Biology Everywhere: How the science of life matters to everyday life

by Melanie Peffer

Biology is memorizing terms, dissecting animals, and analyzing abstract concepts. Sound familiar? If so, you are like the majority of individuals outside the sciences when considering biology. Not without reason—research suggests that an introductory biology class has more vocabulary than a first semester language class. However, a working knowledge of biology is increasingly critical as we as a society grapple with big questions regarding topics such as ethics and regulation of genetic technology, conservation, and health. This book is intended to bridge the gap between traditional biology classes and the practical biology knowledge needed in the real world. In each chapter, a different biological concept is examined and related to some real-world issue or experience in an effort to demonstrate why the science of life matters to your everyday experience. The content includes subjects typically covered in an introductory biology class like ecology and genetics, and also unique interdisciplinary topics such as the relationship between arts and biology. This book is specifically designed either for those who already love biology and biology education, or for those who have had prior poor experiences with biology learning and are willing to give it another try. Where have you experienced biology today? Dive in and take a look. What you find may surprise you! Biology Everywhere takes a unique approach to connecting biology content with common experiences most people will likely share. The content is easy to understand and takes the reader on a fascinating personal journey into the sometimes unexpected ways we interact with biology on a daily basis -Dr. Kristy Daniel, Associate Professor, Department of Biology Texas State University I love how Dr. Peffer integrates science with common, every day topics of interest to the average person. She really accomplishes her goal of making science less academic and scary and much more approachable and digestible. Scientific literacy is one of the most important issues for our society, and this book will go a long way in addressing that important topic. I will absolutely be recommending this book for my students and their families. -Mandy Revak, KidScience and ZooU Coordinator, Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium Biology Everywhere shows the reader that biology is quite the opposite of difficult to understand. Filled with relatable stories from the history of biology, along with personal and funny anecdotes, the book makes biology easy, directly relevant, and accessible to anyone. Packed with information, Dr. Peffer takes questions and scenarios we encounter in daily life and turns them into the fodder for biological explanations, never failing to draw the reader in. Anyone can read and learn from this book, from young adults to experts in biology. -Dr. Jennifer Knight, Associate Professor, University of Colorado

Genres: Science

Kindle Edition

Published February 27, 2020

Reviews

[Matt Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If someone really needs to know the definition of a habitat, they can quickly look it up. But what about the confidence and interest to look those things up in the first place? The confidence will last much longer than the ability to recall a definition."

Social media (the field in which I work and teach), like biology, is all around us. It's to the point where we as consumers, students and even professionals do things more and more "just because" which is a bummer and in my opinion tends to lead to more poor decisions than good decisions.

I bought this great book because we both work at University of Colorado Boulder (Go Buffs) but more importantly for my own curiosity. The biology pieces in the book were awesomely delivered. I was even proud of myself at times remembering words from my own high school biology classes. :)

What drew me really in and inspired me was Dr. Peffer's approach of connecting the dots in major systems with our own individual role which is also very important to me personally, in my work and in my teaching. I share the same goal as the quote above in my teaching for students to walk away with some details of the topics we cover but more importantly gain curiosity and confidence to ask why, dig deeper and connect their own dots.

[Tom Leonhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about this one. According to the author I am not the target audience because I am fairly well educated in biology. Maybe that's why I would have loved more details ... But I think a bit more depth would have helped connecting the dots better. Also I am not so happy about the last couple chapters because they were somewhat random and vague to me. It focuses a lot on teaching, which makes sense given the author's professional background, but in my view this contradicts the general mission of the book. But the style is good.