ISE Understanding Biology

A concise and engaging biology text for biology majors, Understanding Biology 4e partnered with Connect emphasizes fundamentals concepts to help students better understand biology and focus on developing scientific skills.  This approach utilizes the Vision and Change guidelines of Core Concepts and Core Skills while helping students begin the process of becoming a scientist.

Kenneth A. Mason received his undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Washington, worked at UC Berkeley, then pursued his PhD in Genetics at UC Davis. He has taught Gentics, Microbial Genetics, Microbiology, Advanced Molecular Genetics, Introductory Biology, and a Genetics Laboratory that he designed.

Dr. George B. Johnson is a researcher, educator, and author. Born in 1942 in Virginia, he went to college in New Hampshire (Dartmouth), attended graduate school in California (Stanford), and is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis, where he has taught freshman biology and genetics to undergraduates for over 35 years. Also Professor of Genetics at Washington Universitys School of Medicine, Dr. Johnson is a student of population genetics and evolution, authoring more than 50 scientific journal publications. His laboratory work is renowned for pioneering the study of previously undisclosed genetic variability. His field research has centered on alpine butterflies and flowers, much of it carried out in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming. Other ecosystems he has explored in recent years include Brazilian and Costa Rican rain forests, the Florida Everglades, the seacoast of Maine, coral reefs off Belize, the ice fields and mountains of Patagonia, and, delightfully, vineyards in Tuscany.A prolific writer and educator, Dr. Johnson is the author of seven nationally recognized college texts for McGraw-Hill, including the hugely successful majors texts Biology (with botanist Peter Raven) and three nonmajors texts: Understanding Biology, Essentials of The Living World, and  The Living World. He has also authored two widely used high school biology textbooks, Holt Biology and Biology: Visualizing Life. In the 30 years he has been authoring biology texts, over 3 million students have been taught from textbooks Dr. Johnson has written

Tod Duncan is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Denver. He currently teaches firstsemester general biology and coordinates first and second semester general biology laboratories. Previously,he taught general microbiology, virology, the biology of cancer, medical microbiology, and cell biology. Abachelor’s degree in cell biology with an emphasis on plant molecular and cellular biology from the Universityof East Anglia in England led to doctoral studies in cell cycle control, and postdoctoral research on themolecular and biochemical mechanisms of DNA alkylation damage in vitro and in Drosophila melanogaster.Currently, he is interested in factors affecting retention and success of incoming first-year students in diversedemographics. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his two Great Danes, Eddie and Henry

Jonathan Losos is a Monique and Philip Lehner Professor for the Study of Latin America in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Herpetology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. Losos's research has focused on studying patterns of adaptive ratiation and evolutionary diversification in lizards. The recipient of several awards including hte prestigious Theodosius Dobzhansky and David Starr Jordan Prizes for outstanding young evolutionary biologists, Losos has published more than 100 scientific articles.

Susan Singer is the Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of the Natural Sciences in teh dpartment of biology at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she has taught introductory biology, plant biology, genetics, plant development, and developmental genetics for 20 years. Her research interests are focused on the development and evolution of flowering plants. Singer has authored numberous scientific publications on plant development, contributed chapters to developmental biology texts, and is actively involved with teh education efforts of several professional societies. She received the American Society of Plant Biology's Excellence in Teaching Award, serves on teh National Academies Board on Science Education, and chaired the NRC study committee that produced America's Lab Report.