Central Bucks School District: Biology Readings "And it is a strange thing that most of the feeling we call religious, most of the mystical out crying which is one of the most prized and used and desired reactions of our species, is really the understanding and attempt to say that man is related to the whole thing, related inextricably to all reality, known as unknowable. This is a simple thing to say, but the profound feeling of it made a Jesus, a St. Augustine, a St. Francis, a Roger Bacon, a Charles Darwin, and an Einstein. Each of them in his own tempo and with his own voice discovered and reaffirmed with astonishment the knowledge that all things are one thing and that one thing is all things -- plankton, a shimmering phosphorescence on the sea and the spinning planets and an expanding universe, all bound together by the elastic string of time. It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars and then back to the tide pool again." John Steinbeck in Log from the Sea of Cortez

Readings to help our student learn biology in Central Bucks

Unit 1: The Molecules of Life

• Article A: Seeking Life - With recent missions to Mars pointing to the historic presence of water, and thus the tantalizing possibility of life, K.C. Cole investigates whether water is actually a necessary requirement. This article first appeared in the Los Angeles Time and is feature in

• Article B: The Chemistry of Amino Acids - This lesson/article is developed by The Biology Project from the University of Arizona.

Unit 2: Cell Physiology

• Article C: Cells - This is a wonderful excerpt from a great book on science, Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything.

• Article D: What Mitochondria Have told Me.

Unit 3: Cell Energy

• Article E: What is the Future of GMO's?

• Article F: Can Genetically Modified Crops Go Greener?

Unit 4: Genetics/DNA/RNA

• Article G: Use of DNA in Identification. This article come to us through the excellen biology web site, Access Excellence.

• Article H:  The 2% Difference

• Article I: Who's Your Daddy?

• Article J: Genome in Black and White

• Article K: 2 Scholarly Articles Diverge On Role of Race in Medicine

• Article L: Imperfect, Imprecise, but Useful
   

Unit 5: Embryology or Developmental Biology

• Article M: Zebrafish: Bridging the gap between Development and Disease - This article comes to us from the journal of Human Molecular Genetics. Just click on the FREE full article on the right hand side, top.

• Article M:O (Optional Replacement for M) - Have We Entered the Stem Cell Era? - Jen Atkiss recommends this article that explains current and potential applications of stem cells, and provides a word of caution that much more research needs to be done to develop a deeper understanding of how they will react in a recipient. This can be used in place of the Zebrafish article.

Unit 6: Microbiology

• Article N: Small World - The amazing world of bacteria and viruses told by Bill Bryson, one of our best science writers alive. Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything.

• Article O: Health Transition - Trying to Eradicate Disease - From Laurie Garret's wonderful book called The Coming Plague.

• Article P: HHMI Bacterial Identification Lab - This interactive lab comes to use from the people at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. They offer incredible resources for the life science educator.