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.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the Calvin cycleDefine carbon fixationExplain how photosynthesis works in the energy cycle of all living organisms

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the Calvin cycleDefine carbon fixationExplain how photosynthesis works in the energy cycle of all living organisms

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Bogs are unique ecosystems, which have important ecological functions in carbon storage, climate stability, water quality, and biodiversity. The bog microbiome, composed mostly of bacteria that live in association with bog plants, plays key roles in these functions. However, the differences in associated bacteria between vascular plants and the non-vascular bryophytes that predominate in bogs remain unclear. Researchers recently used shotgun metagenomics to investigate the microbes associated with 12 representative bog species. Vascular plants tended to be colonized by specific bacteria, while bryophytes exhibited greater bacterial species richness and diversity. The two plant groups also had different marker species. The gene profiles of vascular plant- and bryophyte-associated microbes revealed functional differences, including differences in nitrogen cycling..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In this 8th grade science lesson, students review the six essential elements of life and discuss how they function in the garden.

In this final episode of Crash Course Chemistry, Hank takes us on a tour of The Global Carbon Cycle and how it all works. From Carbon Fixation to Redox Reactions, it's all contained within!

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar.

Photosynthesis is a powerful process that is responsible for some of life’s most vital functions. In fact, consumers like us rely on photosynthetic producers to harness energy from the sun so that we can survive and thrive. In this episode of Crash Course Biology, we’ll explore photosynthesis in two acts, and learn how the process works inside and out.

Chapters:
How Can We Feed the World?
Producers & Photosynthesis
Chloroplasts
The Light-Dependent Reactions
The Calvin Cycle
Carbon Fixation
Review & Credits
Credits

Students will examine the carbon cycle and examine how cattle grazing grasslands can improve and impact ecological succession. The Sandhills of Nebraska represent the largest sand dune formations in the Western Hemisphere and one of the largest grass-stabilized dune formations in the world.  There are approximately 670 native plant species that cover the Sandhills and over 500,000 beef cows call this place home.  By Brent Nollette

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Fixing carbon through biological methanation is a promising technology for generating renewable energy. It remains unclear, however, how microbial species interact to generate biogas. To find out, researchers explored the community dynamics of microbes found in biofilms from four biogas reactors. Metagenomics revealed 59 species of microbes with five accounting for more than 70% of total abundance in the four reactors under investigation. Experiments showed that Firmicutes spp. GSMM966 and GSMM974 and Limnochordia sp. GSMM975 played a central role in biofilm formation. And metabolic reconstruction indicated complex metabolisms for the two dominant species M. wolfeii GSMM957 and Limnochordia sp. GSMM975. Simulations of the core biofilm community showed that these same species exhibit the highest increases in growth rate with increasing uptake. And cross-feeding interactions, not easily measured in vivo, were visualized..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Salt marsh ecosystems perform multiple “ecosystem services”. For example, they clean the water, protect coastlines against storm surges, and support fisheries. Sediment microbes in these ecosystems are known to mediate cycling of important nutrients, but their effects on marsh plant productivity are unclear. To learn more, a new study analyzed the sediment and root microbiomes of a dominant marsh plant, _Spartina alterniflora_. The sediment of taller _S. alterniflora_ had greater microbial biomass and faster organic matter mineralization than that of shorter plants, suggesting that the sediment microbes helped support plant productivity. The sediment and root-adjacent (rhizosphere) microbiomes of taller plants were also more diverse. Among _S. alterniflora_ of all sizes, root microbes were less diverse than sediment and rhizosphere microbes, implying that the roots were colonized by highly competitive microorganisms..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is the driest nonpolar desert on Earth. The almost complete lack of precipitation means that it can support very little life, especially in its hyperarid core. But this core region harbors expansive fields of ancient boulders that scientists think could shelter unique microbes from the extreme desert environment. To find out, researchers used DNA sequencing techniques to compare the microbes inhabiting the soil directly beneath the Atacama Desert boulders and in the open areas beside them. They found a substantial difference in these microbial communities, with significantly more archaea occupying the soil below the boulders than beside them. Remarkably, the team also discovered that many of these archaea belong to a completely new genus of Thaumarchaeota archaea, which they named Candidatus Nitrosodeserticola. These archaea harbor genes involved in ammonia oxidation, carbon fixation, acetate metabolism, and the ability to tolerate extreme environmental conditions..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.