Biology

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Biology professor John W. Kimball offers here an ever-growing online version of his well-known textbook Biology, the first edition of which was published in 1965. Kimball has updated the book's 1994 sixth edition with hypertext links to discussions, glossary entries and illustrations. And he continues to freshen the material as new discoveries are reported.

Cells Alive!

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Image: JAMES A. SULLIVAN/Cells Alive!

From the pumping myocytes that keep hearts beating to the nasty microorganisms that make us sick, this site is a wonderful introduction to cell biology. Here you'll find richly illustrated descriptions of plant and animal cell structure and function, microbial tactics and how the immune system works. Other features include cell BioCams, interactive animations and a section on the techniques scientists use for cell imaging and research. Related links and key words provide starting points for further reading.

M.I.T.'s Biology Hypertextbook

Largely a product of the Experimental Study Group at M.I.T.¿a program in which freshmen attend small classes, discussion-based seminars and tutorials in place of lectures¿the biology hypertextbook serves as an excellent introduction to molecular biology. It is modeled after the institute's introduction course, called 7.01, and includes easily printed chapters, a searchable index, and, of course, plenty of practice problems and quizzes.

Primer on Molecular Genetics

When scientists announced last summer that they had completed the rough draft of the human genome, the news made headlines around the world, and it has remained the subject of intense public interest ever since. This primer from the Department of Energy offers all the background you'd ever want to know to follow the Human Genome Project. A glossary, FAQs, audios and videos supplement the text, which is available in HTML, PDF and even PDP for your Palm Pilot.

The Animal Diversity Web

Here there are thousands of accounts about individual animal species¿including student-written texts, pictures of living animals, photographs and movies of specimens and sound recordings. Professional biologists have also prepared detailed descriptions of various phyla, classes, and in some cases, orders and families. Hundreds of hyperlinked pages and images illustrate the traits and general biology of these groups.

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