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Biology: The Science of Life cover art

Biology: The Science of Life

By: Stephen Nowicki, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Stephen Nowicki
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Summary

One of the greatest scientific feats of our era is the astonishing progress made in understanding biology-the intricate machinery of life-a progress to which the period we are living in right now has contributed the most.

As you read these words, researchers are delving ever deeper into the workings of living systems, turning their discoveries into new medical treatments, improved methods of growing food, and innovative products that are already changing the world.

The 72 lectures in this comprehensive exploration of living systems at all levels-from biological molecules to global ecosystems-will give you all the information you need to grasp this fascinating field and its impact on both our own lives and our understanding of the life that surrounds us.

Professor Nowicki presents his subject in a conceptual format, emphasizing the importance of broad principles. Though facts and details are offered in abundance, it is always in the context of developing a context listeners can readily absorb.

Your newfound mastery of the fundamentals of biology will serve you in many ways-whether you want to read the headlines with greater insight, update a subject you studied long ago, view the natural world with new appreciation, become a better-informed voter and consumer, or gain the intellectual stimulation of understanding the basic principles that unite all living things.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2004 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2004 The Great Courses

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Biology brought to life!

What made the experience of listening to Biology: The Science of Life the most enjoyable?

This series of lectures is written and read in such a lively, engaging manner, its a pleasure to listen to and promotes effortless learning. I have been hoping in earnest for a series like this to appear (vast improvement over the lacklustre modern scholar title I tried previously) and I can't wait to sample other courses in the series.
The professor - whose performance is bright and bouncy enough to carry you the distance with his enthusiasm- gives an extremely well structured overview of the life sciences, pitched at about A level. I am fairly familiar with the material but It is suitable for those with limited knowledge of the subject- however such a reader might need to supplement their learning with diagrams from books to gain a more complete understanding of some topics.

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22 people found this helpful

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High calibre education

I have completed my under graduate degree in biochemistry, a masters in protein engineering, and am about to begin my PhD in protein engineering of biopesticides. I have had a love for biology my whole life and have read Darwin, Gould and Dawkins. And yet not a single part of this audio book was mundane or over simplified. The level of complexity covering molecular biology and genetics, organismal development and homeostasis, the cell, immunity, evolution, biogeography and geology and so many more areas is brilliant. I have listened to it multiple times and the excellence of this series still baffles me. Not only is it scientifically heavy, but the stories of scientists through out history and today is told so well!
This is perfect for anyone with a keen interest in biology. It may however be starting at too advanced a level for anyone with no prior knowledge in biology. But by no means is that restrictive. If you want to learn and have any schooling at all, get this audio book!

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12 people found this helpful

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Content good, music bad

I've reached chapter 5'ish so far and the subject and narrator are brilliant, excellent actually, but, the music and fake(?) clapping between each lecture can be a little much, whether through headphones or a fairly decent Hi-Fi.

Although it's not too loud or longer than a few seconds, the brass instrument is high pitched and completely pointless; it feels like someone left their phone on and sat next to you :D and why the introductory clapping?

All-in-all, brilliant content and well worth it if you're ok with distractions

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10 people found this helpful

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Thorough and well structured course

Amazing listen for the knowledge hungry. As a scientist in a totally different field, with no education in biology beyond high school, this audiobook gave me so much useful material, in a very approachable way and following a nice structure to retain all the key concepts.
Arid at times, skip through if a particular chapter doesn't interest you. Great knowledge lays ahead.

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8 people found this helpful

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the audio is bad

the audio is unbearable if you are listening with ear phones, I've tried redownloading twice and three different ear/headphones so it must be the audio.

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7 people found this helpful

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More than a superficial introduction to biology

Author is very enthusiastic and very good at explaining complex subjects without dumbing down. 72 lectures is a lot, but I miss listening to them now that it is over.

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6 people found this helpful

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Brilliant lecture series

Any additional comments?

This is a really enjoyable and engaging series of lectures. The information is clear and it gives a great in-depth overview of the subject. I was worried it would be too dumbed-down - not so.

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6 people found this helpful

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Stay focused

Generally a good course. However, listening to it casually, it is difficult not to lose the thread in the molecular processes. Best to have the pdf handy.

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4 people found this helpful

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um er, er um, umer. n'OK.

Nowicki has produced a facinating introduction / revision for biology from the atom to global ecosystems. The course is cleverly structured and is well suited to audio only format. Unfortunately Mr. 'one take' Nowicki's mouth works much faster than his brain so the narration crashes every few sentences. What ever you do don't start comparing the number of ers to the number of ums.

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3 people found this helpful

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Comprehensive

It took me 3 months to get through his extremely detailed and comprehensive course. As a non-specialist, I have learned so much from the professor. Would highly recommend to anyone with an interest in science and the world around them. 5*s.

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2 people found this helpful