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:Discuss the different types of skeletal systemsExplain the role of the human skeletal systemCompare and contrast different skeletal systems

Students review what they know about the 20 major bones in the human body (names, shapes, functions, locations, as learned in the associated lesson) and the concept of density (mass per unit of volume). Then student pairs calculate the densities for different bones from a disarticulated human skeleton model of fabricated bones, making measurements via triple-beam balance (for mass) and water displacement (for volume). All groups share their results with the class in order to collectively determine the densities for every major bone in the body. This activity prepares students for the next activity, "Can It Support You? No Bones about It," during which they act as biomedical engineers and design artificial bones, which requires them to find materials of suitable density to perform as human body implants.

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:

"Shoulder dislocations and partial dislocations are some of the most common and disabling injuries in active young people, especially athletes. After the bone has been popped back and the initial agony is over, the issue of what to do next is much debated. One option is surgery to try to repair the damage, but whether that is preferable to less-invasive care remains controversial. Researchers now have evidence that supports the surgical option, at least for young people suffering a first event. The team monitored the degree of bone damage to the shoulder socket, or glenoid bone, which holds the head of the humerus in place. Until now, there has not been much information about the extent of this damage to guide a decision on the best approach. The shoulders of 714 student athletes were imaged by MRI scanning, and the subjects were then followed for four years..."

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