Australopithecines, dinosaurs, trilobites--such fossils conjure up images of lost worlds filled with vanished organisms. But in the full history of life, ancient animals, even the trilobites, form only the half-billion-year tip of a nearly four-billion-year iceberg. Andrew Knoll explores the deep history of life from its origins on a young planet to the incredible Cambrian explosion, presenting a compelling new explanation for the emergence of biological novelty. The very latest discoveries in paleontology--many of them made by the author and his students--are integrated with emerging insights from molecular biology and earth system science to forge a broad understanding of how the biological diversity that surrounds us came to be. Moving from Siberia to Namibia to the Bahamas, Knoll shows how life and environment have evolved together through Earth's history. Innovations in biology have helped shape our air and oceans, and, just as surely, environmental change has influenced the course of evolution, repeatedly closing off opportunities for some species while opening avenues for others. Readers go into the field to confront fossils, enter the lab to discern the inner workings of cells, and alight on Mars to ask how our terrestrial experience can guide exploration for life beyond our planet. Along the way, Knoll brings us up-to-date on some of science's hottest questions, from the oldest fossils and claims of life beyond the Earth to the hypothesis of global glaciation and Knoll's own unifying concept of ''permissive ecology.'' In laying bare Earth's deepest biological roots, Life on a Young Planet helps us understand our own place in the universe--and our responsibility as stewards of a world four billion years in the making. In a new preface, Knoll describes how the field has broadened and deepened in the decade since the book's original publication.
Harvard’s acclaimed geologist “charts Earth’s history in accessible style” (AP) “A sublime chronicle of our planet." –Booklist, STARRED review How well do you know the ground beneath your feet? Odds are, where you’re standing was once cooking under a roiling sea of lava, crushed by a towering sheet of ice, rocked by a nearby meteor strike, or perhaps choked by poison gases, drowned beneath ocean, perched atop a mountain range, or roamed by fearsome monsters. Probably most or even all of the above. The story of our home planet and the organisms spread across its surface is far more spectacular than any Hollywood blockbuster, filled with enough plot twists to rival a bestselling thriller. But only recently have we begun to piece together the whole mystery into a coherent narrative. Drawing on his decades of field research and up-to-the-minute understanding of the latest science, renowned geologist Andrew H. Knoll delivers a rigorous yet accessible biography of Earth, charting our home planet's epic 4.6 billion-year story. Placing twenty first-century climate change in deep context, A Brief History of Earth is an indispensable look at where we’ve been and where we’re going. Features original illustrations depicting Earth history and nearly 50 figures (maps, tables, photographs, graphs).
Biology: How Life Works was written in response to recent and exciting changes in biology, education, and technology with the goal of helping students to think like biologists. The text, visual program, and assessments were developed together to provide students with the best resources to gain an understanding of modern biology. Content is selected carefully, is integrated to illustrate the connections between concepts, and follows six themes that are crucial to biology: the scientific method, chemical and physical principles, cells, evolution, ecological systems, and human impact. The second edition continues this approach, but includes expanded coverage of ecology, new in-class activities to assist instructors in active teaching, new pedagogical support for visual synthesis maps, and expanded and improved assessment.
Biology: How Life Works was written in response to recent and exciting changes in biology, education, and technology with the goal of helping students to think like biologists. The text, visual program, and assessments were developed together to provide students with the best resources to gain an understanding of modern biology. Content is selected carefully, is integrated to illustrate the connections between concepts, and follows six themes that are crucial to biology: the scientific method, chemical and physical processes, cells, evolution, ecological interactions, and human impact. The second edition continues this approach, but includes expanded coverage of ecology, new in-class activities to assist instructors in active teaching, new pedagogical support for visual synthesis maps, and expanded and improved assessment.
Biology: How Life Works was written in response to recent and exciting changes in biology, education, and technology with the goal of helping students to think like biologists. The text, visual program, and assessments were developed together to provide students with the best resources to gain an understanding of modern biology. Content is selected carefully, is integrated to illustrate the connections between concepts, and follows six themes that are crucial to biology: the scientific method, chemical and physical processes, cells, evolution, ecological interactions, and human impact. The second edition continues this approach, but includes expanded coverage of ecology, new in-class activities to assist instructors in active teaching, new pedagogical support for visual synthesis maps, and expanded and improved assessment.
BIOLOGY: HOW LIFE WORKS has been a revolutionary force for both instructors and students in the majors biology course. It was the first truly comprehensive set of integrated tools for introductory biology, seamlessly incorporating powerful text, media, and assessment to create the best pedagogical experience for students. THE VISUAL PROGRAM The already impressive visual program has been greatly improved and expanded. The powerful Visual Synthesis tools have been reimagined, allowing for more flexibility for both students and instructors. A new Tour Mode allows for learning objective-driven tours of the material and deep linking from the eText allow the student to jump straight from the text into a rich visual representation of the content. Instructors can also create customized tours to use for engaging in-class presentations. And finally, new animations have been added to the library, including a new 3D animation to support the animal physiology content. A FOCUS ON SCIENTIFIC SKILLS The third edition does even more to teach students the skills they need to think like a scientist, along with the content they need to move beyond the introductory course. New Skills Primers are self-paced tutorials that guide students to learn, practice, and use skills like data visualization, experimental design, working with numbers, and more. New How Do We Know? activities accompany the feature in the text and teach students to understand scientific inquiry. THE HUB The best teaching resources in the world aren’t of use if instructors can’t find them. The HUB provides a one-stop destination for valuable teaching and learning resources, including all of our well-vetted in-class activities. IMPROVED ORGANIZATION OF TOPICS We implemented several organizational changes based on extensive user feedback with the goal of creating an improved narrative for students and a more flexible teaching framework for instructors. A new chapter on Animal Form, Function, and Evolutionary History leads off the animal anatomy and physiology chapters to provide a whole-body view of structure and function and to provide better context for the more specific systems in following chapters. The ecology coverage has been enriched and reorganized for a more seamless flow. A new chapter on Ecosystem Ecology combines ecosystem concepts formerly housed in separate chapters to present a more cohesive view of the flow of matter and energy in ecosystems. All of these changes and improvements represent the next step in the life of Biology: How Life Works. We think we have created the best learning resource for introductory biology students, and we think instructors will find joy in the improvements they can make in their classes with these materials.
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