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Life on Earth is an iBooks Textbook consisting of 41 chapters in 7 separate units and can be downloaded for free from the iBooks Store.
Lumen Learning provides a Biology text with various chapters such as The Chemical Foundation of Life and Osmotic Regulation and the Excretory System.
Lumen Learning provides a Microbiology text with various chapters such as Cell Structure of Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes and Pathogenicity.
MERLOT is a curated collection of free and open online teaching, learning, and faculty development services contributed and used by an international education community.
The National Academies Press (NAP)
This is a great resource that provides textbooks on biology and life sciences.
OER Commons provides a curated collection of textbooks and resources for biological studies including zoology, botany and ecology.
Over thirty open textbooks covering Biology.
Browse a wide selection of textbooks on biological science topics.
National Science Digital Library
Provides a robust search to limit by activity type, media format, and age level. (Actually a pre-defined subset of the OER Commons)
More advanced, specific science resources that are open and could be used in a classroom setting.
AMSER: Applied Math and Science Educational Repository
Funded by the NSF and organized by Library of Congress subject headings. Aimed at Community and Technical Colleges, but free for all.
Scitable - by Nature Education
A free science library and personal learning tool. Currently concentrates on genetics and cell biology.
Texts
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NLM / NCBI Bookshelf (National Library of Medicine / National Center for Biotechnology Information) "provides free online access to books and documents in life science and healthcare."
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OpenStax Biology 2nd EditionBiology is designed to cover the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester biology course for science majors. The text provides comprehensive coverage of foundational research and core biology concepts through an evolutionary lens.
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OpenStax Concepts of BiologyConcepts of Biology is designed for the typical introductory biology course for nonmajors, covering standard scope and sequence requirements. The text includes interesting applications and conveys the major themes of biology, with content that is meaningful and easy to understand. The book is designed to demonstrate biology concepts and to promote scientific literacy.
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Biology I Laboratory ManualThis set of Biology I lab assignments ensures students have the opportunity to apply the concepts and information they learn as they work through Biology I course content. Content includes lab assignments for students, as well as Instructor Materials Preparation for each lab with detailed lists of what faculty members need for each lab.
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Introduction to Molecular & Cellular BiologyThis open course is intended for the student interested in understanding and appreciating common biological topics in the study of the smallest units within biology: molecules and cells.
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Biology LibreTextsTexts in Biology available online from the University of California Davis.
Microbiology
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OpenStax MicrobiologyMicrobiology covers the scope and sequence requirements for a single-semester microbiology course for non-majors. The book presents the core concepts of microbiology with a focus on applications for careers in allied health.
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MicrobiologyThis Microbiology textbook, adapted from the Boundless version, is intended to provide health care professionals with a working knowledge of infectious disease. Much of the book is devoted to the structure/function relationships in pathogenic microorganisms and how these relationships are expressed in host-parasite interactions. Also has accompanying lab manual.
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Microbiology: A Laboratory ExperienceThis text provides a series of laboratory exercises compatible with a one-semester undergraduate microbiology or bacteriology course with a three- or four-hour lab period that meets once or twice a week. The design of the lab manual conforms to the American Society for Microbiology curriculum guidelines and takes a ground-up approach — beginning with an introduction to biosafety and containment practices and how to work with biological hazards.
Other Topics in Biology
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Environmental BiologyThis college-level open textbook covers the most salient environmental issues from a biological perspective.
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Entomology Lab ManualLabs in this book supplement the information gained in lecture, as well as providing some perspective and experience with hands-on applications of ideas in pest management. The labs are presented in week-by-week order, so the pre-labs and reading for week 1 are labeled “Pre-Lab 1” and “Week 1 Reading”.