Diatoms are an extraordinarily successful group of organisms and their many thousands of species have diversified and specialized so as to occupy every environmental niche. Part of their success derives from their unique protective cell walls, beautifully elaborate structures made of pure silica. However, living inside walls made of this rigid, refractory material creates many problems. Just how diatoms circumvent these problems provides the major...

Combining images of living plant stages with computer simulations allows you to easily bridge the gap between the familiar plant and the micro-environment contained within it. Three dimensional animations take you in and around reproductive structures such as the sorus, sporangium, and antheridium and archegonium. You see dynamic events such as spore formation, spore release, prothallus formation, sperm release, fertilization and embryo growth..

Investigate the life cycles and adaptations of animals, plants, and microorganisms in nature.

"Of the 7,000 estimated non-native species present in North America, approximately 1,000 are invasive. Clearly, invasive species are in the minority, but their small numbers don't keep them from causing billions of dollars in economic and ecological harm each year. Policymakers and ecologists continue to try to figure out which species might be harmful, which invasive species are doing the most damage, and which of these might respond best to eradication...

Try to find different animals from Arctic foxes to zebras hidden in their natural habitats.

Explains how recent discoveries in molecular biology can change our understanding of evolution and life's history, with powerful implications for human health and even our own human nature.

"Zoologist Bill Schutt delivers a look at hearts from across the animal kingdom, from insects to whales to humans. Illustrated with black-and-white line drawings"--

In a near-future world where biotechnology and genetic research has become big business, the discovery of several transgenic animals leads to a legal and ethical battle over the rights to genes that can be used for commercial purposes.