Category Archives: Biology

Biology- What is an ecosystem? This is a revision on the key points from the area of A2 Biology concerning ecosystems. This is for the first exam of A2 which is unit 4 of Biology as an A level. We are doing edexcel here... By: (clever cracker)^2 … Continue reading →

Duke iGEM 2014 team with faculty advisors Nick Buchler, front left, and Charlie Gersbach, front right. Mike is behind Dr. Gersbach. by Anika Radiya-Dixit The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition is dedicated to education for students interested in the advancement of synthetic biology, in other words, taking engineering principles and applying them to natural sciences like biology. Students in the competition explored using a gene or series of genes from E.coli bacteria to create biological devices for applications such as dissolving plastic or filtering water. In November 2014, the Duke iGEM team took part in the annual competition in Boston, proudly leaving with a gold medal on their work in 3D printing technology and DNA synthesis protocol. This week, I contacted the iGEM team and had the opportunity to talk with one of the members, Mike Zhu, about his experience in the competition. Mike is currently a junior from Northern California studying Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science. He is enthusiastic about researching how biology and computer science interact, and is conducting research with Dr. John Reif on DNA technology. Mike is also involved with the Chinese Dance team, and enjoys cooking, eating, and sleeping. Below is an edited transcript … Continue reading →

University San Diego Assistant Biology Professor Adam Siepielski co-lead a study documenting recent changes in animal mass mortality events, including certain species of sea stars, which he is holding at USD in San Diego on Tuesday. Mass animal die-offs have become more common, and often more severe, in recent years, according to researchers from the University of San Diego, Yale University and UC Berkeley. Their study, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed 727 scientific reports of mass mortalities that affected 2,407 animal populations. The die-offs increased by about one event per year during the 70 years between 1940 and 2010, and the scale of deaths escalated for some creatures, the researchers said. The new analysis helps explain what happens when millions of animals perish in a single blow, and sheds more light on the rapid changes in biodiversity that scientists have previously reported. This sort of analysis will help clarify the relation between mass mortality events and global extinction events, said study co-author Samuel Fey, a postdoctoral research fellow in ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale. The examination began when co-author Adam Siepielski, an assistant professor of biology at the University of San … Continue reading →

Plant Physiology: Root and Stem (Grade 11 Biology) (Pre-Medical Test) Learn about the structure of the root and the stem in detail. By: PerfectScores … Continue reading →

Plant Physiology: Leaf and Flower (Grade 11 Biology) (Pre-Medical Test) Learn about leaf and flower. By: PerfectScores … Continue reading →

Plant Physiology: Fruit and Plant Families (Grade 11 Biology) (Pre-Medical Test) Learn about fruit structure and 3 plant families. By: PerfectScores … Continue reading →

LVHS Flipped Biology I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (http://www.youtube.com/editor) By: Carrie Johnson … Continue reading →

Last week an editorial in the journal Science raised important questions about the safety of synthetic biology. In particular, it asked whether we can ensure safe practices in the more shady research arenas, such as the DIY synthetic biology movements. In 2014, the European Commission defined synthetic biology as, "the application of science, technology and engineering to facilitate and accelerate the design, manufacture and modification of genetic materials in living organisms". It was followed last month by a draft opinion from the commission's scientific committees that focuses on risks in synthetic biology. Specifically, it asked whether the methods used to assess the potential risks of the field were sufficient. To discuss the implications, Ian Sample is joined by Nicola Davis, commissioning editor of Observer Tech Monthly, and Professor Paul Freemont from Imperial College, London, who is co-director of its Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation. Dr Filippa Lentzos from King's College London also joins us down the line from Switzerland. The consultation on synthetic biology can be found here. Also on the show we feature our picks from the week's science news, including: the discovery of a new class of antibiotic; how scientists are trying to extend our lives; and, … Continue reading →

IMAGE:This is the cover for Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. view more Credit: World Scientific, 2015 In his latest book published by World Scientific, Professor David Warburton from The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California presents a collection of essays on the current state of the regenerative medicine and stem cell research field. Entitled Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, this up-to-date compendium surveys current issues in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Topics range from key concepts in regenerative medicine to the newest progenitor cell therapies for organ systems, to advice on how to set up a pluripotent stem cell laboratory. Overviews of the most recent progress in stem cell research describe work that is in the pre-clinical pipeline from scientists working at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and colleagues around the world. "The book addresses some of the big questions faced by researchers in the field of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine," said Professor Warburton. "Those of us working in this field in California are positively impacted by the critical funding provided by the citizens of the state through the California Institute … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise For swimming through sand, a slick and slender snake can perform better than a short and stubby lizard. Thats one conclusion from a study of the movement patterns of the shovel-nosed snake, a native of the Mojave Desert of the southwest United States. The research shows how the snake uses its slender shape to move smoothly through the sand, and how its slippery skin reduces friction both providing locomotive advantages over another sand-swimmer: the sandfish lizard native to the Sahara Desert of northern Africa. The study provides information that could help explain how evolutionary pressures have affected body shape among sand-dwelling animals. And the work could also be useful in designing search and rescue robots able to move through sand and other granular materials. Using X-ray technology to watch each creature as it moved through a bed of sand, researchers studied the waves propagating down the bodies of both the snakes and sandfish lizards. Granular resistive force theory, which considers the thrust provided by the body waves and the drag on the animals bodies, helped model the locomotion and compare the energy efficiency of the limbless snake against that of the four-legged … Continue reading →