Content is very up-to-date, and I did check out how frequently the content was altered (it mentions this at the bottom of the online version). Alternate ISBN (s) 9781506699851. Next generation sequencing is the topic of only one VERY short paragraph in chapter 17 as far as I found. Here I think an animation or worksheet would be useful, where two alleles compete against one another over time to show the effects on allele frequency change given different magnitudes/directions of selection. For example, at the time of this review in December 2016, statistics and citations in the book date primarily to 2012 and earlier, and some recently hot topics like CRISPR are not yet covered. Topics presented are organized in a logical manner with topics building on previous sections. For example, figures 7.6-7.8 all label the steps of the reactions taking place, which I found useful. Biology is an extremely broad subject area to The textbook is comprehensive; the extent and depth of the topics and concepts covered are at the level required in an introductory course for biology majors. I found few errors. Biologists refer to this fit as adaptation, and it is a consequence of evolution by More recent genomic analysis has identified cephalochordates as the most basal chordates. There are some areas of the book that would benefit from additional copy editing. read more. For example, chapters on Chemistry and Biological molecules both explain important fundamentals and provide adequate detail to maintain interest and give context to these topics. The navigation is a bit easier with the downloaded version, as the online version is divided into units, so if you just give your student a chapter to look at, you may need to tell them which unit the chapter is listed under. 7. The chapters are divided into sections and subheadings. This particular information is relatively new in the field of biology, though most of the current discoveries lie in the realm of gene function and would be included in an upper level course. ions neutrons neutral atoms isotopes 6. Every summer, a new PDF of Biology is released and print stock is updated for the following Fall. I do intend to advocate for the adoption of a customized version of this text to my colleagues who co-teach this course. I have not encountered grammatical errors in the text. The capacity to have external links embedded within a digital textbook can be a real strength for reinforcing content. To this end, the text could swap outdated, less commonly used biotechnology methods for more recent developments (e.g., CRISPR). This book will suffice in a 2 semester biology course. One of the best features is the Everyday Connection sections, which are imaginative and will be interesting to students. Thus, we found sentence syntax and structure could be improved in places. Examples used earlier in a given chapter may be revisited later in that same chapter or unit, facilitating continuity and flow. The book included biological themes beginning at the cellular level and progressing all the These resources vary in quality, but links do work properly and redirect to functioning sites. There are an array of instructor resources available through OpenStax for this text. (other than the colour/color thing) I reviewed a downloaded pdf. I noticed just one inconsistency with terminology in the text: Citric Acid Cycle is almost exclusively in Chapter 7, with the first mention of "Kreb's Cycle" in the link to an animation (which might confuse students) and the first mention of TCA cycle in the end of chapter glossary. When more depth is required, other web sites and tutorials can be added to the students' reading materials. The text provides students with current, relevant information in a progression of topics and concepts based on empirical data and basic science. The book was published in 2013 and in spite of the 2017 Rice University copyright notice it does not appear to have been updated since the original publication. Topics are explained in a clear and concise manner. The problems I read through struck me as sensible and mostly straightforward. In the introductory chapters, they are heavily focused on careers relating to health and medicine, but there are a few mentions of professions relating more toward ecology. The section on temperate forests is actually inaccurate in spots, stating that deciduous trees are dominant in this biome, and omitting the fact that coniferous forest are also dominant in these forests. The section on prokaryotic cells does not mention the circular shape of their DNA, but it is then eluded to in the section on eukaryotic cells. 122 an entire sentence was inside the parentheses. Intermittently, the text refers to itself, which could be an issue if one has not read the previous information, but this is not frequent. My classes are full of women. read more. d. the degree of inbreeding in a population read more. I found only one photograph of a named female scientist, Elizabeth Blackburn, in Figure 14.16. However, the powerpoints that go along with the book do have many grammatical errors. There are no issues with images or charts. Chapter 19 There are a few issues with image resolution; however, this was only a minor concern. If you are a competent instructor who tends to use the textbook as a supplemental resource for your students, rather than the main way of obtaining information, this will meet your needs. The book itself is generally free of grammatical errors. read more. The terms and phrasing used within the text were extremely consistent. A few are important to correct, especially given that we push students to understand the need for precise use of science terminology and vocabulary (e.g., Section 34.2 is titled "Nutrition and Energy Production," which might confuse a student who has learned that "energy can neither be created nor destroyed."). Except where otherwise noted, textbooks on this site However, the answers are difficult to quickly locate as they are listed in paragraph format, rather than organized as a list. Teaching earth science for the first time. Unfortunately, for many of the students at my college, the reading level of this text is difficult. In general, chapters are arranged in a logical order, and topics flow seamlessly within chapters. However, unlike most textbooks, it is simple for anyone to submit a correction, so these errors are corrected more efficiently than can be done for most textbooks. The online version features a side menu table of contents with a drop-down option for each unit and chapter, so that one can navigate to individual chapter sections. In another comparison, human to yeast sequencing shows a difference in the 44th position. This suggests that humans and yeast are as closely related as humans and rhesus monkeys. Occasionally figures also look grainy / blurry or as if they are low-resolution images (ex. We found both the online book and pdf to be easy to navigate and especially appreciated the online versions expandable table of contents panel that allows for easy navigations across chapters. For example 14.3, a dead mouse image was unhelpful in understanding this classic experiment. This books covers the minimal basics, but not in great detail and isn't comprehensive by any means. read more, I found the book to cover the topics in good depth, definitely a lower division, major-level text, While I found a few instances where I disagree with the text, but they are minor. No cultural insensitivities were noticed as part of this course. In this regard, there is very little room for innovation or variation from standard practice. For example, the terrestrial biomes section on temperate forests has some information that is omitted and therefore is misleading. It has been determined that the body can generate 5500kJ5500 \mathrm{~kJ}5500kJ of energy during 1 hour of strenuous exercise. I have no special comments for this metric. While the overall clarity is good, the use of jargon in places could be confusing to students. All of these interfaces are image heavy. Diffusion plays a key role in the movement of molecules across plasma membranes, which are only 8 nm thick. I read the chapters I would cover quite carefully, and did not find any errors of note. Often these links provide cutting edge insight into both the research and application to make the In my opinion, the text is considerate of all cultural, racial, and ethnic sensibilities, In my opinion, this text has wide applications, and its ability to be customized makes it a strong candidate for adoption within our curriculum, Reviewed by Eric Johnson, Associate Professor, Virginia Wesleyan University on 5/7/21, For the topics most commonly covered (Cellular Resipration, Mitosis, etc), this book does a good job. There are few images of people in the text. I like that I can find small sections throughout the book to assign to students. I enjoyed the broad presentation of biologists of numerous backgrounds as well as inclusion of multiple female scientists. There are also chapter summaries and review sections at the end of every chapter. Reviewed by Cathy Sistilli, Professor, Biological Sciences, OhioLink on 7/19/19, Good coverage of topics appropriate to a two semester biology majors course. On page 503, the text states, Evolutionary theory states that humans, beetles, plants, and bacteria all share a common ancestor, but that millions of years of evolution have shaped each of these organisms into the forms seen today. No, billions of years. P. 451 How can student get cDNA in one sentence? These are concise and provide a better big-picture summary than the text I currently use, where students often become overwhelmed and lost in the details. WebCh. Some clades were given with their taxonomic rank and others not. Would it be possible to move the image credits to an Appendix at the end of the text? On page 188, the text states, Due to this jigsaw puzzle-like match between an enzyme and its substrates (which adapts to find the best fit between the transition state and the active site), enzymes are known for their specificity. No, its not like a jigsaw puzzle. The basics / foundations were covered in an appropriate manner so that the text will not become out of date very quickly. Figures are wider and slightly larger in the pdf version, but labeling is still difficult to read. Having a downloadable online text allows me and others the ability to adjust light intensity and size easily on the monitor. The book follows the sequence and structure of other traditional biology textbooks that I have seen. Overall this text covers each topic in adequate detail and provides enough detail and content for a two semester coverage of biology for majors, especially if this text is used alongside additional instructor input and labs. The online version of the text is easy to navigate, has no broken links, and is searchable. The 4 rating is because there isn't the same consistent visual "language" in the illustrations as there is in a commercial textbook. Chemokines are not discussed. glycogen. My overall impressions of Biology from OpenStax by Rye et al. Reviewed by Pat Boleyn, Adjunct Faculty, Lane Community College on 8/21/16, The text is comprehensive in its coverage of the typical materials for a non-majors introductory biology course at the 100 level. My concerns over the writing are more about clarity and consistency (as described in those sections of the review) than technical usage. The text generally takes a traditional approach to behavior, with insufficient discussion of behavioral ecology. I could see having to recreate a few key figures to use this textbook. A well-organized textbook interface is provided. OpenStax is part of Rice University, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It was also easy to search the whole document for terms of interest. The textbook may need some improvements with clarity. On page 90, the text states, Being the outermost structure in animal cells, the plasma membrane is responsible for the transport of materials and cellular recognition and it is involved in cell-to-cell communication. Why only animal cells? I have not found any errors within the text. wLbmOsOwyVuj'xr]jl %P4aB$sW$"_`D2'-N`Bx^~vKe yl4/9_MVHgPXI"PTal)IEpCu(VQA }qR6_HZ/4>W!V |pa{5/KfAS^H&$f7,Ft13ur|j;}vPARC/`I$^ This is an excellent textbook for a majors general biology course. The application should let the user specify how many random numbers the file will hold and should use a SaveFileDialog control to let the user specify the files name and location. The index at the start of the text is very useful for navigation. Ie #21s and #10s The authors have included features that will be helpful to students such as "Themes and Concepts of Biology", "Career Connections" and "Key Terms". The book is very consistent and the formatting is carried from one chapter to the next, making it easy to navigate. On page 313, the explanation of The Red Queen Hypothesis in the Evolution Connection is very weak and unclear. Plus the right hand side of the drawing is labeled as Cytosine bonded to adenine. They are very basic and do little to help students visualize biological concepts and structures. While it is not as polished as a traditional text, I feel that the advantages it offers far outweigh the costs. In filtration, material moves according to its concentration gradient through a membrane. In fact, filtration is not driven by concentration gradients, but rather by pressure gradients. Not having to worry about printing costs per page allows for more freedom and prevents "widowing and orphaning" of paragraphs that don't belong with the rest of the page content. On page 243, the text states, Every single atom of matter and energy is conserved, recycling over and over infinitely. No, this is not so. Getting students to read textbooks is always a struggle and so I do think that making the layout appear less daunting would be an improvement. On page 54, this sentence requires a fuller explanation: Cells can only survive freezing if the water in them is temporarily replaced by another liquid like glycerol. The instructor will easily be able to present topics in the order in which they prefer. There is a bit of redundancy when talking about amino acid structure, as every time amino acids are mentioned, there is also the mention of the amino group and carboxyl group. Topics such as biotechnology and conservation/ecology will, of course, have a quicker update cycle as new technology is developed and example animals are driven to extinction. Managed to relate content between the chapters and provided an evolutionary context to the topics. - The color scheme throughout should be softened and include different colors for major and minor headings. There are currently ongoing rapid changes in our understanding of some aspects of biology, such as whether the three domain model for life is correct. From Flowering: Circadian rhythm biology, Photoperiod detection, ABC model. Other sections are excessively technical and will probably confuse students. I teach "Cell Biology for Health Occupations" at a community college, and we currently use an abridged version of Pearson's Campbell Biology in Focus textbook. I didn't notice any major factual errors while I was going through the book. If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, Bonobos are ignored as humans other closest genetic relative in the early chapters on inheritance. It is likely that an instructor adopting this text, seeking the best possible learning environment for her students, will use many resources from other publishers, in effect, shifting the financial backing for resources to publishers who charge considerably prices to access their products. The text is not culturally insensitive, and material can easily be supplemented with current news articles and essays addressing the moral and ethical implications of current findings and technologies. hydrophobic and Hydrophobic) were noted in the index. Chapter 7 was broken down into small, manageable sub-sections which could be easily assigned to students. The topics are arranged in a typically progression and build on one another in a traditional fashion. The lengths of the paragraphs are rightly tailored for mobile devices such that continued reading interest is sustained. The depth of content is largely appropriate for a 200-level Biology class. Mary Ann Clark, Texas Wesleyan University, Jung Choi, Georgia Polytechnic University, Matthew Douglas, Grand Rapids Community College. The chemistry chapter and many others have animations to help teach concepts that are better learned through visualizations, but some chapters do not have interactive animations that are very helpful in learning tough concepts like chemical bonding, building a molecule or diffusion and osmosis. I was expecting to see basic cellular biology and a survey of organismal diversity including units on evolutionary change and interactions of organisms at the ecosystem level, but I was surprised to also find several chapters on human anatomy and physiology including the basics of the immune system. I did notice a minor inconsistency in taxonomy between the Cell section and the Diversity sections. The book followed a typical format of introducing biological concepts starting with cell and ending with community biology. All areas of introductory biology were covered. This is consistent across the textbook, with the chapters following what I would consider to be a logical flow. p.214 error (again) in the equations/arrows. It is refreshing to hear from experts in their areas of expertise. Reviewed by Dan Atwater, Assistant Professor, Earlham College on 6/23/19, The comprehensiveness varies but is overall mostly appropriate. The core concepts of biology can be taught in many different orders and there is not one best linear path through the material. You can even purchase a bound copy from Amazon for around $60, which is very reasonable for a textbook. Overall, This OER textbook is a well-designed biology textbook that gives a clear, consistent, and thorough presentation of the subject matter, so assisting students in developing a solid grasp of the concepts and principles of biology. Some examples: Joint and body movement illustrations and descriptions are very detailed The topics are presented and arranged in a traditional manner as most biology textbooks and as taught in many colleges. Many online books and journals offer this feature.. This video again reinforces the misconception of genetic determinism. The first third of this Biology 2e text is roughly equivalent to our abridged version of Biology in Focus. Links to online content varied in quality and ability to engage students in a dynamic way. I didn't notice any errors in the textbook. I really enjoy that the learning objectives are broken down by section to facilitate the discussion of one or more sections at a time rather than the entire chapter content. With the general misunderstandings of the biological concepts of race, integrating the scientific answer to "are there human races?" The chapters are organized into 8 main units. (Examples include: why do we use action potentials for internal communication instead of direct current or signaling using photons; why are our skeletons made of calcium and phosphate rather than other minerals, and why do mammals use an inefficient tidal lung while birds use an efficient one-way flow that can extract more oxygen than mammals?) You cannot refer to solutions as hypertonic, isotonic, and hypotonic except in comparison to other solutions. A comprehensive index is provided at the end of the text. This review is based on close examination and reading of all or sections of 27 chapters (1,4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 43, 44, 45, 46, and 47). The short video is correctly labeled as dispersion in Wikipedia rather than as diffusion. Reviewed by Lily Arias, Lecturer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on 1/1/20, The textbook is comprehensive; the extent and depth of the topics and concepts covered are at the level required in an introductory course for biology majors. Granted that the texbook is "inaccurate" with respect to T cell subpopulations (at this detail level), but if one wants to know more about T-cells, then perhaps an Immunology textbook would be more appropriate! I thought many images had a random quality. Interactive exercises (links to learning) and visual connection would be well appreciated by the students. I primarily used PDF copies, but did spend one day using the online version without issues. Ficks Law is missing, but pgs. Although alternative splicing is mentioned in Chapter 16, it should be described in Section 15.4. The authors did well in presenting multiple controversial topics within numerous sections throughout the book. In approximately 280 pages these offer a solid introduction to structure and physiological function. Content seems up to date, relative to the content level. Headings and subheadings are clearly labeled so sections can be found easily. Other The text appears to be very comprehensive. I would like to see that section on gas pressure and respiration simplified to its principles with some better (and correctly labeled) graphics. It has a good online index that is searchable. I found no evidence of cultural insensitivity. This text also contains chapter summaries, review questions, and critical thinking questions. read more. Each unit is divided into multiple chapters, which are themselves, subdivided into sections with clear headings. In the complement pathway, the lectin pathway is missing. Each chapter has a number of useful key terms and definitions, a chapter summary, as well as review questions for the students. 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