Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index

The Molecular Basis of Life. The science of biology -- The nature of molecules and the properties of water -- The chemical building blocks of life -- The Biology of the Cell. Cell structure -- Membranes -- Energy and metabolism -- How cells harvest energy -- Photosynthesis -- Cell communication -- How cells divide -- Genetic and Molecular Biology. Sexual reproduction and meiosis -- Patterns of inheritance -- Chromosomes, mapping, and the meiosis-inheritance connection -- DNA: The genetic material -- Genes and how they work -- Control of gene expression -- Biotechnology -- Genomics -- Cellular mechanisms & development -- Evolution. Genes within populations -- The evidence for evolution -- The origin of species -- Systematics and the phylogenetic resolution -- Genome evolution -- Evolution of development -- The Diversity of Life. The tree of life -- Viruses -- Prokaryotes -- Protists -- Green plants -- Fungi -- Overview of animal diversity -- Noncoelomate invertebrates -- Coelomate invertebrates -- Vertebrates -- Plant Form and Function. Plant form -- Vegetative plant development -- Transport in plant -- Plant nutrition and soils -- Plant defense responses -- Sensory systems in plants -- Plant reproduction -- Animal Form and Function. The animal body and principles of regulation -- The nervous system -- Sensory system -- The endocrine system -- -- The musculoskeletal system -- The digestive system -- The respiratory system -- The circulatory system -- Osmotic regulation and the urinary system -- The immune system -- The reproductive system -- Animal development -- Ecology and Behavior. Behavioral biology -- Ecology of individuals and populations -- Community ecology -- Dynamics of ecosystems -- The biosphere -- Conservation biology.