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Biology: The Science of Life

Biology: The Science of Life consists of 72 lectures taught by Professor Stephen Nowicki, emphasizing the importance of broad principles in biology. The lecture course explores the fundamental principles of how living things work, such as evolution by natural selection, the DNA theory of inheritance, and the idea of how single cells become complex organisms. The lecture set is divided into three sections:

Section I (Lectures 1 - 24): Information & Evolution - how information about the structure and organization of living things is found in the DNA molecule, how this information is transmitted and modified, and the implications of these processes for understanding life.

Section II (Lectures 25 - 48): Development & Homeostasis - how single cells (fertilized eggs) proliferate and transform into complex, multicellular organisms, and how the various parts of complex organisms remain coordinated and maintain their integrity in the face of different challenges.

Section III (Lectures 49 - 72): Energy and Resources - how living systems obtain the energy and other materials needed to maintain their highly ordered state, How molecules control the use of that energy.

Lecture 01 - The Scope of Life
Lecture 02 - More on the Origin of Life
Lecture 03 - The Organism and the Cell
Lecture 04 - Proteins: How Things Get Done in the Cell
Lecture 05 - Which Molecule Holds the Code?
Lecture 06 - The Double Helix
Lecture 07 - The Nuts and Bolts of Replicating DNA
Lecture 08 - The Central Dogma
Lecture 09 - The Genetic Code
Lecture 10 - From DNA to RNA
Lecture 11 - From RNA to Protein
Lecture 12 - When Mistakes Happen
Lecture 13 - Dividing DNA between Dividing Cells
Lecture 14 - Mendel and His Pea Plants
Lecture 15 - How Sex Leads to Variation
Lecture 16 - Genes and Chromosomes
Lecture 17 - Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species
Lecture 18 - The Natural Selection in Action
Lecture 19 - Reconciling Darwin and Mendel
Lecture 20 - Mechanisms of Evolutionary Change
Lecture 21 - What Are Species and How Do New Ones Arise?
Lecture 22 - More on the Origin of New Species
Lecture 23 - Reconstructing Evolution
Lecture 24 - The History of Life, Revisited


Section I (Lectures 1 - 24):
Information & Evolution
Section II (Lectures 25 - 48):
Development & Homeostasis
Section III (Lectures 49 - 72):
Energy and Resources