Chapter 1 Introduction to Biology 1
1.1 What is Biology? 1
1.2 The Origin of Life 4
1.3 The Significance of Biology in Your Life 8
1.4 The History of Biology—Additional Reading 11

Chapter 2 Microbiology 15
2.1 The Scope and Relevance of Microbiology 15
2.2 The Future of Microbiology 21
2.3 Prokaryotes, Eukaryotic Microbes and Viruses 26
2.4 Extreme Microbes—Additional Reading 31

Chapter 3 Cellular Biology 34
3.1 The Discovery of Cells 34
3.2 Basic Properties of Cells 37
3.3 The Concepts in Mammalian Cell Culture—Additional Reading 42

Chapter 4 Botany—Plant Biology 49
4.1 The Scope and Importance of Botany 49
4.2 Flowers, Fruits and Seeds of Plants 52
4.3 Photosynthesis 56
4.4 Some Achievements of Transgenic Plants—Additional Reading 59

Chapter 5 Zoology—Animal Biology 65
5.1 What is Zoology? 65
5.2 Tissues, Organs and Organ Systems of Animals 67
5.3 Transgenic Animals—Additional Reading 72

Chapter 6 Molecular Genetics 76
6.1 Gene and Chromosomes 76
6.2 Functional Structure of a Gene 79
6.3 Gene Expression 83
6.4 Essentials for Genetic Engineering—Additional Reading 86

Chapter 7 Biochemistry 91
7.1 Enzymes 91
7.2 Metabolism 93
7.3 Energy Transformation 96
7.4 Protein crystallization—Additional Reading 100

Chapter 8 Ecology 104
8.1 What is Ecology? 104
8.2 Ecosystems 107
8.3 Biodiversity—Additional Reading 110

Chapter 9 Biotechnology 114
9.1 Biotechnology Overview 114
9.2 Recombinant DNA Technology 118
9.3 Recombinant Protein Expression 121
9.4 Bioalcohols—Additional Reading 124

Chapter 10 Genomics 128
10.1 The First Sequenced Genomes 128
10.2 The Functional Genomics 131
10.3 Proteomics 134
10.4 Bioinformatics—Additional Reading 137

Appendix Ⅰ Answers to Exercises 140

Appendix Ⅱ Index of Professional Words and Phrases. 157

References 171