Learning the science of biology is a challenge, due to the diversity of organisms themselves, the multitude of biological processes, and the many ways in which the estimated 8.6 million species on Earth interact with one another. This series of ebooks seeks to simplify this challenge by presenting the science of biology from an entirely new perspective. Rather than emphasize life’s diversity, this series focuses on principles that apply either to all organisms, or to the vast majority of them.
The first volume in the Unifying Principles of Biology series, subtitled Characteristics of Life, provides a detailed examination of five traits possessed by all species: Cellular Organization, Metabolism, Homeostasis, Growth and Reproduction, and Heredity.
