Category Archives: IBDP Biology
Essential Biology 03 – Chemistry of Life uploaded
Part 3 of the revision guide for 2009 session IB Diploma Biology is here:
essential-biology-03-chemistry-of-life.doc
To the right of this page there are also new updates specifically aimed at IBDP Bio – separate pages for each topic in the syllabus. I’ll try to get these as complete as possible as soon as possible, but things might be a bit quiet round here in the run-up to the exams.
If you dowload the document, let me know how you get on.
Hormonal Control – linklist
Donwload the powerpoint here: hormonal_control.ppt
Here’s a good simple overview of steroids and peptides – Wisconsin Online
Old school overview of the endocrine system:
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Mode of action of steroid hormones:
Clear explanation from McGraw Hill
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Mode of action of peptide steroids:
Short video, but clear – UC Davis
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Mode of action of thyroxine:
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Negative feedback and thyroxin secretion:
Control of the pituitary – Leif Saul (Biology in Motion – very good)
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Control of ADH Secretion:
Too simple, but good overview – BBC GSCE Bitesize
Focus on the kidney (reviewing the effect of ADH) – BiologyMad
Other useful links:
Photosynthesis Linklist
Here’s a bit of silliness to begin:
And now for some ‘proper’ stuff:
(Download the version with animations and notes here: photosynthesis.ppt)
Step-through – Garrett and Grisham Biochemistry
John Kyrk again – very detailed
Simple, not entirely relevant – University of Aberdeen
Old-school animations, useful explanations – Teachnet
Light dependent reaction:
Nice and simple – St Olaf college
Another simple animation – on the webpage of National Louis University
Light Independent Reactions:
Calvin cycle step-through – National Louis University
Nice interactive Calvin cycle – Smith College
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Some more general videos and overviews after the jump…
Cell Respiration – linklist
Here’s a good one for an opener: no narration, just an action-packed graphic.
It comes from Dr. Meyer at Queensborough Community College.
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– Here’s a cracking step-through animation – from John Burrell at Patana
Slideshare.net has collections of slideshows that can be viewed online:
Download the editable version here: cell_respiration_hl.ppt
Here’s another:
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OK, here are some more animations:
Respiration is not breathing! – Tim and Moby (Brainpop)
Good tutorial with questions – University of Wisconsin
Simple overview – Herriot Watt
Flash Overview – UC Davis biosciences
Windows Media overview (very flashy, above HL) – Virtual Cell Animation Collection
Stage-specific animations after the jump (glycolysis, Kreb’s cycle and ETC, oxidative phosphorylation)
150 years since ‘On the Origin of Species’
Darwin’s theory of natural selection was finally published (and sold-out) in November 1859. The idea had been in his head, and a talking point of others, for years before. We’re still talking about it today.
Here’s a clip from a BBC documentary called Legacy about the impact of Darwin’s ideas:
The Guardian newspaper has a great page devoted to Darwin, including key excerpts from ‘On the Origin of Species…‘ and an article by Richard Dawkins.
You can download the full text of the first edition in pdf format from the University of New South Wales, or read it online at Talk Origins.
Neurons and Synapses: linklist
Here’s a jazzy introduction from Discovery Channel, with a soundtrack inspired by Tubular Bells:
And now for the serious animations.
Neurons and Action Potentials:
Excellent Flash from Children’s Hosital Boston
Good introduction from Harvard
Excellent comprehensive tutorial (Harvard Outreach)
Another good AP tutorial (can’t be saved) (Jordan Kerr University)
Generating Action Potential (MRothery, Watford Girls’ Grammar)
Comparing continuous and saltatory transmission (Matthews/Neurobiology)
Propagating an AP (McGraw Hill) (More from this source)
Synaptic Transmission:
Nice clear intro (McGraw Hill)
Another clear one (though missing the post-transmission ‘cleanup’) (BishopStopford)
Some Chemsketches of neurotransmitters (Harvey Project)
Neuromuscular Junction:
Neuromuscular junction step-through (Sinauer Associates)
Simple line-drawing animation (Harvey Project)
Muscle Contraction:
Nice animation of sliding filaments (Matthews/Neurobiology)
A good interactive diagram (Thomson/Brooks/Cole)
Neurotransmitters and Drugs:
Excellent, accessible overview from Jellinek, a Dutch drug education website
Good powerpoint from HHMI
Excellent overview of effects of drugs (Harvard)
Amphetamines, Cocaine, Nicotine as excitatory psychoactives (McGill ‘The Brain’)
Benzodiazepines, Cannabis, Alcohol as inhibitory psychoactives (McGill ‘The Brain’)
Parkinson’s Disease:
Short Introduction (from UPenn/ADAM)
Simple interactive – effects of lesions on inhibitory or excitatory ganglia (San Diego State College of Science)
Sample Questions: have a go at these NeuroBioHL_Qs
Gene Almanac – a resource of good animations and simulations
From the Dolan Learning Centre, this collection of animations and simulations can be downloaded easily for PC and MAC.
Clicking the image on the left should bring you directly to an animation about the polymerase chain reaction.
Imaging Technology Group’s Virtual Microscope – Amazing free software
This is an unbelievable free, open-source piece of software. It basically emulates a scanning electron microscope and allows you all kinds of fuctionality, including: wide range of magnifications of super-high quality images; mass spec analysis with false colouring of different elements present; control over colour, brightness and image position; a very nifty measurement/line tool that is just perfect for the the IB Cells statements on magnifications.
The download is 128MB for the package including three images ready to mount. When opened, you can download many more images (around 25-30MB each – huge and great quality).
It’s brilliant – stop reading this and go play with it.
Well, if you’re still reading…
Their excellent website also includes a series of animations on the basics of microscopy, videos on preparing mounts and even a section on careers in microscopy.
Social Behaviour
Attenborough and the eusocial naked mole rat. Good to see him get stuck in with a shovel.
Here’s a clip of chimpanzees grooming from www.arkive.org:
I couldn’t find a good clip of ant social behaviour that explained colony structure. Instead, here’s Vicky Pollard doing her thing as an example of anti-social behaviour:
“Where’s the baby?”
“Swapped it for a westlife CD.”
“How could you do that?”
“I know, they’re rubbish!”
i-Biology 