RECENT ARTICLES
All of the following articles are "student tested", i.e.,
students in my general biology class have reviewed each of these articles. If
you are searching for an article to review, scan the list below for some great
ideas. If you just like to read about the latest advances in biology at a level that
assumes you understand biology at the college freshman level, you're sure to find
something of interest. Note that all articles come from one of the following
journals: American Scientist, BioScience, Natural History, and Scientific American. If you find an article
that you think should be added to this list, send me a note at nverdae@nvcc.edu. This list will be updated
periodically so return often!
ECOLOGY
 | American Scientist
 | Tadpole Communities, David Skelly, January-February 1997 |
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| Natural History
| Microcosmos, Stephen Jay Gould, March 1996. Dr. Gould has a
feature each month called "This View of Life". It usually deals with
topics on ecology or evolution and is consistently thought-provoking. This article is so
thought provoking, I'm keeping it on the "approved" list despite the fact that
it is more than two years old! |
| The Work of Nature, Yvonne Baskin, February, 1997. Are all
species equally significant in an ecosystem? |
| Fragments of the Forest, William F. Laurance, July-August 1998. An
excellent article on the destruction of tropical rainforests and the effect this is having
on biodiversity. |
| High Roads to Oblivion, Jay Malcolm, July-August 1998. Another
excellent article on rainforest destruction. This article deals with the specific
responses of small mammals to forest fragmentation. |
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| Scientific American
| Shrimp Aquaculture and the Environment, C. Boyd and J. Clay, June
1998. Shrimp farming has increased dramatically in the last twenty years. This
article examines the environmental implications of this practice. |
| Everyday Exposure to Toxic Chemicals, W. Ott and J. Roberts, February
1998. The Environmental Protection Agency has focused on outdoor air quality while
exposure to toxic chemicals in our home environment has largely been ignored. This Scientific American
article is available on the web. |
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EVOLUTION
| Scientific American
| The Beluga Whales of the St. Lawrence River, Pierre Beland, May,
1996. This article is a good example of the role of an ecologist in trying to
understand why a population may be declining even though it is protected. |
| The Challenge of Antibiotic Resistance, Stuart Levy, March, 1998. |
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| Natural History
| **Nonoverlapping Magisteria, Stephen Jay Gould, March 1997.
Don't be intimidated by the title. This thought-provoking article argues that
science and religion are not in conflict. Dr. Gould dedicates this article to the
memory of his friend and colleague Carl Sagan. |
| *The Tallest Tale, Stephen Jay Gould, May, 1996. Dr. Gould
presents a convincing argument for not believing everything you read in your biology
textbook. This article is so appropriate for Biology 101 that it may remain on this
suggested list for another ten years! |
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EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOR
| Scientific American
| Mating Strategies in Butterflies, Ronald L. Rutowski, July 1998. A
mating of ideas dealing with evolution and behavior. |
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| Natural History
| Life in the Balance, Niles Eldredge, June, 1998 Outstanding choice
for dealing with some of the major themes underlying the loss of biodiversity. |
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CELL BIOLOGY
| Scientific American
| *The Birth of Complex Cells, Christian de Duve, April 1996 This
article deals with the evolution of eukaryotic cells. This is an outstanding
addition to the unit on cell structure and function. Even though it is more dated than I
usually accept, I will accept this article through 1999. |
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MOLECULAR GENETICS
The last half of the 20th Century is shaping up as the most fruitful
period in our understanding of life. Advances at the molecular level offer exciting
possibilities for dealing with both medical and environmental problems. It would not
be an exaggeration to say that this research is transforming our vision of life. In 1996
alone, headlines announced the arrival of both Dolley, the first cloned mammal, and
artificial chromosomes. At the same time, as such explosive breakthroughs pile up at an
ever faster speed, these advances in our understanding of life (and the ability to
manipulate it ) pose significant bioethical issues. All major scientific journals have a
wealth of articles that deal with the promise, as well as the problems, posed by this area
of research. It behooves all of us to understand and grapple with these issues.
| BioScience
| Genetics and the Control of Crime, Tabitha Powledge, January 1996. |
| RNA,s Revising Machinery, Stephen Hart, May, 1996. |
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| Science
| Coming to Grips with Genes and Risk, P. Kahn, October, 1996. |
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| Scientific American
| *Discovering Genes for New Medicines, William Haseltine This article
is written by the CEO of a prominent biotechnology firm, Human Genome Sciences. |
| *Vital Data, Tim Beardsley, March, 1996. |
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MEDICINE
HINT: Despite the familiarity of most of the topics developed in the
articles in this section, an understanding of biochemistry, cell biology, and genetics is
helpful.
| Scientific American
| Understanding Parkinson's Disease, M. Youdim and P. Riederer,
January, 1997. |
| Designer Estrogens, V. Craig Jordan, October 1998 Learn about a
new class of drugs that hold promise for treating osteoporosis, heart disease, breast
cancer, and endometrial cancer. |
| Evolution
and the Origins of Disease, R. Nesse and G. Williams, November, 1998. |
| Cloning
for Medicine, Ian Wilmut, December, 1998. Remember Dolly? The "producer" of
Dolly discusses the techniques involved in cloning and some of the positive outcomes of
such research.
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BIOWEB