This class analyzes complex biological processes from the molecular, cellular, extracellular, and organ levels of hierarchy. Emphasis is placed on the basic biochemical and biophysical principles that govern these processes. Examples of processes to be studied include chemotaxis, the fixation of nitrogen into organic biological molecules, growth factor and hormone mediated signaling cascades, and signaling cascades leading to cell death in response to DNA damage. In each case, the availability of a resource, or the presence of a stimulus, results in some biochemical pathways being turned on while others are turned off. The course examines the dynamic aspects of these processes and details how biochemical mechanistic themes impinge on molecular/cellular/tissue/organ-level functions. Chemical and quantitative views of the interplay of multiple pathways as biological networks are emphasized. Student work will culminate in the preparation of a unique grant application in an area of biological networks.

These materials are designed to supplement a year-long three-course sequence that uses OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology (https://openstax.org/details/anatomy-and-physiology).

These are PDFs of each chapter of the OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology textbook. They can be posted to D2L for easy access for students.

This OER is a quick, hands-on lab that helps students explore the anatomy and function of angiosperm seeds. Topics such as seed anatomy and function, seed dormancy, and seed germination are addressed in this lab. This lab is intended to be used as instructional materials for biology teachers.Within this resource are instructions on required lab materials,an introduction to seed anatomy and function, an explanation of seed dormancy and germination, a seed diagram to label, and student exercises to assist in content mastery.

BI 101 is an introductory lab science course intended for majors in disciplines other than the biological sciences. This course is designed to help you discover the applications of science to your everyday life, as well as provide elements of critical thinking. This course has four Credit Units that emphasize a variety of topics including ecological principles, biodiversity, and impact of human activities on the environment.

Course Outcomes:
1. Discuss biological community interactions.
2. Explain how changes in human population and/or actions impact natural ecosystems.
3. Describe the movement of energy & nutrients through trophic levels.
4. Recognize the appropriate taxonomic level of an organism based on key characteristics or traits.

This is an introductory lab science course intended for majors in disciplines other than the biological sciences. The topics presented include biological molecules, cellular biology, genetics and inheritance, biotechnology, and evolutionary processes. Additionally, the course is designed to help you discover the applications of science in your everyday life, as well as provide elements of critical thinking.

Course Outcomes:
1. Explain how natural selection drives evolution.
2. Express how changes in the genome can affect the phenotype or traits within a population.
3. Be able to describe the patterns of inheritance.
4. Be able describe selected key cell processes.
5. Distinguish between the groups of biomolecules.

Reading list for BI 112 with links to OpenStax Human Biology by Willy Cushwa,
OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology,OpenStax Biology 2e, and OpenStax Chemistry: Atoms First.

Students explore static electricity by rubbing a simulated balloon on a sweater. As they view the charges in the sweater, balloon, and adjacent wall, they gain an understanding of charge transfer. This item is part of a larger collection of simulations developed by the Physics Education Technology project (PhET). The simulations are animated, interactive, and game-like environments.

Why does a balloon stick to your sweater? Rub a balloon on a sweater, then let go of the balloon and it flies over and sticks to the sweater. View the charges in the sweater, balloons, and the wall.

The course Bio-Inspired Design gives an overview of non-conventional mechanical approaches in nature and shows how this knowledge can lead to more creativity in mechanical design and to better (simpler, smaller, more robust) solutions than with conventional technology. The course discusses a large number of biological organisms with smart constructions, unusual mechanisms or clever sensing and processing methods and presents a number of technical examples and designs of bio-inspired instruments and machines.

Love is deeply biological. It pervades every aspect of our lives and has inspired countless works of art. Love also has a profound effect on our mental and physical state. A “broken heart” or a failed relationship can have disastrous effects; bereavement disrupts human physiology and may even precipitate death. Without loving relationships, humans fail to flourish, even if all of their other basic needs are met. As such, love is clearly not “just” an emotion; it is a biological process that is both dynamic and bidirectional in several dimensions. Social interactions between individuals, for example, trigger cognitive and physiological processes that influence emotional and mental states. In turn, these changes influence future social interactions. Similarly, the maintenance of loving relationships requires constant feedback through sensory and cognitive systems; the body seeks love and responds constantly to interactions with loved ones or to the absence of such interactions. The evolutionary principles and ancient hormonal and neural systems that support the beneficial and healing effects of loving relationships are described here.

Our goal is to present the key observations and unifying concepts upon which modern biology is based; it is not a survey of all biology! Once understood, these foundational observations and concepts should enable you to approach any biological process, from disease to kindness, from a scientific perspective. To understand biological systems we need to consider them from two complementary perspectives; how they came to be (the historic, that is, evolutionary) and how their structures, traits, and behaviors are produced (the mechanistic, that is, the physicochemical)

This course covers sensing and measurement for quantitative molecular/cell/tissue analysis, in terms of genetic, biochemical, and biophysical properties. Methods include light and fluorescence microscopies; electro-mechanical probes such as atomic force microscopy, laser and magnetic traps, and MEMS devices; and the application of statistics, probability and noise analysis to experimental data.

This graduate course will introduce students to the processes controlling phytoplankton, zooplankton, heterotrophic bacterial and benthic infaunal growth and abundance. We'll do a broad-scale survey of patterns of productivity and abundance in the coastal zones, upwelling centers, gyres, and the deep sea. We'll briefly survey ecosystem simulation models, especially those applicable to the Gulf of Maine. Readings will be from the primary literature and a few book chapters. The effects of anthropogenic effects on marine communities will be stressed throughout. Calculus will be used throughout the course, but there is no formal calculus requirement.

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

Lab Manual for BIO101 at Mt Hood Community College. The associated textbook is available at https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/mhccbiology101/

Biology 2e is designed to cover the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester biology course for science majors. The text provides comprehensive coverage of foundational research and core biology concepts through an evolutionary lens. Biology includes rich features that engage students in scientific inquiry, highlight careers in the biological sciences, and offer everyday applications. The book also includes various types of practice and homework questions that help students understand—and apply—key concepts. The 2nd edition has been revised to incorporate clearer, more current, and more dynamic explanations, while maintaining the same organization as the first edition. Art and illustrations have been substantially improved, and the textbook features additional assessments and related resources. The first edition of Biology by OpenStax is available in web view here.

This 17-minute video lesson looks at understanding the structure of a muscle cell. [Biology playlist: Lesson 50 of 71].

This 6-minute video lesson provides an introduction to the neuron and its anatomy. [Biology playlist: Lesson 41 of 71].