General Biology: The Dynamic Science

Biology: The Dynamic Science is the first general biology text with an experimental approach that connects historical research, recent advances achieved with molecular tools, and a glimpse of the future through the eyes of prominent researchers working on key unanswered questions of the day. This comprehensive framework doesn't come at the expense of essential concepts. Rather, it provides a meaningful, realistic context for learning all of the core material that students must master in their first course. Written "from the ground up" with minimal jargon and crisp, straight forward explanations of the current state of biological knowledge, the text supports students as they learn the scientific process-and how to think as scientists do.

Peter J. Russell received a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Sussex, England, in 1968 and a Ph.D. in Genetics from Cornell University in 1972. He has been a member of the Biology faculty of Reed College since 1972; he is currently a Professor of Biology. He teaches a section of the introductory biology course, a genetics course, an advanced molecular genetics course, and a research literature course on molecular virology. In 1987, he received the Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award from Reed College in recognition of his excellence in teaching. Since 1986, he has been the author of a successful genetics textbook; current editions are "iGenetics: A Mendelian Approach, iGenetics: A Molecular Approach," and "Essential iGenetics". He wrote nine of the BioCoach Activities for The Biology Place. Peter Russell's research is in the area of molecular genetics, with a specific interest in characterizing the role of host genes in pathogenic RNA plant virus gene expression; yeast is used as the model host. His research has been funded by agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the American Cancer Society. He has published his research results in a variety of journals, including "Genetics, Journal of Bacteriology, Molecular and General Genetics, Nucleic Acids Research, Plasmid, and Molecular and Cellular Biology." He has a long history of encouraging faculty research involving undergraduates, including co-founding the biology division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) in l985. He was Principal Investigator/Program Director of an NSF Award for the Integration of Research and Education (AIRE) to Reed College, 1998-2002.

Stephen L. Wolfe [U of California, Davis (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University)] taught general biology and cell biology for many years at the University of California, Davis. His textbooks include multiple editions of Biology of the Cell, Biology: The Foundations, Cell Ultrastructure, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology.

Paul E. Hertz was born and raised in New York City. He received a bachelor's degree in Biology at Stanford University in 1972, a master's degree in Biology at Harvard University in 1973, and a doctorate in Biology at Harvard University in 1977. While completing field research for the doctorate, he served on the Biology faculty of the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras. After spending 2 years as an Isaac Walton Killam Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University, Hertz accepted a teaching position at Barnard College, where he has taught since 1979. He was named Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Biology in 2000, and he received The Barnard Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2007. In addition to serving on numerous college committees, Professor Hertz chaired Barnard's Biology Department for 8 years. He is also the Program Director of the Hughes Science Pipeline Project at Barnard, an undergraduate curriculum and research program funded continuously by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1992. The Pipeline Project includes the Intercollegiate Partnership, a program for local community college students that facilitates their transfer to 4-year colleges and universities. He teaches one semester of the introductory sequence for Biology majors and preprofessional students, lecture and laboratory course in vertebrate zoology and ecology, and a year-long seminar that introduces first-year students to scientific research. Professor Hertz is an animal physiological ecologist with a specific research interest in the thermal biology of lizards. He has conducted fieldwork in the West Indies since the mid-1970s, most recently focusing on the lizards of Cuba. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, and he has published his research in such prestigious journals as "The American Naturalist, Ecology, Nature, Oecologia," and "Proceedings of the Royal Society."

For the past two decades, Cecie Starr has been known as one of the best-selling biology textbook authors. Her texts, appreciated for their clarity in both the written word and the visual representation of biological concepts, include multiple editions of BIOLOGY: THE UNITY AND DIVERSITY OF LIFE, BIOLOGY: CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS, and BIOLOGY TODAY AND TOMORROW. Her original dream was to become an architect. Instead of building houses, she now builds, with care and attention to detail, incredible texts based on this philosophy: "I invite students into a chapter through an intriguing story. Once inside, they get the great windows that biologists construct on the world of life. Biology is not just another house. It is a conceptual mansion. I hope to do it justice."