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:List the basic components of the bloodCompare red and white blood cellsDescribe blood plasma and serum

By the end of this section, you will be able to:List the basic components of the bloodCompare red and white blood cellsDescribe blood plasma and serum

Students learn about the separation techniques of sedimentation and centrifugation and investigate whether blood is a homogeneous or a heterogeneous mixture. Working in groups as if they are biomedical researchers, they employ the scientific method and make observations about the known characteristics of urine, milk and blood. They probe further by analyzing research on the properties and fractionation modes of blood. As students learn about certain strange characteristics with the fractionation behavior of blood, they formulate hypotheses on the unique nature of blood. Using provided materials —olive oil, tomato juice and petroleum jelly—they design an experiment and construct a blood model. They test their hypotheses by conducting experiments on the blood model, and then propose theories for the nature of blood as a mixture—arriving at the theory of mixture dualism in blood—that blood is a complex mixture system. An activity-guiding handout and PowerPoint® presentation are provided for this student-directed, project-based activity.

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:

"A recently completed clinical trial of the oral drug eliglustat has delivered promising long-term results for adults with Gaucher disease type 1 – a rare and sometimes life-threatening genetic disorder that interferes with the breakdown of certain types of lipids. GD1 is caused by deficient activity of the lysosomal enzyme acid β-glucosidase. Reduced catalytic activity of the enzyme results in pathogenic accumulation of the enzyme’s substrates, primarily glucosylceramide, in various organs. The result is progressive and debilitating enlargement of the spleen and liver, anemia, low platelet counts, and skeletal manifestations. The historical standard of care is biweekly intravenous infusions of recombinant enzyme, which boosts degradation of glucosylceramide. By contrast, eliglustat, an oral substrate reduction therapy, reduces glucosylceramide storage by slowing its production..."

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