This text aims to establish biology as a discipline, not just a collection of facts. 'Life' develops students' understanding of biological processes with scholarship, a smooth narrative, experimental contexts, art and effective pedagogy.
PART ONE: THE SCIENCE AND BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE - The Science of Life and Its Evolutionary Framework - The Chemistry of Life - Macromolecules and the Origin of Life -
PART TWO: CELLS AND ENERGY - Cells: The Working Units of Life - The Dynamic Cell Membrane - Energy, Enzymes, and Metabolism - Pathways That Harvest Chemical Energy - Photosynthesis: Energy from Sunlight -
PART THREE: HEREDITY AND THE GENOME - Chromosomes and Cell Division - Genetics: Mendel and Beyond - DNA and Its Role in Heredity - From DNA to Protein: Genotype to Phenotype - The Genetics of Viruses and Prokaryotes - The Eukaryotic Genome and Its Expression -
PART FOUR: THE GENOME IN ACTION - Cell Signaling and Communication - Recombinant DNA and Biotechnology - Genome Sequencing, Molecular Biology and Medicine - Immunology: Gene Expression and Natural Defense Systems - Differential Gene Expression in Development - Development and Evolutionary Change