Biology For Dummies

388 Pages·2010·7.39 MB·English

by  Donna Rae Siegfried

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Science/Life Sciences/Biology
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The fast and easy way 2nd Edition
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gy
From molecules to animals, cells to ecosystems, this friendly (cid:129) Plain-English explanations of how Biolo
guide answers all your questions about how living things living matter works
work. Written in plain English and packed with helpful
(cid:129) The parts and functions of cells B
illustrations, tables, and diagrams, it cuts right to the chase
(cid:129) How food works as a source of
with easy-to-absorb explanations of the life processes i
energy
common to all organisms. o
(cid:129) T he 411 on reproduction and
(cid:129) Biology 101 — get the lowdown on how life is studied and open a genetics l
window on the world’s organisms o
(cid:129) Fascinating facts about DNA
(cid:129) Jump into the gene pool — discover how cell reproduction technology g
and genetics work, from making sense of Mendel’s Law of
Segregation to dealing with DNA (cid:129) The biology of bacteria and viruses
y
(cid:129) Explore the living world — find out how ecology and evolution (cid:129) H ow humans affect the circle of life
are the glue that holds everything together
(cid:129) An overview of human anatomy
(cid:129) Let’s get physical — peruse the principles of physiology to get a
handle on animal structure and function (cid:129) Innate human defenses (and
adaptive ones, too!)
(cid:129) Go green — take a look at the life of plants and understand how
they acquire energy, reproduce, and so much more
Learn to:
(cid:129) Identify and dissect the many structures
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® and functions of plants and animals
for videos, step-by-step examples,
how-to articles, or to shop! (cid:129) Grasp the latest discoveries in
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(cid:129) Think like a biologist and use scientific
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$19.99 US / $23.99 CN / £14.99 UK
Rene Fester Kratz, PhD, is a Biology Instructor at Everett Community ISBN 978-0-470-59875-7 Rene Fester Kratz, PhD
College and a member of the North Cascades and Olympic Science Author of Molecular and Cell Biology
Partnership. Donna Rae Siegfried has been published in Prevention, For Dummies
Runner’s World, Men’s Health, and Organic Gardening.
Donna Rae Siegfried
Kratz
Siegfried Writer and former college professor
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Biology
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
2
ND EDITION
by Rene Fester Kratz, PhD,
and Donna Rae Siegfried
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Biology For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2010926846
ISBN: 978-0-470-59875-7
Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Authors
Rene Fester Kratz, PhD, teaches cellular biology and microbiology. She is a
member of the North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership, where she
helped create inquiry-based science courses for future teachers. Kratz is also
the author of Molecular and Cell Biology For Dummies and Microbiology The
Easy Way.
Donna Rae Siegfried has written about pharmaceutical and medical topics
for 15 years in publications including Prevention, Runner’s World, Men’s
Health, and Organic Gardening. She has taught anatomy and physiology at the
college level. She is also the author of Anatomy & Physiology For Dummies.
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Dedication
To the memory of Cindy Fuller Kratz Berdan, RN. Thanks for all of your
encouragement over the years. —Rene Kratz
Author’s Acknowledgments
Thanks to Matt Wagner, of Fresh Books, Inc., for helping me (Rene) fi nd the
opportunity to work on the second edition of this book. And thanks to all the
great people at Wiley who made it happen: editors Tim Gallan and Jennifer
Tebbe, acquisitions editor Erin Calligan Mooney, art coordinator Alicia South,
and technical reviewers Michael Pratt and Medhane Cumbay. Thanks also to
Sheree Montgomery, the project coordinator in Composition, and Kathryn Born,
who worked on the art. On the home front, thanks to my husband, Dan, and my
sons, Hueston and Dashiel, for all of their love and support. —Rene Kratz
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration
form located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer
Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Composition Services
Development
Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery
Senior Project Editor: Tim Gallan
Illustrator: Kathryn Born
Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Lefevere
Layout and Graphics: Ashley Chamberlain
Copy Editor: Jennifer Tebbe
Proofreaders: Laura Bowman, Lindsay Littrell
Senior Editorial Assistant: David Lutton
Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC
Technical Editors: Medhane G. Cumbay,
Michael W. Pratt
Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker
Editorial Assistants: Jennette ElNaggar,
Rachelle S. Amick
Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South
Cover Photos: © Digital Art/Corbis
Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction ................................................................ 1
Part I: Biology Basics .................................................. 7
Chapter 1: Exploring the Living World ............................................................................9
Chapter 2: How Life Is Studied .......................................................................................13
Chapter 3: The Chemistry of Life ...................................................................................27
Chapter 4: The Living Cell...............................................................................................47
Chapter 5: Acquiring Energy to Run the Motor ...........................................................65
Part II: Cell Reproduction and Genetics:
Let’s Talk about Sex, Baby ......................................... 79
Chapter 6: Dividing to Conquer: Cell Division..............................................................81
Chapter 7: Making Mendel Proud: Understanding Genetics ....................................101
Chapter 8: Reading the Book of Life: DNA and Proteins ...........................................113
Chapter 9: Engineering the Code: DNA Technology ..................................................129
Part III: It’s a Small, Interconnected World ............... 141
Chapter 10: Biodiversity and Classifi cation ...............................................................143
Chapter 11: Observing How Organisms Get Along ....................................................159
Chapter 12: Evolving Species in an Ever-Changing World ........................................183
Part IV: Systems Galore! Animal Structure
and Function ........................................................... 203
Chapter 13: Pondering the Principles of Physiology .................................................205
Chapter 14: Moving and Shaking: Skeletal and Muscular Systems ..........................211
Chapter 15: Going with the Flow: Respiratory and Circulatory Systems ...............221
Chapter 16: Checking Out the Plumbing: Animal Digestive and
Excretory Systems ......................................................................................................241
Chapter 17: Fighting Back: Human Defenses ..............................................................259
Chapter 18: The Nervous and Endocrine Systems, Messengers Extraordinaire ...277
Chapter 19: Reproduction 101: Making More Animals ..............................................295
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Part V: It’s Not Easy Being Green:
Plant Structure and Function .................................... 319
Chapter 20: Living the Life of a Plant ..........................................................................321
Chapter 21: Probing into Plant Physiology .................................................................333
Part VI: The Par t of Tens .......................................... 341
Chapter 22: Ten Great Biology Discoveries ................................................................343
Chapter 23: Ten Ways Biology Affects Your Life .......................................................347
Index ...................................................................... 351
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