Submitted as part of the California Learning Resource Network (CLRN) Phase 3 Digital Textbook Initiative (CA DTI3), CK-12 Foundation’s high school Biology FlexBook covers cell biology, genetics, evolution, ecology, botany, zoology, and physiology. This digital textbook was reviewed for its alignment with California content standards.

Students investigate decomposers and the role of decomposers in maintaining the flow of nutrients in an environment. Students also learn how engineers use decomposers to help clean up wastes in a process known as bioremediation. This lesson concludes a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

Students design and conduct experiments to determine what environmental factors favor decomposition by soil microbes. They use chunks of carrots for the materials to be decomposed, and their experiments are carried out in plastic bags filled with dirt. Every few days students remove the carrots from the dirt and weigh them. Depending on the experimental conditions, after a few weeks most of the carrots will have decomposed completely.

This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey tells the story of researcher Sir Alexander Fleming, whose luck and scientific reasoning led to the groundbreaking discovery of penicillin.

This Web site, created to complement the museum's Epidemic! exhibit, provides an in-depth look at the world of infectious disease. It includes the following sections: Environmental Change looks at how a season of heavy snow and rainfall led to an outbreak of hantavirus in the Four Corners region of the southwestern U.S., and at the different habitat needs of microbes. Long-Term Changes examines how changes to the prehistoric landscape and in our living patterns since the development of agriculture, have made diseases like malaria a major threat in tropical regions. Microbes and Others looks at the three major groups of microbes (viruses, bacteria, and protozoa) and the great variety within each group. Diagnostics and Testing examines how the link between microbes and disease was first made and the many medical advances since then. Infection covers how microbes enter the body and the body's built-in defense mechanisms. Outbreak looks at the different routes microbes use to spread through a population and the work of epidemiologists. Epidemic/Pandemic explores the factors that determine whether an outbreak will become an epidemic or a pandemic. Resources is a list, organized by topic and specific disease, of more than 250 Web sites. Glossary includes nearly 200 infectious disease terms, from AIDS to WHO.

Students conduct experiments to determine what environmental factors favor decomposition by soil microbes. They use chunks of carrots for the materials to be decomposed, and their experiments are carried out in plastic bags filled with dirt. Every few days students remove the carrots from the dirt and weigh them. Depending on the experimental conditions, after a few weeks most of the carrots will have decomposed completely.

The fungi which cause rot and decay in our forests are vital members of the ecosystem. By decomposing the hard woody stems of trees they help recycle important nutrients, minerals, and carbohydrates. Unlike many organisms which are easy to see, the fungi are often hidden under bark or within living stems and their presence is not obvious. This laboratory exercise provides instructors with information about where to find and how to visualize and manipulate fungi which cause rot and decay, while discovering how ubiquitous and important they are.

This fun Web site is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. Here, marine biologist Melanie Stiassny introduces kids to biodiversity in the ocean. The article contains three engaging, kid-friendly sections: Diversity of Life on Earth, which has an overview of six major groups of life on Earth and challenges kids to determine the correct group for nine different life forms, including blue-green alga, spiny lobster, red mangrove, and white marlin. It All Began in the Oceans, has a time-line that tracks the development of life on Earth since the planet formed. A Whale of a Tale, takes a look at the biggest animal that has ever lived and the AMNH's star attraction.

Lichens are made of fungi and algae. Fungi cannot make their own food and depend on the algae for food (photosynthesis). The fungi provide a water source for the algae. The fungi also provide the reproductive structure for the lichen.

CK-12 Life Science Honors For Middle School covers seven units: Understanding Living Things; Cells: The Building Blocks of Life; Genetics and Evolution; Prokaryotes, Protists, Fungi, and Plants; The Animal Kingdom; The Human Body; and Ecology.

CK-12 Life Science For Middle School covers: Cell Biology, Genetics, Evolution, Prokaryotes, Protists, Fungi, Plants, The Animal Kingdom, The Human Body, and Ecology.

Techniques for obtaining VAM samples from natural sources and from inoculated samples and methods of processing, staining and clearing root samples, and identification of fungal structures are described in this exercise.

Welcome to the Teachers' Corner of Small Things Considered. In this section, we include the posts we deem most adequate for teaching purposes. We have reorganized them into subject areas geared for a typical microbiology course. To date, this material has been used for various forms of intellectual enrichment, e.g., suggested readings, class presentations, a source of topics for term papers. You can also find here our Talmudic Questions, which we characterize as those whose answers cannot be found in Google. We are told that some of these questions have been used in exams ranging from tests for undergraduate courses to qualifying/prelims for graduate students.

This course will cover a range of diverse areas of microbiology, including virology, bacteriology, and even applied microbiology. This course will focus on the medical aspects of microbiology, as medical research has been the primary motivator in microbiology research. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: explain how organisms are classified using taxonomy, focusing on the domains Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya; describe the chemical building blocks and metabolic processes important to sustain microbial life; identify the major principles of microbiology and describe the relationship between microbes and other living organisms; discuss pathogenic microbes and their epidemiology; differentiate between microorganisms based on their shape, size, arrangement, staining, and culture characteristics; outline antimicrobial methods including antibiotic use; explain how the human body protects itself; list uses for microbiology in food and beverage preparation and industry. (Biology 307)

This College level Unit in Microbiology explores microbes on five levels, their architecture, ecology, physiology, lifecycles and pathology. Students will be given an interactive tour of the world of microbes and learn more about their impact on Humans, animals, plants and on the environment in general. They will become aware of pathogenic (harmful) and non-pathogenic (helpful) microbes and develop an understanding of how microbiologists devise methods to study microbes in order to understand their benefits and to help to minimize their deleterious effects.

In the Rocky Mountain Edition of the Natural Inquirer you will learn about fungi, Lodgepole Pine adaptations, mountain streams, Quaking Aspen, the American Marten, skiing, snowboarding, and much more!

In the Spring 1999 Edition of the Natural Inquirer you will learn about Fusiform Rust Disease, Nematodes, Black Seed Rot, Fungi, Slash Pines, river rafting, and much more!

Students gain an understanding of the parts of a plant, plant types and how they produce their own food from sunlight through photosynthesis. They also learn about transpiration, the process by which plants release moisture to the atmosphere. With this understanding, students test the effects of photosynthesis and transpiration by growing a plant from seed. They learn how plants play an important part in maintaining a balanced environment in which the living organisms of the Earth survive. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their evolving understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

This engaging illustrated guide gives an introduction to the local invertebrates one can see in various habitats of New York City and offers suggestions for where and when to search for them, along with information on how best to protect them. The Seasonal Guide is being distributed at no charge throughout the City to parks, nature centers, and other organizations involved in public education and conservation.