Life: The Science of Biology

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are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written 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

All living organisms, regardless of their uniqueness, have certain biological, chemical, and physical characteristics in common. All, for example, are composed of basic units known as cells and of the same chemical substances, which, when analyzed, exhibit noteworthy similarities, even in such disparate organisms as bacteria and humans. Furthermore, since the action of any organism is determined by the manner in which its cells interact and since all cells interact in much the same way, the basic functioning of all organisms is also similar. The 12th edition of Life: The Science of Biology continues to be engaging, active, and focused on teaching the skills that students need to master. New pedagogical features work in conjunction with powerful updates to the online suite of materials in LaunchPad to support the mission of Life by teaching students the skills and understanding of experimentation and data they need to succeed in introductory biology and ultimately in their future STEM careers. Life's potent combination of expertly crafted media, assessment, pedagogy and engagement makes this new edition the best resource yet for biology students. The scientific method may seem too rigid and structured. It is important to keep in mind that, although scientists often follow this sequence, there is flexibility. Sometimes an experiment leads to conclusions that favor a change in approach. Often, an experiment brings entirely new scientific questions to the puzzle. Many times, science does not operate in a linear fashion. Instead, scientists continually draw inferences and make generalizations, finding patterns as their research proceeds. Scientific reasoning is more complex than the scientific method alone suggests. Notice, too, that we can apply the scientific method to solving problems that aren’t necessarily scientific in nature. Two Types of Science: Basic Science and Applied ScienceBiology is a science, but what exactly is science? What does the study of biology share with other scientific disciplines? We can define science (from the Latin scientia, meaning “knowledge”) as knowledge that covers general truths or the operation of general laws, especially when acquired and tested by the scientific method. It becomes clear from this definition that applying scientific method plays a major role in science. The scientific method is a method of research with defined steps that include experiments and careful observation. David M. Hillis is the Alfred W. Roark Centennial Professor in Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also has directed the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, the Biodiversity Center, and the School of Biological Sciences. Dr. Hillis has taught courses in introductory biology, genetics, evolution, systematics, and biodiversity. Intriguing Pop-Up questions in figure captions sharpen students’ skills in critical thinking about biology and subtly reinforce the process of doing 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.

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New Podcast Interviews highlight current research areas and the diverse scientists involved in that research. These include reflection assignments to help students understand how the concepts they are learning are reflected in real world research.