You should be, because I’ve got some great news:
SCIENCE IS AWESOME.
Especially biology.
In biology, we study the chemical reactions and living
relationships that we all need to live on this rock we call home - we study everything from the smallest strand of DNA to the climate of the
entire earth!
Ever taken an antibiotic? Thank a microbiologist!
Ever been to a national park? Thank
an ecologist!
Ever eaten yogurt? Thank a
food biologist!
Ever wondered what DNA looks like? Thank a biophysicist or geneticist!
Ever walked through a dinosaur museum? Thank a taxonomist, and a paleontologist or two!
They're all Biologists!
Ever walked through a dinosaur museum? Thank a taxonomist, and a paleontologist or two!
They're all Biologists!
I love biology because there is
always so much to learn, from the tiniest chemical reactions that make my body
go on 10 mile runs, to the story behind gorgeous vistas like this one in Zion National Park:
Life is complicated and always changing, and WE are a part of it!
The study of biology also includes some of my heroes, great scientists who dedicated their lives to knowing more about the strange and fickle thing that is life.
Rosalind Franklin discovered the
molecular structures of DNA and several viruses using x-ray photography. Two colleagues borrowed her work without her permission, and her contribution to the discovery of DNA was unrecognized during her lifetime.
Charles Darwin proposed “natural
selection” as the driving force behind evolution, and persevered through his own struggles with his faith, his family, and the society he lived in.
Jane Goodall is the world authority
on chimpanzees – she has studied them and lived with them, and is the only human to have been accepted into chimpanzee
society.
Louis Pasteur proved that life doesn't
just appear out of nothing, developed the vaccine for rabies, and developed the process we call "pasteurization."
For some hilarious biology comics,
visit Beatrice the Biologist.
If you’re interested in the latest and most amazing stories in biology right now, go to IFLScience.com.
And for some really well-done videos all about what we'll be learning this year, check out the videos at Crash Course Biology, where Hank Green presents everything in a very fun and easy-to-follow way.
If you’re interested in the latest and most amazing stories in biology right now, go to IFLScience.com.
And for some really well-done videos all about what we'll be learning this year, check out the videos at Crash Course Biology, where Hank Green presents everything in a very fun and easy-to-follow way.
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The study of life is messy and
complicated, and it frequently requires scientists and everyday people alike to
ask some hard questions about what is right and what is wrong. If you’re
interested in those ethical questions, you should look at these movies and
books. - Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
- Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
- Origin of the Species – Charles Darwin
- Silent Spring – Rachel Carson
- The Double Helix – James Watson
There are also some great movies
about biology and biologists. (Some of these are rated PG-13; watch only with
parental guidance.)
- Avatar
- Awakenings
- Contagion
- Creation
- GATTACA
- Gorillas in the Mist
- Jurassic Park
- King Kong
- Lorenzo’s Oil
- March of the Penguins
- Microcosmos
- Never Cry Wolf
- Race for the Double Helix
I loved your integration of popular culture, such as movies, into this posting! If you teach at a middle or high school where your principal requires you to post a blog, I hope you use this or something like it! I really like how it shows students that there are many applications to biology beyond what they would normally think.
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