Biology: The Science of Life
By: Stephen Nowicki, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Stephen Nowicki
Series: The Great Courses: Biology
Length: 36 hrs and 38 mins
Lecture
Release date: 08-07-2013
Language: English
Publisher: The Great Courses
4.8 out of 5 stars4.8 (52 ratings)
Publisher's Summary
One of the greatest scientific feats of our era is the astonishing progress made in understanding biology-the intricate machinery of life-a progress to which the period we are living in right now has contributed the most.
As you read these words, researchers are delving ever deeper into the workings of living systems, turning their discoveries into new medical treatments, improved methods of growing food, and innovative products that are already changing the world.
The 72 lectures in this comprehensive exploration of living systems at all levels-from biological molecules to global ecosystems-will give you all the information you need to grasp this fascinating field and its impact on both our own lives and our understanding of the life that surrounds us.
Professor Nowicki presents his subject in a conceptual format, emphasizing the importance of broad principles. Though facts and details are offered in abundance, it is always in the context of developing a context listeners can readily absorb.
Your newfound mastery of the fundamentals of biology will serve you in many ways-whether you want to read the headlines with greater insight, update a subject you studied long ago, view the natural world with new appreciation, become a better-informed voter and consumer, or gain the intellectual stimulation of understanding the basic principles that unite all living things.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2004 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2004 The Great Courses
Biological Sciences
Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars
Malcolm
26-05-2017
Brilliant
Everybody on this planet should listen to this before they die. It's a wonderful summary of our current knowledge of life and how it works. I believe science is the greatest of mankind's achievements and the beauty of it should be shared with everybody. it was a privilege to listen to.
4 people found this helpful
Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars
Anand Manu
26-08-2016
Great Detail but do need some background.
Very detailed course. Does at times require some background knowledge. The 3 part organisation is good and the general strucutre of the course.
4 people found this helpful
Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars
Ethan
13-11-2020
Great course from The Great Courses
As someone who didn’t take biology in high school I’m happy to have found a series of lectures that gets me up to speed on knowledge I’ve missed out on.
Only criticism is that the accompanying PDF should have more diagrams, especially in the sections that cover microbiology.
1 person found this helpful
Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars
Amazon Customer
10-06-2020
excellent!
I was riveted for the whole 36 hours, and learnt so much. Ridiculously good value.
1 person found this helpful
Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars
Amazon Customer
14-08-2018
Great supplement to my current studies, very happy
loved it, very easy to listen to. Shame he doesn't narrate more audio books because I would definitely buy them
=====
One of the greatest scientific feats of our era is the astonishing progress made in understanding biology-the intricate machinery of life-a progress to which the period we are living in right now has contributed the most.
As you read these words, researchers are delving ever deeper into the workings of living systems, turning their discoveries into new medical treatments, improved methods of growing food, and innovative products that are already changing the world.
The 72 lectures in this comprehensive exploration of living systems at all levels-from biological molecules to global ecosystems-will give you all the information you need to grasp this fascinating field and its impact on both our own lives and our understanding of the life that surrounds us.
Professor Nowicki presents his subject in a conceptual format, emphasizing the importance of broad principles. Though facts and details are offered in abundance, it is always in the context of developing a context listeners can readily absorb.
Your newfound mastery of the fundamentals of biology will serve you in many ways-whether you want to read the headlines with greater insight, update a subject you studied long ago, view the natural world with new appreciation, become a better-informed voter and consumer, or gain the intellectual stimulation of understanding the basic principles that unite all living things.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2004 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2004 The Great Courses
Biological Sciences
Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars
Malcolm
26-05-2017
Brilliant
Everybody on this planet should listen to this before they die. It's a wonderful summary of our current knowledge of life and how it works. I believe science is the greatest of mankind's achievements and the beauty of it should be shared with everybody. it was a privilege to listen to.
4 people found this helpful
Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars
Anand Manu
26-08-2016
Great Detail but do need some background.
Very detailed course. Does at times require some background knowledge. The 3 part organisation is good and the general strucutre of the course.
4 people found this helpful
Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars
Ethan
13-11-2020
Great course from The Great Courses
As someone who didn’t take biology in high school I’m happy to have found a series of lectures that gets me up to speed on knowledge I’ve missed out on.
Only criticism is that the accompanying PDF should have more diagrams, especially in the sections that cover microbiology.
1 person found this helpful
Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars
Amazon Customer
10-06-2020
excellent!
I was riveted for the whole 36 hours, and learnt so much. Ridiculously good value.
1 person found this helpful
Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars
Amazon Customer
14-08-2018
Great supplement to my current studies, very happy
loved it, very easy to listen to. Shame he doesn't narrate more audio books because I would definitely buy them
=====
Biology: The Science of Life
Stephen Nowicki, Ph.D. Professor, Duke University
Course No. 1500
4.5
131 reviews
85% would recommend
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Stephen Nowicki, Ph.D.
Stephen Nowicki, Ph.D.
It’s almost 75 years later, and we find ourselves in much the same position as Wells described in 1929. Our knowledge of biology has exploded in recent years and it continues to expand exponentially.
InstitutionDuke University
Alma materCornell University
Learn More About This Professor
Course Overview
One of the greatest scientific feats of our era is the astonishing progress made in understanding the intricate machinery of life. We are living in the most productive phase so far in this quest, as researchers delve ever deeper into the workings of living systems, turning their discoveries into new medical treatments, improved methods of growing food, and innovative new products.
"The 21st century will be the century of biological science, just as the 20th century was the century of physical science," predicts Professor Stephen Nowicki, an award-winning teacher at Duke University who has specially adapted his acclaimed introductory biology course for The Teaching Company to bring you up to date on one of the most important fields of knowledge of our time.
This intensive, 72-lecture course will give you the background and guidance to explore in depth the fundamental principles of how living things work—principles such as evolution by natural selection, the cellular structure of organisms, the DNA theory of inheritance, and other key ideas that will help you appreciate the marvelous diversity and complexity of life.
Explore Living Systems at All Levels
Make no mistake: This is a challenging course. But the rewards are tremendous. You will explore living systems at all levels, from biological molecules to global ecosystems. Along the way, you will gain insight into some of the most pressing questions facing society:
What does it mean to say that the human genome has been sequenced, and why should we sequence the genomes of other species?
How is an organism genetically modified or cloned, and what are the benefits—or potential costs—of doing so?
What are stem cells, and how might they contribute to health and welfare?
Why is HIV/AIDS so difficult to treat?
What will happen if vast tracts of tropical rainforest are cut down, and why does it matter that the temperature of the Earth is rising?
In addition, you will discover the mechanisms behind such intriguing phenomena as why children resemble their parents, what causes plants to bend toward light, how memories are stored, why some birds have very long tails, and how life itself began on Earth.
Above all, you will learn how to think about biology, so that in your day-to-day life you will understand the significance and complexities of news stories, medical issues, and public debates, not to mention what is going on in your own garden and in nature all around you.
The Unifying Themes of Biology
Professor Nowicki presents the subject in a conceptual format, emphasizing the importance of broad principles. Facts and details are offered in abundance, but in the context of developing a framework that listeners can absorb.
The course is organized around three unifying themes:
Starting with "Information and Evolution" (Lectures 1-24), you investigate how information about the structure and organization of living things is found in the DNA molecule, how this information is transmitted and modified, and the implications of these processes for understanding life. One important conclusion of this discussion is that species inevitably change over time; that is, that life evolves.
In "Development and Homeostasis" (Lectures 25-48), you consider two related issues for understanding the workings of complex organisms: how single cells (fertilized eggs) proliferate and transform into complex, multicellular organisms, and how parts of complex organisms remain coordinated and maintain their integrity in the face of different challenges.
In "Energy and Resources" (Lectures 49-72), you learn how living systems obtain the energy and other materials needed to maintain their highly ordered state and the implications of these processes for understanding the organization of biology at all levels of scale. Ultimately this investigation leads into the discipline of ecology and to considerations of energy and resource limitations for the entire planet.
The Great Experiments of Biology
One of the distinctive features of this course is that you learn much of the material through the great experiments that revealed new and unexpected aspects of the living world to science, including:
Gregor Mendel discovered the fundamental principles of inheritance through his work on trait transmission in garden peas in the mid-1800s
Thomas Hunt Morgan introduced the fruit fly as a model system for modern genetics in the early 20th century. Morgan's work and that of his many students demonstrated that genes occur on chromosomes.
Konrad Lorenz's mid-20th-century work on releasers and fixed action patterns in the behavior of greylag geese and other animals helped establish the modern study of animal behavior.
Arthur Kornberg's discovery of DNA polymerase in 1958 helped spark today's revolution in biotechnology and genetic engineering.
In your systematic study of biology under Professor Nowicki's guidance, you will encounter a wealth of interesting information and observations, such as:
Some cells in a developing organism are preprogrammed to die, a process that is important, for example, in creating the spaces between our fingers and toes.
The accumulation of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere following the evolution of photosynthetic bacteria was a disaster of global proportions for most of the organisms that lived before oxygen appeared on the planet.
The ability of cells to recognize self from non-self is widespread in animals, even among creatures as simple as sponges. If you take two sponges of the same species and dissociate their cells, then mix those cells, the cells will reassociate with the individual they came from.
Some species of moths and butterflies develop into different looking caterpillars or adults depending on the time of year that they happen to be born. It is the available food source that turns the caterpillar into one form or another.
The diversity of life is indeed remarkable—and so will be your experience with this course. You may not understand everything the first or even the second time you hear it, but "the point isn't to remember the details," says Professor Nowicki. "The point is to understand how the details are processed, how they're analyzed, how biologists come up with these ideas, and how to think about the new information you might encounter in the future.
"My goal in teaching is to have somebody able to open up a newspaper and say, 'I understand why this is an important discovery in biology.'"
72 Lectures
Average 30 minutes each
1
The Scope of "Life"
The first lecture gives an overview of biology, raising key questions about the nature of life and the origin of living things, and concludes with an outline of the structure of the course.
2
More on the Origin of Life
3
The Organism and the Cell
4
Proteins—How Things Get Done in the Cell
5
Which Molecule Holds the Code?
6
The Double Helix
7
The Nuts and Bolts of Replicating DNA
8
The Central Dogma
9
The Genetic Code
10
From DNA to RNA
11
From RNA to Protein
12
When Mistakes Happen
13
Dividing DNA Between Dividing Cells
14
Mendel and His Pea Plants
15
How Sex Leads to Variation
16
Genes and Chromosomes
17
Charles Darwin and "The Origin of Species"
18
Natural Selection in Action
19
Reconciling Darwin and Mendel
20
Mechanisms of Evolutionary Change
21
What Are Species and How Do New Ones Arise?
22
More on the Origin of New Species
23
Reconstructing Evolution
24
The History of Life, Revisited
25
From Cells to Organisms
26
Control of Gene Expression I
27
Control of Gene Expression II
28
Getting Proteins to the Right Place
29
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
30
How Cells Talk—Signals and Receptors
31
How Cells Talk—Ways That Cells Respond
32
From One Cell to Many in an Organism
33
Patterns of Early Development
34
Determination and Differentiation
35
Induction and Pattern Formation
36
Genes and Development
37
Homeostasis
38
Hormones in Animals
39
What is Special about Neurons?
40
Action Potentials and Synapses
41
Synaptic Integration and Memory
42
Sensory Function
43
How Muscles Work
44
The Innate Immune System
45
The Acquired Immune System
46
Form and Function in Plants I
47
Form and Function in Plants II
48
Behavior as an Adaptive Trait
49
Energy and Resources in Living Systems
50
How Energy is Harnessed by Cells
51
Enzymes - Making Chemistry Work in Cells
52
Cellular Currencies of Energy
53
Making ATP - Glycolysis
54
Making ATP - Cellular Respiration
55
Making ATP - The Chemiosmotic Theory
56
Capturing Energy from Sunlight
57
The Reactions of Photosynthesis
58
Resources and Life Histories
59
The Structure of Populations
60
Population Growth
61
What Limits Population Growth?
62
Costs and Benefits of Behavior
63
Altruism and Mate Selection
64
Ecological Interactions Among Species
65
Predators and Competitors
66
Competition and the Ecological Niche
67
Energy in Ecosystems
68
Nutrients in Ecosystems
69
How Predictable Are Ecological Communities?
70
Biogeography
71
Human Population Growth
72
The Human Asteroid
=======
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Biology: The Science of Life
Biology: The Science of Life
Origins of Life
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Reviews
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☆☆☆☆☆4.5 out of 5 stars. Read reviews for Biology: The Science of Life 4.5 131 ReviewsThis action will navigate to reviews.
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☆☆☆☆☆ 4.5Overall, average rating value is 4.5 of 5.
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☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 stars.syndicate · 10 years ago
Review by syndicate. Written 10 years ago. 5 out of 5 stars.Excellent for beginners
I knew virtually nothing about biology and of all the courses I've bought, this one enlightened me t… Show Full ReviewThis action will open a modal dialog.
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☆☆☆☆☆2 out of 5 stars.DrPaulsClinic · 10 years ago
Review by DrPaulsClinic. Written 10 years ago. 2 out of 5 stars.Good course for beginners
This course gives a good starting for a beginner in Biology. The professor strained to elaborate var… Show Full ReviewThis action will open a modal dialog.
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☆☆☆☆☆
☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 stars. Multiverse Jim · 2 days ago
Extremely thorough coverage of Biology
These 72 lectures take a while to get through as all aspects are covered with great examples and understandable explanations. I liked his style and down to earth examples.
Format Video
Prior Subject Knowledge Advanced
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☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 stars. Ancient Mariner · 4 months ago
Great Course
This is a huge course that takes you from an incandescent earth to what's next for humanity, with intimate detail levels down to the first cell and how it evolved into us, with a complete and well presented set of lectures that will hold your interest. This is Biology-all of it.
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Prior Subject Knowledge Intermediate
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☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 stars. Neuronman65 · 6 months ago
Good but where is Lecture 41?
Lecture 42 is included twice (i.e. repeated). Would really appreciate Synaptic Integration and Memory. Please correct if possible.
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☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 stars. Thal · a year ago
So far, so good. There is a lot of material.
The professor is very proficient in the biological sciences and does a great job of presenting sometimes difficult concepts.
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Prior Subject Knowledge Intermediate
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☆☆☆☆☆4 out of 5 stars. james Es · a year ago
Evolution
For those who reject evolution for religious purposes, consider that God could have chosen evolution as his mechanism to create.
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☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 stars. Jimbo12 · a year ago
Excellent teaching
Stephen Nowicki is the best science teacher of all of the other TGC teachers. He is eloquent and has no problem teaching on your level if you are a beginner. I didn't do biology at school but if you remember the biology only makes sense when understood in the light of evolution then you can see why the first 2 DVDs are about evolution. Also having already studied chemistry the genetics all fell into place. At school I thought Biology made no sense but now I know that DNA and evolution is the key, I am enthralled by it.
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☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 stars. Joe from LI · a year ago
Good for both novice and sophisticate
I was a biology major (a long time ago) and am a physician but I wanted to bring myself up to date with stuff I studied so long ago. Watching this course made me remember why I majored in this discipline. This is good for the novice and was good for me
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☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 stars. jackie31 · 2 years ago
Absolutely amazing!!
This was the absolute best science class I've ever had. It was engaging, educational, and memorable. I'm so lucky to have been able to participate in it and I learned so so much. it was very in-depth so it not the easiest thing to watch but as long as you pay attention it makes sense.
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Arun · 2 years ago
I already have the audio version of the course. I am wondering if the video version presents information differently. Does the video version have slides, diagrams or anything of that sort which makes the concepts easier to follow?
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TracyTGC · 2 years ago
Yes the video version includes hundreds of graphics to enhance your learning experience, including illustrations, images of organisms, charts, and on-screen text.
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LazyDazy · 2 years ago
When was this course released?
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TracyTGC · 2 years ago
This course was released in 2004.
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offcara · 2 years ago
When was this course last updated
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TracyTGC · 2 years ago
This course has not been update.
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jimmijamma · 2 years ago
Does TGC notify a shopper who has bought a course when that course is updated? When a course is updated does it have to be bought as a new course?
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TracyTGC · 2 years ago
We usually notify shoppers in the catalog, not individually, if a course has been updated. Usually the course has to be bought as new. We have not updated the Biology course.
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Anonymous · 2 years ago
I bought this course in 2004. The transcript books, especially Lectures 25-48, are becoming badly worn. Is it possible to replace them or at least Lectures 25-48? How much would that cost if it can be done?
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TracyTGC · 2 years ago
Yes, you can buy the Transcript books (not the guidebooks) by calling our Customer Contact Center at 800-832-2412. Open M-F 9am-10pm and Sat/Sun 9am - 5pm EST. We can only replace the entire 3 volume set of Transcript books. The cost is $65 plus $10 shipping and handling plus applicable state and local sales taxes.
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kmlanger · 5 years ago
Was there a course workbook included with this DVD set back in 2004? I purchased back then and can't recall if i received one.
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TracyTGC · 5 years ago
Thank you for your question. Yes, the course did come with a course guidebook then. We do not sell the guidebooks separately, but you can purchase the Transcript Book, which contains the lightly edited complete written transcription of the verbal lectures and the guidebook information for $65, plus shipping and handling any applicable state and local sales taxes. To order, please call our Customer Contact Team at 800-832-2412, M-F 9am-midnight and Sat/Sun 9am-5pm.
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d32843 · 5 years ago
What screen format is this in? Old Full Screen or New Wide Screen? What video resolution is this in?
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TracyTGC · 5 years ago
Thank you for your question. This screen format for this course is full screen. DVD resolution is 480p. Streaming is 720; if you have a higher connection speed it can go up to a max of 1080p.
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Naoki · 6 years ago
HI, sorry. I'm just wondering if this course which I purchased a fair while ago can help me with the Australian NSW HSC. Would it cover the syllabus which narrowed down is Patterns in Nature, A Local Ecosystem, Life on Earth and Evolution of Ausise Biota
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EdTGC · 6 years ago
Thank you for your question.
Please take a look at the course overview at http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/biology-the-science-of-life.html. This will give a complete detail of the course as well as what the lectures entail.
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Steveng · 6 years ago
Will this course assist me in post baccalaureate biology courses?
I am planning to enroll in medical school. To do so I need to complete some prerequisites, which include biology. Will this course be able to prepare me for the biology courses I will be seeing in the post bacc program? I am a visual learner, and would like to prepare my self in advance.
SG
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TGCdoman · 6 years ago
Thank you for your question. This course is meant as an extensive introductory course on the science of biology. It is not meant as a substitute for any official curriculum used in the course of scholastic study, but can be used effectually as a supplement or tutorial in understanding a more comprehensive or exhaustive course of study.
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realScience · 6 years ago
This is a complete university introductory biology course, however it is an old course, too old. When will Biology: The Science of Life be updated?
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TheGreatCourses · 6 years ago
We do not have advance notice for course updates, but new releases are featured on the front page of our web site or in our catalogs when they are released.
