Biology: The Whole Story

Oxford University
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  • EDUCATION
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.

Episodes

  1. 12/01/2023

    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 then consider why there are so many species on Earth and in doing so discover the ecological niche that constrains organisms to a specific role. Finally, we take a quick look at humans, who have broken out of their niche and taken control of the planet. Erratum - Mammal biomass on Earth The figures given in the video are incorrect. The actual figures are: 34% humans, 62% livestock and 4% wild mammals. https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammals-birds-biomass Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:20 Titles 00:29 Key ecological questions 01:18 The state of populations: births and deaths 02:58 The rabbit versus the albatross 04:32 Keystone species: the case of the sea otter 06:20 Competition: the ecological niche 08:23 Humans – the ultimate competitor? 11:26 Outro

    12 min

  2. 12/01/2023

    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 photosynthesis - undoubtedly the most disruptive invention of all time - and how their activities changed the biosphere forever. Finally, we explore the range of features that allow a large tree in full leaf to suck up a tonne of water every day. Image Credit: Many thanks to the Oxford Herbarium for providing the slides and microscope images of the Rhynie Cherts. Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration Graph: NOAA Global Monitoring Lab, https://www.climate.gov/media/15554 (10/11/23) Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:22 Titles 00:29 The Tragedy of Plants 01:13 What Makes a Plant a Plant 03:01 The Greatest Heist of All Time - Photosynthesis 04:13 The Rhynie Cherts - Early Land Plants 06:37 How Plants Regulate Our Climate 07:24 How We Have Broken Our Climate 08:45 Colour and Beauty - The Flowering Plants 09:59 Outro

    11 min

  3. 12/01/2023

    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, like mice or hamsters, seem almost bionic when compared to a ponderous giant like an elephant. But vertebrates are all large animals, and their bodies must deliver oxygen and glucose to muscles buried deep within them. This has led to the evolution of some ingenious engineering solutions, like the vertebrate circulatory system. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:19 Titles 00:24 Who are the Vertebrates? 02:01 Fishy Origins 03:31 How Fish made it onto Land 04:34 The Circulatory System - A Vertebrate Invention 06:20 How Animals Get Large 07:51 Why Animals Get Large 09:28 Why the Vertebrates Left the Seas 09:59 Outro

    11 min

  4. 12/01/2023

    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 sprang into being in the blink of a geological eye. We take a look at a few of the major groups - including arthropods, annelid worms and molluscs - which all play host to thousands of species. Image Credit: Cartwright et al (2007), Exceptionally Preserved Jellyfishes from the Middle Cambrian https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001121 Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:14 Titles 00:18 When the Animals Go Marching 02:01 What Makes an Animal an Animal? 04:17 The Jelly Animals 06:00 How Muscles Have Evolved 07:45 Lines of Symmetry 09:48 Chordates - How Our Ancestor Evolved 11:33 Outro

    12 min

  5. 12/01/2023

    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 structures, called organelles, one of which, the famous mitochondria, isn't quite what it seems. Finally, we look how slime moulds can gang up when conditions are right, giving us a glimpse of how true multicellularity evolved. Links to material used in this video: Rogers et al. (2012) The Discovery of New Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Communities in the Southern Ocean and Implications for Biogeography https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001234 Imachi et al. (2020) Isolation of an archaeon at the prokaryote–eukaryote interface. Nature 577, 519–525 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-19... Image credit: Hiroyuki Imachi, Masaru K. Nobu,Nozomi Nakahara,Yuki Morono, Miyuki Ogawara, Yoshihiro Takaki, Yoshinori Takano, Katsuyuki Uematsu, Tetsuro Ikuta, Motoo Ito, Yohei Matsui, Masayuki Miyazaki, Kazuyoshi Murata, Yumi Saito, Sanae Sakai, Chihong Song, Eiji Tasumi, Yuko Yamanaka, Takashi Yamaguchi, Yoichi Kamagata, Hideyuki Tamaki, and Ken Takai This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:17 Titles 00:22 Bacteria and Eukaryotes 01:44 The Ancient Ones 03:05 Inside Eukaryotes 06:02 The Mysteries of the Mitochondria 07:32 How Eukaryotes (probably) Evolved 09:33 Multicellularity in Eukaryotes 10:50 Outro

    12 min

  6. 12/01/2023

    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 bits of DNA, called plasmids, that carry genes that allow bacteria to cope with unusual situations. Genes for antibiotic resistance are often carried on plasmids and this means they can easily be passed around, leading to the current crisis. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:24 Titles 00:29 The Microbiome 01:51 E.coli and gene expression 03:34 Gene expression in detail (the lac operon) 04:53 Plasmids and the antibiotic resistance crisis 06:49 Antibiotic use in livestock 08:30 What bacteria can't do 09:05 Outro

    10 min

  7. 12/01/2023

    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 hydrogen. This reaction is so explosive that humans used it to launch a rocket into space, but the cell mostly needs much smaller amounts of energy. Find out how cells have tamed this reaction by using it to turn a molecular turbine. The turbine then re-charges small molecular 'batteries', called ATP, which can deliver energy all around the cell. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:21 Titles 00:27 Life and the Laws of Thermodynamics 01:32 How life harnesses chemical reactions 03:50 Are cells like rockets? 04:45 How cells generate energy 06:57 Aerobic respiration 08:01 Photosynthesis 09:58 Outro

    11 min

  8. 12/01/2023

    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 individuals within the same species to exchange genetic information, but they can't do this with members of other species. This genetic isolation allows species to follow separate evolutionary paths. These paths can be retraced by biologists using genome sequencing to build a tree of life. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:16 Titles 00:21 What exactly is sex? 02:22 Fertilisation explained 03:54 Sex in brief - recap 04:21 The problem - The Cost of Sex 05:42 So what is the point of sex? 08:15 How does sex create different species 10:30 Outro

    11 min

  9. 12/01/2023

    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 - beginning with the first animals in the Palaeozoic, through dinosaurs in the Mesozoic, and finally mammals and birds in the Cenozoic. Photo credit: photo of Mary Anning statue is thanks to Mary Anning Rocks (registered charity number: 1188919). Website: https://www.maryanningrocks.co.uk/ Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:20 Titles 00:25 The Peppered Moth 01:21 Adaptations to a changing environment 03:23 Darwin and Wallace 04:09 Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection 06:21 Mary Anning and the fossil record 07:39 The Age of the Earth 08:32 The Eon of Visible Life 11:00 Outro

    12 min

  10. 12/01/2023

    Information in Cells - Chapter 1

    Learn how cells use the information in DNA and the key components that make up a cell, with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford All cells share a core set of features that allow them to process information, which is the best way to start studying cells. Join Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford, as she explains these core features using unique illustrations and simple, engaging language. Learn the fundamentals of every cell on Earth, including key cell components and their functions. Explore the different molecules of life from DNA to proteins and find out how errors in the genetic code lead to genetic disorders and lay the groundwork for evolution. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:13 Titles 00:18 Why do cells need information? 01:05 Diagram of information flow 02:32 Cell components in detail 04:52 Protein formation and properties 07:09 Mutation and genetic disorders 09:24 Evolution 10:24 Outro

    11 min
  • 10 Episodes

About

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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