Portal:Life Sciences

The Life Sciences Portal

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Welcome to the Life Sciences Portal!

This page connects Wikiversity visitors to the learning resources that have been developed by the various Wikiversity Life Sciences content development projects. Wikiversity participants who are interested in the Life Sciences are invited to create and develop learning projects and learning resources and help organize them by developing this portal.

Browse the major Life Sciences categories: Biology - Marine sciences - Medicine - Neuroscience - Plant Sciences - Zoology

Featured learning activity

Chimpanzee.

Participants in the Human Genetic Uniqueness Project join in the search for genes that account for the genetic differences between humans and our closest relatives. Activities center on accessing genome databases and analysis of differences between human genes and the genes of other species. Background learning topics include learning about genes, and genome sequencing projects.

Selected picture

Argonaute-containing RNA destruction complex. Image source: Leemor Joshua-Tor.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2007 was awarded to Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello for their research on RNA interference. RNA interference is a mechanism for control of gene expression inside cells. This diagram shows how an anti-sense RNA (the yellow strand in this diagram) targets destruction of complementary mRNA (orange strand). The active site of the enzyme that cuts the mRNA has the amino acid sequence amino acids Asp-Asp-His (DDH) at the active site.

Medical interventions that activate the RNA interference are being studied as possible future treatments of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Selected research

Apricot tree.

Participants in the Bloom clock project track and report the bloom times of wildflowers and other plants. Bloom clocks are kept by gardeners, ecologists, and others who record the time of year different plants are in bloom. This project attempts to reduce the effects of anomalous data in an attempt to generate maps of geographical "zones" that can eventually be used when describing a plant's expected bloom time in a particular region.

Did you know...

Cell layers of the retina.

Is the mammalian retina backwards? In the diagram, light enters from the left. The cells in the retina that detect light are at the deepest layer of the retina, to the right in the diagram. See human eye development.

Related portals

Other Wikiversity science-related portals:
Biology - Engineering and Technology - Mathematics - Physical Sciences - Social Sciences - General Science Portal

Content development projects

Wikiversity is new and depends on volunteer editors who create learning resources.

Schools
Biology - Biomechanics - Marine sciences - Medicine - Alternative Medicine - Dentistry - Nursing - Pharmacy - Veterinary Medicine - Plant Sciences - Zoology
Topics
All topics by school

Categories

Browse our learning resources:

• Anatomy
• Biology
• Emergency Medicine
• Evolution
• History of biology
• Marine sciences
• Medical Terminology
• Medicine
• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Paleontology
• Pharmacology
• Physiology
• Plant Sciences
• Psychology
• Virology
• Zoology

Quotes

"...any variation, however slight and from whatever cause proceeding, if it be in any degree profitable to an individual of any species, in its infinitely complex relationship to other organic beings and to external nature, will tend to the preservation of that individual, and will generally be inherited by its offspring." - Charles Darwin

"Every college student should be able to answer the following question: What is the relation between science and the humanities, and how is it important for human welfare?" Edward O. Wilson.

Life Sciences learning projects

Earth life; are we alone?

• Nobel Prize Report - short podcast about the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Physiology (link does not work any more 2008/11/18)
• The 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Roger D. Kornberg for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription.
• Getting to know pathogens - introduction to the concept of microbial disease
• Telemedicine in French-speaking Africa - RAFT, a network of educational television and telemedicine in French-speaking Africa
• Allelopathy is the chemical property of a given plant that allows it to suppress the growth of other plants, similar to herbicides.
• Darwinism as religion - is evolution taught as religion in public schools?
• Cell Biology - Exploring cell biology. Independent study with projects.
• Phage project - participants access phage gene databases and participate in phage genomics research projects.
• Encyclopedia of life - Explore cooperation between education-oriented Biology websites.
• Life origins - abiotic origin of life, endosymbiotic origin of eukaryotes, origin of action potentials, origin of the human species, origin of human language.
• Pluripotent stem cells - What are the prospects for medical therapies using embryonic stem cells?
• Wikiversity Genomics Database - Database of information on genome characteristics.
• The Science Behind Parkinson's - A learning and researching project for sharing emerging knowledge and insights.

Things you can do

To-do list for Portal:Life Sciences:	edit · history · watch · refresh
Here are some tasks you can do: Create content. Organize existing content so that it is easily navigated. Contribute to the Wikiversity Genomics Database.

Life Sciences news

Participants at the Wikiversity Science Journalism Center develop learning resources about science journalism. The 2006 journal article RNA Silencing Sheds Light on the RNA World by Rachel Jones explored the implications of RNA interference for the molecular origins of life. See also: RNA World.