Product Description

Worried about your maternal effect or biological clock? Need to know a rhizoid from a rhizome? Think you’re going to fail your zoology or botany exam? The Penguin Dictionary of Biology is your saviour, defining some 6000 terms relating to this rich, complex and constantly expanding subject – from amino acids, bacteria and the cell cycle to X-ray diffraction, Y chromosome and zygotes. Long established as the definitive single-volume source, this dictionary has sold over 200,000 copies and is extensively updated for its eleventh edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65102 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 752 pages

Review
A marvelous compendium: accurate, clear and complete. (Matt Ridley, author of "Genome")

About the Author
Michael Thain has taught biology at Harrow since 1969. He is a fellow of the Institute of Biology and a council member of the London Natural History Society. Michael Hickman has been Professor of Botany at the University of Alberta, Canada, since 1981. He lives in Edmonton.

Customer Reviews

Very clear, yet contains detailed information where needed.
A simple to use Dictionary of Biological terms, covering all aspects of biology. The descriptions of the scientific terms used are clear and concise, not confusing as can happen with textbook longwinded descriptions.

Fantastic
This is a great addition to anybodies personal library. The first thing that struck me about this dictionary are the suggestions for further reading at the bottom of almost each entry. This dictionary is so thorough that I find myself flicking from one entry to another reading them like chapters in a novel at times.

Maintain that resting potential, now!
The question was: what (or whatever) maintains the resting membrane potential nowadays! I always thought that it was the sodium pump (or Na K ATPase etc.). Recently, I heard: No, it is not the sodium pump that maintains the resting potential. So I checked both the Oxford and the Penguin Dictionaries of Biology. Oxford says that the resting potential is maintained by the sodium pump; however, the Penguin says it is the leaky potassium channels, and sodium pump plays a slight role. Well, it is one of those academic debates, it would seem--which really mean nothing--because nothing is at stake! The debate is from confusing maintenance, recovery, and repair--perhaps. Is it the resting potential (a thing being maintained) or is it the repolarization after a depolarization (a thing in recovery) that we are talking about? Is maintenance still maintenance if you spend energy in extruding the smaller atoms out--well: a running car can be maintained only by spending money? Perhaps, after all, it is only the usual confusion of the frogs in a well: they can only see the stars in their own horizons. The whole biological process has several components, and to know which is the one--well, just take one out and see if the process holds and functions. Which brick is the most important in a wall? Clearly, the truth is never simple, and possibly there is no such thing as the truth. Things evolve using all of the components--and are what they are. So, I guess it is always the context and it is always relative: point of view etc. There is no simple correct answer because the question is incorrectly formulated--without the necessary context. What is more important in the running of a car: the engine or the gas? So get both the Oxford and Penguin--they complement, and both are useful when viewed and understood in the right context: neither can replace the textbook; and no textbook replaces all the source materials--but you need to start somewhere. For a rich fantasy life read Ayul Zamir's Intern Beth. Now, whatever maintains that resting membrane potential!