100 Concepts of Biology



			This site presents a summary of knowledge of the Biological Sciences as we enter the 21st century. The last 100 years have seen a revolution in our thinking about life and living systems. Starting in the first decade of the century with Bateson's coining of the term "genetics" and ending with the completion of the first complete characterization of the structure of the full hereditary structure (genome) of some simple organisms. As the 21st century begins we rapidly approach the definition of the full genome of the human species. Now, more than ever, we need to understand what Biology can tell us about ourselves and the world of living things around us.

Biology Century is organized around a set of major concepts of Biology. Each major concept is broken down into smaller and more specific ideas.
First concept: "Cells obey the laws of chemistry"--J. D. Watson Chemical basis of life Cell structure & function Cell membranes Nature of metabolism Energy acquiring pathways Energy releasing pathways	Second concept: Mechanisms exist to allow genes to be faithfully passed on to the next generation Cell division and mitosis Meiosis Patterns of inheritance Chromosomes and human genetics Structure and replication of DNA	Third Concept: The hereditary information in DNA codes for proteins, each with a specific role Protein synthesis (translation) Control of gene expression Genetic engineering provides tools for analyzing genes and their expression

Fourth concept: Species change over time by a process called evolution Evolutionary thinking Microevolution Natural selection Speciation