The Oedogoniales are remarkable filamentous green algae. Their method of cell elongation is unique, utilizing a donut-shaped ring of soft wall material which is stretched to form the new daughter cell. While Oedogonium is a simple filament, the related Bulbochaete and Oedocladium are branched and Bulbochaete differentiates long hair cells. The zoospore is large and multiflagellated. Sexual reproduction is oogamous and either “macrandrous” or “nannandrous.”...

Three dimensional animations, supported by aurthoritative narrations, explore the leaf surface and explain the functioning of the guard cells. The viewer is then taken inside the leaf to see the photosynthesis and conducting cells. Witness the dynamic events of guard cell movements, gas exchange and the transport of water and sugars. Animations also illustrate the forms of leaves and how they are modified for dry and aquatic habitats..

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. Computer animations take you inside a clump of moss plants to illustrate external structure. You are then transported inside the tips of male and female stems where gametangia (sex organs), sperm release, fertilization and embryo development are illustrated..

For convenience, biologists divide living organisms into five “Kingdoms”: the Monerans (bacteria and cyanobacteria), Protists, Fungi, Plants, and Animals. The Kingdom Protista includes a vast array of tiny eukaryotic cells that lead complex and extraordinary lives far from the eyes of most humans; a dedication to microscopy is vital to see them in all their splendor. This video is a unique resource introducing the viewer to a considerable range...

An inspiring and challenging 20 minute video for high school or university biology students. This video starts by emphasizing the central importance of cells in life, and that living cells can only arise from other living cells by cell division. After distinguishing mitosis (nuclear division) from cytokinesis (cell division), several animal cells are shown undergoing mitosis and a 3D animation shows how the mitotic spindle is assembled. Chromosomes...

Reproduction in the red algae is unique. No flagellated stages are ever formed, and it is generally assumed that the various reproductive spores are inert. This video demonstrates that spores in many species are actively motile, either by gliding or amoeboid activity. This limited power of movement may turn out to be of considerable significance in survival strategies (e.g. dispersion, optimization of a germination site).. Sexual reproduction is also...

Mitosis requires cells to organize numerous jumbled chromosomes and then separate them with absolute fidelity into two equal groups. How this extraordinary process is accomplished is still poorly understood.. This video reveals the events of mitosis at a level of detail usually seen only in research laboratories. In addition, two Appendices show mitosis in a classical system, the diatom cell, and some experiments on living cells that illustrate why...

Discover how proteins fold into complex shapes, often with the help of molecular chaperones. Then learn the deadly consequences of proteins that do not fold properly, leading to degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and prion diseases. Also look at intrinsically disordered proteins, which lack a fixed structure, permitting flexible interactions with other biomolecules.

A metabolic pathway is a series of biochemical reactions, where the product of one serves as the substrate for the next. Biochemists compare these pathways to road maps that show the network of reactions leading from one chemical to the next. Follow the metabolic pathway called glycolysis that breaks up glucose and other sugars. Then trace the route for fatty acid oxidation.

We’re all getting older every day, and scientific research has shown that starting in our twenties, some brain functions begin a linear decline. But is old age all doom and gloom?..Not at all! While it’s true that some functions in the aging brain decline, neuroscientists have discovered that many other brain functions remain stable - or even improve - as we age. Furthermore, nurture plays as significant a role as nature, and there are a number...