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:Classify the different types of bones in the skeletonExplain the role of the different cell types in boneExplain how bone forms during development

Students use a tension-compression machine (or an alternative bone-breaking setup) to see how different bones fracture differently and with different amounts of force, depending on their body locations. Teams determine bone mass and volume, calculate bone density, and predict fracture force. Then they each test a small animal bone (chicken, turkey, cat) to failure, examining the break to analyze the fracture type. Groups conduct research about biomedical challenges, materials and repair methods, and design repair treatment plans specific to their bones and fracture types, presenting their design recommendations to the class.

Students learn how forces affect the human skeletal system through fractures and why certain bones are more likely to break than others depending on their design and use in the body. They learn how engineers and doctors collaborate to design effective treatments with consideration for the location, fracture severity and patient age, as well as the use of biocompatible materials. Learning the lesson content prepares students for the associated activity in which they test small animal bones to failure and then design treatment repair plans.

Students will answer the Challenge Question and use the acquired learning from Lesson 1, "Fix the Hip Challenge" and Lesson 2, "Skeletal System Overview"to construct an informative brochure addressing osteoporosis and the role biomedical engineering plays in diagnosing and preventing this disease.

This lesson introduces the Bone Module Grand Challenge question. Students are asked to write their initial responses to the question alone. They will then brainstorm ideas with one other student. Finally, the ideas are shared with the class and recorded. It is important for students to gather information to decide whether or not this condition is hereditary. Students then watch two videos about osteoporosis. Grand Challenge Question: When you get home from school, your mother grabs you, and you rush to the hospital. Your grandmother fell and was rushed to the emergency room. The doctor tells your family your grandmother has a fractured hip, and he is referring her to an orthopedic specialist. The orthopedic doctor decides to perform a DEXA scan. The result showed her bone mineral density (BMD) was -3.3. What would be a probable diagnosis to her condition? What are some possible causes of her condition? Should her family be worried that this condition is hereditary, and if so, what are possible prevented measures they could take to prevent this from happening to them? What statistical method did you use to determine if the condition is hereditary?

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:

"Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most deadly cancer in the world. One hallmark of CRC progression is metastasis to the bone, which makes it harder to cure. Metabolites from cancer cells are becoming increasingly recognized as mediators of tumor progression. A recent study examined one such metabolite – lactic acid, which regulates immunity, metabolism, and angiogenesis. CRC patients with bone metastasis have higher levels of lactic acid, but the detailed metabolite-mediated communication underlying CRC metastasis is unclear. Using a mouse model, researchers evaluated the effect of lactic acid on proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation of osteoclast precursors. They found that lactic acid promotes the expression of CXCL10 and Cadherin-11 in osteoclast precursor cells, promoting osteoclast differentiation and facilitating metastatic niche formation in CRC bone metastasis. This process was mediated by the PI3K-AKT pathway, and blocking PI3K-AKT efficiently prevented lactate-mediated bone metastasis..."

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

This lesson covers the topic of human bones and joints. Students learn about the skeleton, the number of and types of bones in the body, and how outer space affects astronauts' bones. Students also learn how to take care of their bones here on Earth to prevent osteoporosis or weakening of the bones.

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:

"G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are at the center of a vast array of physiological processes, making them attractive targets for drug discovery. One GPCR – GPR55 – has been implicated in multiple biological functions, including bone turnover and inflammatory pain. To better understand the mechanisms behind GPR55-mediated signal transduction, a recent study evaluated GPR55 in human cell lines. In HeLa cells, GPR55 Lys⁸⁰ was required for lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI)-induced activation of MAPK signaling and for receptor internalization, and in macrophages, silencing GPR55 blocked cytoskeletal reorganization and calcium signaling pathways. Osteoclast differentiation was associated with a 14-fold increase in GPR55 mRNA levels, and silencing GPR55 impaired the expression of a variety of osteoclastogenesis markers. A GPR55-specific peptide inhibitor, P1, was identified and shown to inhibit in-vitro osteoclast maturation..."

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:

"Osteoporosis is a debilitating disease characterized by bone thinning. Although it’s typically associated with old age, osteoporosis is believed to originate in the womb. One contributing factor is prenatal treatment with dexamethasone, which is used to promote lung development in babies at risk of preterm birth. Prenatal dexamethasone disrupts osteoblast differentiation, but it’s unclear how it affects osteoclasts. To learn more, researchers recently examined osteoclasts in the female offspring of dexamethasone-treated pregnant rats. They found that prenatal dexamethasone inhibited osteoclast development in the fetal rats. When these rats grew into adults, their osteoclasts were hyperactive, leading to reduced peak bone mass. Mechanistic experiments revealed that dexamethasone reduced the methylation of lysyl oxidase and upregulated its expression, by increasing the expression and binding of GR and ERβ and by upregulating Tet3..."

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:

"Osteoporosis, a disease that causes bone loss, currently affects more than 200 million people worldwide. While anti-osteoporosis drugs do exist, they tend to produce complicated side effects. That has scientists exploring various molecular pathways in search of viable therapeutic targets, namely pathways related to the signaling molecule STAT3. STAT3 plays important roles in cell differentiation, proliferation, and survival and is proving to be critical in regulating bone remodeling processes. STAT3 regulates both bone formation and breakdown through an array of signaling cytokines, transmembrane proteins, and cytoplasmic proteins. Research is revealing different ways of targeting STAT3 signaling to fight osteoporosis. These include STAT3-sensitive drugs such as the natural products catalpol and methylsulfonylmethane, microRNAs that regulate bone homeostasis, and different families of cells, including immature blood cells, white blood cells, and immune cells..."

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

Through this unit, written for an honors anatomy and physiology class, students become familiar with the human skeletal system and answer the Challenge Question: When you get home from school, your mother grabs you, and you race to the hospital. Your grandmother fell and was rushed to the emergency room. The doctor tells your family your grandmother has a fractured hip, and she is referring her to an orthopedic specialist. The orthopedic doctor decides to perform a DEXA scan. The result show her BMD is -3.3. What would be a probable diagnosis to her condition? What are some possible causes of her condition? Should her daughter and granddaughter be worried about this condition, and if so, what are measures they could take to prevent this from happening to them?

Students will learn about bone structure, bone development and growth, and bone functions. Later, students will apply this understanding to answer the Challenge Question presented in the "Fix the Hip" lesson and use the acquired learning to construct an informative brochure about osteoporosis and biomedical engineering contributions to this field.

Students are introduced to the concepts of the challenge question. First independently, and then in small groups, they generate ideas for solving the grand challenge introduced in the associated lesson: Your grandmother has a fractured hip and a BMD of -3.3. What medical diagnosis explains her condition? What are some possible causes? What are preventative measures for other family members? Students complete a worksheet that contains the pertinent questions, as well as develop additional questions of their own, all with the focus on determining what additional background knowledge they need to research. Finally, as a class, students compile their ideas, resulting in a visual as a learning supplement.

Students will use this activity to determine what keeps our bones strong. Soaking the bones in vinegar will remove the calcium from the bones causing them to become soft and rubbery. Students will find that when we age, calcium is depleted from our bones faster than we can restore it. They will then determine what complications can arise from it.

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:

"Colorectal cancer is among the top three most lethal types of cancer worldwide, and its incidence is increasing. If colorectal cancer spreads to bone, the balance between the natural breakdown of old bone tissue and the production of new bone can be severely disrupted, leading to fractures, excess calcium in the blood, and other issues. Understanding the processes driving colorectal cancer bone metastasis can therefore guide the development of new treatments to combat these disorders. To meet this need, researchers recently evaluated the effects of CCL7, a small protein involved in immunity, which is also thought to have an important role in cancer progression and metastasis. They found increased production of CCL7 in the bone marrow of mice with colorectal cancer bone metastasis, but the injection of a CCL7-neutralizing antibody prevented a reduction in bone volume. The team also showed that CCL7 stimulated the movement of osteoclast precursors, cells that are involved in breaking down bone tissue..."

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