on Evolution

UNIT 5—INTERACTIONS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 20: The Biosphere
20.1 Why Is Ecology Important?
20.2 Interactions with the Environment
20.3 Climate Has a Large Impact on the Biosphere
20.4 Life on Land
20.5 Life in Water
Chapter 21: Growth of Populations
21.1 What Are Populations?
21.2 Changes in Population Size
21.3 Exponential Growth
21.4 Limits to Population Growth
21.5 Patterns of Population Growth
21.6 Human Population Growth: Surpassing the Limits?
Chapter 22: Interactions among Organisms
22.1 Mutualisms
22.2 ConsumerñVictim Interactions
22.3 Competition
22.4 Interactions among Organisms Shape Communities and Ecosystems
Chapter 23: Communities of Organisms
23.1 The Effect of Species Interactions on Communities
23.2 Communities Change over Time
23.3 Recovery from Disturbances
Chapter 24: Ecosystems
24.1 How Ecosystems Function: An Overview
24.2 Energy Capture in Ecosystems
24.3 Energy Flow through Ecosystems
24.4 Nutrient Cycles
24.5 Human Activities Can Alter Nutrient Cycles
24.6 Ecosystem Design
Chapter 25: Global Change
25.1 Land and Water Transformation
25.2 Changes in the Chemistry of Earth
25.3 Changes in the Global Nitrogen Cycle
25.4 Changes in the Global Carbon Cycle
25.5 Global Warming
Interlude E—Applying What We Learned: Building a Sustainable Society
The Current Human Impact Is Not Sustainable
Sources of Hope
Education
Individual Action
Research
Government
Business

top of page

W. W. Norton & Company : College Books

Discover Biology

Contents

UNIT 1—THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE

UNIT 2—CELLS: THE BASIC UNITS OF LIFE

UNIT 3—GENETICS

UNIT 4—EVOLUTION

UNIT 5—INTERACTIONS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT