Biology: The Whole Story

Biology is the science of the 21st Century and everyone should know the fundamentals. In this series, Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the Department of Biology will guide you through key concepts, building a big picture of what Biology is all about. Based on her recent book, this video series is perfect for GCSE or A-level students, especially those looking for a University perspective.

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Episodes

Ecology - Chapter 10

Learn the key concepts in ecology and what makes populations change over time, with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Ecology is the study of plants and animals in their environments but what kinds of questions do ecologists try to answer? We begin with a population - a group of organisms belonging to the same species that live in one place. Some populations are stable, while others boom and bust, and we find out why births and deaths are key to understanding stability. We...

Dec 01, 2023•12 min

Plants - Chapter 9

Plants are awesome, with photosynthesis being the most disruptive invention ever! Join Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford to understand why Plants don't have faces, so we don't know what they're thinking, and can even (horror!) write them off as boring. In this video, we examine the evolutionary history of the land plants: from an ancestral alga to the diversity of modern flowering plants that cover our planet today. We will see how plants stole the technology for photosynt...

Dec 01, 2023•11 min

Vertebrates - Chapter 8

Take a guided tour of the biology and ancestry of the vertebrates with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Want to know more about the group of animals you belong to - the vertebrates - and how we are all descendants of a plucky fish that hauled itself onto land? In this video we discover the fishy ancestor of the vertebrates: a type of lobe-finned fish, which are extremely rare in today's oceans. We then explore biological scaling rules, which explain why small animals, lik...

Dec 01, 2023•11 min

Animals - Chapter 7

Take a whistle-stop tour of the Animal Kingdom with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Everyone can name a few animals - but did you know that most familiar animals only come from one group - and there's more than 30 to choose from?! In this video we discover the probable ancestor of the animals - a strange type of eukaryotic cell that fed on bacteria. But around 540 million years ago the animals experienced a burst of creativity, and a whole range of different animals spra...

Dec 01, 2023•12 min

Eukarotyes - Chapter 6

Explore the mysterious origins of the cells all multicellular organisms are made from - eukaryotic cells - with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Everyone sometimes thinks they're special, but have you ever learned the truth of how special the cells in your body are? In this video we discover the 'ancient ones', a group of cells called the archaea, and the special role they play in the evolution of eukaryotes. Eukaryotic cells are generally large and full of internal struc...

Dec 01, 2023•12 min

Bacteria - Chapter 5

Learn about the microbiome, the amazing flexibility of bacteria, and why we have an antibiotic resistance crisis with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Have you ever wondered what bacteria do for you? Bacteria are the ultimate survivors and brilliant at adapting to a changing environment. By turning genes on and off - known as gene expression - they can change the tools and machinery that they produce, so they can deal with different foodstuffs. Bacteria also carry extra b...

Dec 01, 2023•10 min

Energy in Cells - Chapter 4

Learn how cells generate energy by harnessing chemical reactions, with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Cells need energy to run their activities, which they obtain by harnessing chemical reactions. Join Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford as she explains how one reaction - aerobic respiration - is perfect for supporting the energy-demanding lifestyles of active animals, like us. Aerobic respiration ultimately relies on a chemical reaction between oxygen and hy...

Dec 01, 2023•11 min

Sexual Reproduction - Chapter 3

Almost all species use sex to reproduce, but biologists struggle to understand why; join Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford as she explains the costs and benefits Sex puzzles biologists because it has a profound cost. Asexual species can potentially grow their populations much faster and so should outcompete their sexual cousins. But sexual species also produce genetically variable offspring - and in a changing environment, this can help them to stay ahead. Sex also allows ...

Dec 01, 2023•11 min

Evolution - Chapter 2

Learn the theory of evolution in a simpler, more intuitive way than ever before with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Evolution is the most important concept in biology. Beginning with the Peppered Moth, we look at the theory of evolution by natural selection in greater detail, looking at the three crucial assumptions on which it rests. Evolution has caused animals and plants to change dramatically over time, and we take a brief tour of the history of life on Earth - begi...

Dec 01, 2023•12 min

Information in Cells - Chapter 1

Professor Lindsay Turnbull explains the fundamental principles of information flow within cells, from the necessity of information for cellular function to the roles of DNA, RNA, and ribosomes in protein synthesis. The discussion delves into how proteins achieve their diverse forms and functions, and how errors in the genetic code, known as mutations, can cause genetic disorders while simultaneously serving as the crucial engine for evolution.

Dec 01, 2023•11 min

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