how to conclude a biology essay

BIOLOGY JUNCTION

Test And Quizzes for Biology, Pre-AP, Or AP Biology For Teachers And Students

Conclusions

Writing a Good Conclusion

The Conclusion is where you make it clear to the lab instructor what you learned in the lab experience. Since the purpose of the lab is to learn something about science, take the time to write a Conclusion that convinces the lab instructor of what you have learned.

Step 1: Restate your hypothesis.

Step 2 : Write one or more paragraphs that completely summarizes what you have learned from each part of the lab about the scientific concept of the lab from doing the lab. Back up your statement with supporting details (data) from your lab experience.

Step 3: Make sure that you interpret all of your data (Explain what your data means).

Additional Tips:

·         Strive for logic and precision and avoid ambiguity, especially with pronouns and sequences

·         Keep your writing impersonal; avoid the use of the first person (i.e. I or we)

·         Use the past tense and be consistent within the report note: “data” is plural and “datum” is singular; species is singular and plural

·         Italicize all scientific names (genus and species)

·         Use the metric system of measurement and abbreviate measurements without periods (i.e. cm  kg)

·         Spell out all numbers beginning sentences or less than 10 (i.e. “two explanations of six factors”).

·         Write numbers as numerals when greater than ten (i.e. 156) or associated with measurements (i.e. 6 mm or 2 g)

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How To Write A Biology Essay

Table of Contents

Content of this article

Topic choice.

• Content page
• Research question
• Introduction
• Investigation

Biology papers give us an opportunity of understanding forms that are complex in life. This, therefore, means you will have the chance to fully understand the plants as well as the animals found in the ecosystem. People are given assignments on biology so that they can fully research and have knowledge concerning the components of nature. An essay on biology also assists people in how to care for and tend to themselves. These biology papers also assist in fully understanding how the world and humanity are related. An essay on biology will, therefore, assist in answering queries and issues related to biology. The tips from our academic essay writing service may help a person to make the work professional without errors and mistakes. A primary element to keep in mind when writing biology papers is always to have a biology essay draft that will assist you all through the writing process. Biology essay topics need to be detailed so that they can be differentiated from other types of papers.

The topics of the biology papers determine the points that will be used in the article. This, therefore, means that the biology essay writing guide is dependent on the topic selected . Ensure that you fully understand what the biology essay writing expects from you and create a biology essay outline that will assist you in preparing an excellent piece. Biology essay outlining assists in the construction of detailed articles. Below are biology essay topics that one can use in biology essay writing.

Biology essay topics

• Are vaccines necessary in our system?
• Omnivore’s plants
• How did the dinosaurs just disappear?
• Did the evolution start from the monkeys?
• Which are the most intelligent animals on the face of the earth?
• Why do the male seahorses often carry the offspring?
• How were the wolves domesticated?
• The genetic mutations in plants and animals.
• How the albino animals are different; is this trait also shared in plants and humans?
• The process of aging in humans.

These are some of the good biology essay topics that you can use to produce an article that is standard.

Biology essay structure

The outline for a biology essay gives you clear guidelines on how to go about writing the article. The biology essay draft should go in line with the topic that the writer has chosen.

The biology essay outlining is as illustrated below:

1. The title

• The title page offers clear indications of the biology essay focus.
• The title should be precisely phrased and at the same time based on the hypothesis.
• Avoid jargon for the title to look professional.
• The title should also give the reader a quick understanding of the topic.

2. The content page

This page is located at the beginning of biology papers after the abstract and the title pages. The page shows the numbers as well as the subsections of the essay on biology.

3. The research question

The topics for a biology essay determine the research questions to be used. The research question shows what the article is trying to establish. Keep in mind that the question is not the same as the title.

• The question in motion should be highlighted in the introduction. The content page will give the reader an understanding of the article.
• The question should introduce new ideas as well.

4. The introduction

The biology essay introduction is the most crucial part of the article, as it will determine whether the readers will want to read more of the piece or not.

• The introduction for a biology essay should illustrate what is being argued in the article.
• For an introduction to be successful, the contents need to be brief and accurate.
• Another professional way how to start a biology essay introduction is by illustrating how you reached the focus of the research.
• The introduction should also contain the references that were accessed.
• What might be revealed in the study should also be highlighted in the opening section.

5. The investigation

The study section gives you the chance of illustrating how the data was selected as well as its reliability.

• You need to clearly explain, describe and justify the choice of collecting primary data.
• Don’t forget to state the sources of the experiments. The method used should be detailed. Someone would want to repeat the same procedure.
• Ensure that the investigations are ethical and not cruel.

6. The analysis

• The body is the meat of the literature essay. The body covers most of the article. A common way how to write a biology essay body is by using at least three paragraphs.
• The biology essay tips need to be relevant to the research question being discussed. The points should also give assertion to the reader.
• Highlight the biology essay prompts as well. Elaborate on how the ideas have been used to support the question in the essay on biology.
• For an effective essay on biology writing, discuss each point in its paragraph. This technique will give you the chance of exhausting the points.

7. The biology essay conclusion

The end of the article should be firm and sum up the whole article. The conclusion is a formal way how to conclude a biology essay. The conclusion restates the points for emphasis and makes the final argument clear. This section also gives you the chance of drawing connections between the points and questions being discussed. The conclusion for a biology essay also gives room for you to show your engagement with the essay on biology on a personal ground. The conclusion should be in a position of reformulating a new hypothesis as well as comparing the content to the secondary sources used. You can finish up the biology essay by stating the significance of the statistical tests done.

8. The references

Making citations is an essential issue in biology papers. There are quite some formatting and citation styles ranging from APA to MLA.  You should, therefore, be keen on the style specified. Referencing styles depends on the academic discipline that one is in. For instance, APA is used in psychology, education, and sciences

Archetti M 2000. The origin of autumn colors by coevolution. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 205: 625–63

9. Sources for essay choice

Sources can either be secondary or primary. The primary source refers to any work that can be accessed originally. The secondary source refers to the works that have been original, but have been produced by another person. Examples of secondary sources include books , encyclopedias, and journals among other recreated works. You can use both the primary and secondary data to make your biology paper a success.

10. Finalizing the Essay

Once the essay on biology has been written, a revision is necessary to ensure the content is in order. A standard method of review is proofreading. Proofreading gives you the chance to analyze your work and correct errors that are avoidable.

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the complete ib extended essay guide: examples, topics, and ideas.

International Baccalaureate (IB)

IB students around the globe fear writing the Extended Essay, but it doesn't have to be a source of stress! In this article, I'll get you excited about writing your Extended Essay and provide you with the resources you need to get an A on it.

If you're reading this article, I'm going to assume you're an IB student getting ready to write your Extended Essay. If you're looking at this as a potential future IB student, I recommend reading our introductory IB articles first, including our guide to what the IB program is and our full coverage of the IB curriculum .

IB Extended Essay: Why Should You Trust My Advice?

I myself am a recipient of an IB Diploma, and I happened to receive an A on my IB Extended Essay. Don't believe me? The proof is in the IBO pudding:

If you're confused by what this report means, EE is short for Extended Essay , and English A1 is the subject that my Extended Essay topic coordinated with. In layman's terms, my IB Diploma was graded in May 2010, I wrote my Extended Essay in the English A1 category, and I received an A grade on it.

What Is the Extended Essay in the IB Diploma Programme?

The IB Extended Essay, or EE , is a mini-thesis you write under the supervision of an IB advisor (an IB teacher at your school), which counts toward your IB Diploma (learn more about the major IB Diploma requirements in our guide) . I will explain exactly how the EE affects your Diploma later in this article.

For the Extended Essay, you will choose a research question as a topic, conduct the research independently, then write an essay on your findings . The essay itself is a long one—although there's a cap of 4,000 words, most successful essays get very close to this limit.

Keep in mind that the IB requires this essay to be a "formal piece of academic writing," meaning you'll have to do outside research and cite additional sources.

The IB Extended Essay must include the following:

• A title page
• Contents page
• Introduction
• Body of the essay
• References and bibliography

Additionally, your research topic must fall into one of the six approved DP categories , or IB subject groups, which are as follows:

• Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature
• Group 2: Language Acquisition
• Group 3: Individuals and Societies
• Group 4: Sciences
• Group 5: Mathematics
• Group 6: The Arts

Once you figure out your category and have identified a potential research topic, it's time to pick your advisor, who is normally an IB teacher at your school (though you can also find one online ). This person will help direct your research, and they'll conduct the reflection sessions you'll have to do as part of your Extended Essay.

As of 2018, the IB requires a "reflection process" as part of your EE supervision process. To fulfill this requirement, you have to meet at least three times with your supervisor in what the IB calls "reflection sessions." These meetings are not only mandatory but are also part of the formal assessment of the EE and your research methods.

According to the IB, the purpose of these meetings is to "provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their engagement with the research process." Basically, these meetings give your supervisor the opportunity to offer feedback, push you to think differently, and encourage you to evaluate your research process.

The final reflection session is called the viva voce, and it's a short 10- to 15-minute interview between you and your advisor. This happens at the very end of the EE process, and it's designed to help your advisor write their report, which factors into your EE grade.

Here are the topics covered in your viva voce :

• A check on plagiarism and malpractice
• Your reflection on your project's successes and difficulties
• Your reflection on what you've learned during the EE process

Your completed Extended Essay, along with your supervisor's report, will then be sent to the IB to be graded. We'll cover the assessment criteria in just a moment.

We'll help you learn how to have those "lightbulb" moments...even on test day!  

What Should You Write About in Your IB Extended Essay?

You can technically write about anything, so long as it falls within one of the approved categories listed above.

It's best to choose a topic that matches one of the IB courses , (such as Theatre, Film, Spanish, French, Math, Biology, etc.), which shouldn't be difficult because there are so many class subjects.

Here is a range of sample topics with the attached extended essay:

• Biology: The Effect of Age and Gender on the Photoreceptor Cells in the Human Retina
• Chemistry: How Does Reflux Time Affect the Yield and Purity of Ethyl Aminobenzoate (Benzocaine), and How Effective is Recrystallisation as a Purification Technique for This Compound?
• English: An Exploration of Jane Austen's Use of the Outdoors in Emma
• Geography: The Effect of Location on the Educational Attainment of Indigenous Secondary Students in Queensland, Australia
• Math: Alhazen's Billiard Problem
• Visual Arts: Can Luc Tuymans Be Classified as a Political Painter?

You can see from how varied the topics are that you have a lot of freedom when it comes to picking a topic . So how do you pick when the options are limitless?

How to Write a Stellar IB Extended Essay: 6 Essential Tips

Below are six key tips to keep in mind as you work on your Extended Essay for the IB DP. Follow these and you're sure to get an A!

#1: Write About Something You Enjoy

You can't expect to write a compelling essay if you're not a fan of the topic on which you're writing. For example, I just love British theatre and ended up writing my Extended Essay on a revolution in post-WWII British theatre. (Yes, I'm definitely a #TheatreNerd.)

I really encourage anyone who pursues an IB Diploma to take the Extended Essay seriously. I was fortunate enough to receive a full-tuition merit scholarship to USC's School of Dramatic Arts program. In my interview for the scholarship, I spoke passionately about my Extended Essay; thus, I genuinely think my Extended Essay helped me get my scholarship.

But how do you find a topic you're passionate about? Start by thinking about which classes you enjoy the most and why . Do you like math classes because you like to solve problems? Or do you enjoy English because you like to analyze literary texts?

Keep in mind that there's no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing your Extended Essay topic. You're not more likely to get high marks because you're writing about science, just like you're not doomed to failure because you've chosen to tackle the social sciences. The quality of what you produce—not the field you choose to research within—will determine your grade.

Once you've figured out your category, you should brainstorm more specific topics by putting pen to paper . What was your favorite chapter you learned in that class? Was it astrophysics or mechanics? What did you like about that specific chapter? Is there something you want to learn more about? I recommend spending a few hours on this type of brainstorming.

One last note: if you're truly stumped on what to research, pick a topic that will help you in your future major or career . That way you can use your Extended Essay as a talking point in your college essays (and it will prepare you for your studies to come too!).

#2: Select a Topic That Is Neither Too Broad nor Too Narrow

There's a fine line between broad and narrow. You need to write about something specific, but not so specific that you can't write 4,000 words on it.

You can't write about WWII because that would be a book's worth of material. You also don't want to write about what type of soup prisoners of war received behind enemy lines, because you probably won’t be able to come up with 4,000 words of material about it. However, you could possibly write about how the conditions in German POW camps—and the rations provided—were directly affected by the Nazis' successes and failures on the front, including the use of captured factories and prison labor in Eastern Europe to increase production. WWII military history might be a little overdone, but you get my point.

If you're really stuck trying to pinpoint a not-too-broad-or-too-narrow topic, I suggest trying to brainstorm a topic that uses a comparison. Once you begin looking through the list of sample essays below, you'll notice that many use comparisons to formulate their main arguments.

I also used a comparison in my EE, contrasting Harold Pinter's Party Time with John Osborne's Look Back in Anger in order to show a transition in British theatre. Topics with comparisons of two to three plays, books, and so on tend to be the sweet spot. You can analyze each item and then compare them with one another after doing some in-depth analysis of each individually. The ways these items compare and contrast will end up forming the thesis of your essay!

When choosing a comparative topic, the key is that the comparison should be significant. I compared two plays to illustrate the transition in British theatre, but you could compare the ways different regional dialects affect people's job prospects or how different temperatures may or may not affect the mating patterns of lightning bugs. The point here is that comparisons not only help you limit your topic, but they also help you build your argument.

Comparisons are not the only way to get a grade-A EE, though. If after brainstorming, you pick a non-comparison-based topic and are still unsure whether your topic is too broad or narrow, spend about 30 minutes doing some basic research and see how much material is out there.

If there are more than 1,000 books, articles, or documentaries out there on that exact topic, it may be too broad. But if there are only two books that have any connection to your topic, it may be too narrow. If you're still unsure, ask your advisor—it's what they're there for! Speaking of advisors...

Don't get stuck with a narrow topic!

#3: Choose an Advisor Who Is Familiar With Your Topic

If you're not certain of who you would like to be your advisor, create a list of your top three choices. Next, write down the pros and cons of each possibility (I know this sounds tedious, but it really helps!).

For example, Mr. Green is my favorite teacher and we get along really well, but he teaches English. For my EE, I want to conduct an experiment that compares the efficiency of American electric cars with foreign electric cars.

I had Ms. White a year ago. She teaches physics and enjoyed having me in her class. Unlike Mr. Green, Ms. White could help me design my experiment.

Based on my topic and what I need from my advisor, Ms. White would be a better fit for me than would Mr. Green (even though I like him a lot).

The moral of my story is this: do not just ask your favorite teacher to be your advisor . They might be a hindrance to you if they teach another subject. For example, I would not recommend asking your biology teacher to guide you in writing an English literature-based EE.

There can, of course, be exceptions to this rule. If you have a teacher who's passionate and knowledgeable about your topic (as my English teacher was about my theatre topic), you could ask that instructor. Consider all your options before you do this. There was no theatre teacher at my high school, so I couldn't find a theatre-specific advisor, but I chose the next best thing.

Before you approach a teacher to serve as your advisor, check with your high school to see what requirements they have for this process. Some IB high schools require your IB Extended Essay advisor to sign an Agreement Form , for instance.

Make sure that you ask your IB coordinator whether there is any required paperwork to fill out. If your school needs a specific form signed, bring it with you when you ask your teacher to be your EE advisor.

#4: Pick an Advisor Who Will Push You to Be Your Best

Some teachers might just take on students because they have to and aren't very passionate about reading drafts, only giving you minimal feedback. Choose a teacher who will take the time to read several drafts of your essay and give you extensive notes. I would not have gotten my A without being pushed to make my Extended Essay draft better.

Ask a teacher that you have experience with through class or an extracurricular activity. Do not ask a teacher that you have absolutely no connection to. If a teacher already knows you, that means they already know your strengths and weaknesses, so they know what to look for, where you need to improve, and how to encourage your best work.

Also, don't forget that your supervisor's assessment is part of your overall EE score . If you're meeting with someone who pushes you to do better—and you actually take their advice—they'll have more impressive things to say about you than a supervisor who doesn't know you well and isn't heavily involved in your research process.

Be aware that the IB only allows advisors to make suggestions and give constructive criticism. Your teacher cannot actually help you write your EE. The IB recommends that the supervisor spends approximately two to three hours in total with the candidate discussing the EE.

#5: Make Sure Your Essay Has a Clear Structure and Flow

The IB likes structure. Your EE needs a clear introduction (which should be one to two double-spaced pages), research question/focus (i.e., what you're investigating), a body, and a conclusion (about one double-spaced page). An essay with unclear organization will be graded poorly.

The body of your EE should make up the bulk of the essay. It should be about eight to 18 pages long (again, depending on your topic). Your body can be split into multiple parts. For example, if you were doing a comparison, you might have one third of your body as Novel A Analysis, another third as Novel B Analysis, and the final third as your comparison of Novels A and B.

If you're conducting an experiment or analyzing data, such as in this EE , your EE body should have a clear structure that aligns with the scientific method ; you should state the research question, discuss your method, present the data, analyze the data, explain any uncertainties, and draw a conclusion and/or evaluate the success of the experiment.

#6: Start Writing Sooner Rather Than Later!

You will not be able to crank out a 4,000-word essay in just a week and get an A on it. You'll be reading many, many articles (and, depending on your topic, possibly books and plays as well!). As such, it's imperative that you start your research as soon as possible.

Each school has a slightly different deadline for the Extended Essay. Some schools want them as soon as November of your senior year; others will take them as late as February. Your school will tell you what your deadline is. If they haven't mentioned it by February of your junior year, ask your IB coordinator about it.

Some high schools will provide you with a timeline of when you need to come up with a topic, when you need to meet with your advisor, and when certain drafts are due. Not all schools do this. Ask your IB coordinator if you are unsure whether you are on a specific timeline.

Below is my recommended EE timeline. While it's earlier than most schools, it'll save you a ton of heartache (trust me, I remember how hard this process was!):

• January/February of Junior Year: Come up with your final research topic (or at least your top three options).
• February of Junior Year: Approach a teacher about being your EE advisor. If they decline, keep asking others until you find one. See my notes above on how to pick an EE advisor.
• April/May of Junior Year: Submit an outline of your EE and a bibliography of potential research sources (I recommend at least seven to 10) to your EE advisor. Meet with your EE advisor to discuss your outline.
• Summer Between Junior and Senior Year: Complete your first full draft over the summer between your junior and senior year. I know, I know—no one wants to work during the summer, but trust me—this will save you so much stress come fall when you are busy with college applications and other internal assessments for your IB classes. You will want to have this first full draft done because you will want to complete a couple of draft cycles as you likely won't be able to get everything you want to say into 4,000 articulate words on the first attempt. Try to get this first draft into the best possible shape so you don't have to work on too many revisions during the school year on top of your homework, college applications, and extracurriculars.
• August/September of Senior Year: Turn in your first draft of your EE to your advisor and receive feedback. Work on incorporating their feedback into your essay. If they have a lot of suggestions for improvement, ask if they will read one more draft before the final draft.
• September/October of Senior Year: Submit the second draft of your EE to your advisor (if necessary) and look at their feedback. Work on creating the best possible final draft.
• November-February of Senior Year: Schedule your viva voce. Submit two copies of your final draft to your school to be sent off to the IB. You likely will not get your grade until after you graduate.

Remember that in the middle of these milestones, you'll need to schedule two other reflection sessions with your advisor . (Your teachers will actually take notes on these sessions on a form like this one , which then gets submitted to the IB.)

I recommend doing them when you get feedback on your drafts, but these meetings will ultimately be up to your supervisor. Just don't forget to do them!

The early bird DOES get the worm!

How Is the IB Extended Essay Graded?

Extended Essays are graded by examiners appointed by the IB on a scale of 0 to 34 . You'll be graded on five criteria, each with its own set of points. You can learn more about how EE scoring works by reading the IB guide to extended essays .

• Criterion A: Focus and Method (6 points maximum)
• Criterion B: Knowledge and Understanding (6 points maximum)
• Criterion C: Critical Thinking (12 points maximum)
• Criterion D: Presentation (4 points maximum)
• Criterion E: Engagement (6 points maximum)

How well you do on each of these criteria will determine the final letter grade you get for your EE. You must earn at least a D to be eligible to receive your IB Diploma.

Although each criterion has a point value, the IB explicitly states that graders are not converting point totals into grades; instead, they're using qualitative grade descriptors to determine the final grade of your Extended Essay . Grade descriptors are on pages 102-103 of this document .

Here's a rough estimate of how these different point values translate to letter grades based on previous scoring methods for the EE. This is just an estimate —you should read and understand the grade descriptors so you know exactly what the scorers are looking for.

Here is the breakdown of EE scores (from the May 2021 bulletin):

How Does the Extended Essay Grade Affect Your IB Diploma?

The Extended Essay grade is combined with your TOK (Theory of Knowledge) grade to determine how many points you get toward your IB Diploma.

To learn about Theory of Knowledge or how many points you need to receive an IB Diploma, read our complete guide to the IB program and our guide to the IB Diploma requirements .

This diagram shows how the two scores are combined to determine how many points you receive for your IB diploma (3 being the most, 0 being the least). In order to get your IB Diploma, you have to earn 24 points across both categories (the TOK and EE). The highest score anyone can earn is 45 points.

Let's say you get an A on your EE and a B on TOK. You will get 3 points toward your Diploma. As of 2014, a student who scores an E on either the extended essay or TOK essay will not be eligible to receive an IB Diploma .

Prior to the class of 2010, a Diploma candidate could receive a failing grade in either the Extended Essay or Theory of Knowledge and still be awarded a Diploma, but this is no longer true.

Figuring out how you're assessed can be a little tricky. Luckily, the IB breaks everything down here in this document . (The assessment information begins on page 219.)

40+ Sample Extended Essays for the IB Diploma Programme

In case you want a little more guidance on how to get an A on your EE, here are over 40 excellent (grade A) sample extended essays for your reading pleasure. Essays are grouped by IB subject.

• Business Management 1
• Chemistry 1
• Chemistry 2
• Chemistry 3
• Chemistry 4
• Chemistry 5
• Chemistry 6
• Chemistry 7
• Computer Science 1
• Economics 1
• Design Technology 1
• Design Technology 2
• Environmental Systems and Societies 1
• Geography 1
• Geography 2
• Geography 3
• Geography 4
• Geography 5
• Geography 6
• Literature and Performance 1
• Mathematics 1
• Mathematics 2
• Mathematics 3
• Mathematics 4
• Mathematics 5
• Philosophy 1
• Philosophy 2
• Philosophy 3
• Philosophy 4
• Philosophy 5
• Psychology 1
• Psychology 2
• Psychology 3
• Psychology 4
• Psychology 5
• Social and Cultural Anthropology 1
• Social and Cultural Anthropology 2
• Social and Cultural Anthropology 3
• Sports, Exercise and Health Science 1
• Sports, Exercise and Health Science 2
• Visual Arts 1
• Visual Arts 2
• Visual Arts 3
• Visual Arts 4
• Visual Arts 5
• World Religion 1
• World Religion 2
• World Religion 3

What's Next?

Trying to figure out what extracurriculars you should do? Learn more about participating in the Science Olympiad , starting a club , doing volunteer work , and joining Student Government .

Studying for the SAT? Check out our expert study guide to the SAT . Taking the SAT in a month or so? Learn how to cram effectively for this important test .

Not sure where you want to go to college? Read our guide to finding your target school . Also, determine your target SAT score or target ACT score .

As an SAT/ACT tutor, Dora has guided many students to test prep success. She loves watching students succeed and is committed to helping you get there. Dora received a full-tuition merit based scholarship to University of Southern California. She graduated magna cum laude and scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT. She is also passionate about acting, writing, and photography.

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Review Essays for the Biological sciences

A review essay for the biological sciences serves to discuss and synthesize key findings on a particular subject. Review papers are helpful to the writer and their colleagues in gaining critical awareness in specialized fields that may or may not be their own.

This guide explains what a review essay is and identifies several approaches to writing a review essay. Although much of the information is geared directly to the biological sciences, it is generally applicable to review essays in all fields.

What is a Review Essay?

A review essay is a synthesis of primary sources (mainly research papers presented in academic journals) on a given topic. A biological review essay demonstrates that the writer has thorough understanding of the literature and can formulate a useful analysis. While no new research is presented by the writer, the field benefits from the review by recieving a new perspective. There are several approaches one may take when writing a biological review:

A State of the art review

A state of the art review considers mainly the most current research in a given area. The review may offer new perspectives on an issue or point out an area in need of further research.

A Historical review

A historical review is a survey of the development of a particular field of study. It may examine the early stages of the field, key findings to present, key theoretical models and their evolution, etc.

A Comparison of perspectives review

A comparison of perspectives review contrasts various ways of looking at a certain topic. If in fact there is a debate over some process or idea, a comparison of perspectives review may illustrate the research that supports both sides. A comparison of perspectives review may introduce a new perspective by way of comparing it to another.

A Synthesis of two fields review

Many times researchers in different fields may be working on similar problems. A synthesis of two fields review provides insights into a given topic based on a review of the literature from two or more disciplines.

A Theoretical model building review

A theoretical model building review examines the literature within a given area with the intention of developing new theoretical assumptions.

Key Considerations for Writing a Biological Review Essay

This guide will inform you of certain things not to miss when writing a review essay. It will also give you some information about using and documenting your sources.

Keep your focus narrow.

When writing a review essay it is important to keep the scope of the topic narrow enough so that you can discuss it thoroughly. For example a topic such as air quality in factories could be narrowed significantly to something like carbon dioxide levels in auto manufacturing plants .

A good way to narrow your focus is to start with a broad topic that is of some interest to you, then read some of the literature in the field. Look for a thread of the discussion that points to a more specific topic.

Analyze, synthesize, and interpret.

A review essay is not a pure summary of the information you read for your review. You are required to analyze, synthesize, and interpret the information you read in some meaningful way.

It is not enough to simply present the material you have found, you must go beyond that and explain its relevance and significance to the topic at hand.

Establish a clear thesis from the onset of your writing and examine which pieces of your reading help you in developing and supporting the ideas in your thesis.

Use only academic sources.

A review essay reviews the academic body of literature—articles and research presented in academic journals. Lay periodicals such as, Discover , Scientific America , or Popular Science , are not adequate sources for an academic review essay.

If you are having trouble finding the academic journals in your field, ask one of your professors or a reference librarian.

Document your sources.

The material that you discuss in a review essay is obviously not your own, therefore it is crucial to document your sources properly. Proper documentation is crucial for two reasons: 1. It prevents the writer from being accused of plagiarism and 2. It gives the reader the opportunity to locate the sources the writer has reviewed because they may find them valuable in their own academic pursuits. Proper documentation depends on which style guide you are following.

Quote sparingly and properly.

No one wants to read a paper that is simply a string of quotes; reserve direct quotations for when you want to create a big impact. Often times the way a quote is written will not fit with the language or the style of your paper so paraphrase the authors words carefully and verbage as necessary to create a well formed paragraph.

Choose an informative title.

The title you choose for your review essay should give some indication of what lies ahead for the reader. You might consider the process you took in narrowing your topic to help you with your title—think of the title as something specific rather than a vague representation of your paper's topic. For example the title Wastewater Treatment might be more informative if rewritten as The Removal of Cloroform Bacteria as Practiced by California's Municipal Water Treatment Facilities .

Consider your audience.

More than likely your audience will be your academic peers, therefore you can make a couple assumptions and choose a writing style that suits the audience. Though your audience may lack the detailed knowledge you have about your topic, they do have similar background knowledge to you. You can assume that you audience understands much of the technical language you have to use to write about your topic and you do not have to go into great detail about background information.

Elements of a Review Essay

This guide explains each section of a review essay and gives specific information about what should be included in each.

On the title page include the title, your name, and the date. Your instructor may have additional requirements (such as the course number, etc.) so be sure to follow the guidelines on the assignment sheet. Professional journals may also have more specific requirements for the title page.

An abstract is a brief summary of your review. The abstract should include only the main points of your review. Think of the abstract as a chance for the reader to preview your paper and decide if they want to read on for the details.

Introduction

The introduction of your review should accomplish three things:

• It may sound redundant to "introduce" your topic in the introduction, but often times writer's fail to do so. Let the reader in on background information specific to the topic, define terms that may be unfamiliar to them, explain the scope of the discussion, and your purpose for writing the review.
• Think of your review essay as a statement in the larger conversation of your academic community. Your review is your way of entering into that conversation and it is important to briefly address why your review is relevant to the discussion. You may feel the relevance is obvious because you are so familiar with the topic, but your readers have not yet established that familiarity.
• The thesis is the main idea that you want to get across to your reader. your thesis should be a clear statement of what you intend to prove or illustrate by your review. By revealing your thesis in the introduction the reader knows what to expect in the rest of the paper.

The discussion section is the body of your paper. The discussion section contains information that develops and supports your thesis. While there is no particular form that a discussion section must take there are several considerations that a writer must follow when building a discussion.

• A review essay is not simply a summary of literature you have reviewed. Be careful not to leave out your own analysis of the ideas presented in the literature. Synthesize the material from all the works—what are the connections you see, or the connections you are trying to illustrate, among your readings.

A review essay is not a pure summary of the information you read for your review. You are required to analyze, synthesize, and interpret the information you read in some meaningful way. It is not enough to simply present the material you have found, you must go beyond that and explain its relevance and significance to the topic at hand. Establish a clear thesis from the onset of your writing and examine which pieces of your reading help you in developing and supporting the ideas in your thesis.

• Keep your discussion focused on your topic and more importantly your thesis. Don't let tangents or extraneous material get in the way of a concise, coherent discussion. A well focused paper is crucial in getting your message across to your reader.
• Keeping your points organized makes it easier for the reader to follow along and make sense of your review. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that relates back to your thesis. The headings used for this guide give you some idea of how to organize the overall paper, but as far as the discussion section goes use meaningful subheadings that relate to your content to organize your points.
• Your thesis should illustrate your objectives in writing the review and your discussion should serve to accomplish your objectives. Make sure your keep your discussion related to the thesis in order to meet your objectives. If you find that your discussion does not relate so much to your thesis, don't panic, you might want to revise your thesis instead of reworking the discussion.

Conclusions

Because the conclusions section often gets left for last it is often the weakest part of a student review essay. It is as crucial a part of the paper as any and should be treated as such.

A good conclusion should illustrate the key connections between your major points and your thesis as well as they key connections between your thesis and the broader discussion—what is the significance of your paper in a larger context? Make some conclusions —where have you arrived as a result of writing this paper?

Be careful not to present any new information in the conclusion section.

Here you report all the works you have cited in your paper. The format for a references page varies by discipline as does how you should cite your references within the paper.

Bastek, Neal. (1999). Review Essays for the Biological Sciences. Writing@CSU . Colorado State University. https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=79

Essays About Biology: Top 5 Best Examples and 6 Prompts

Writing essays about biology can be difficult because it’s composed of many subtopics. Check out this article for our top essay examples and writing prompts.

Biology came from the Greek words “bios” (life) and “logos” (study). It’s why biology is the study of life or living organisms. Aside from being a natural science, it also has consolidated themes, such as cells making all organisms. Because it’s a broad topic, biology is divided into specialized fields such as botany, genetics, zoology, microbiology, medicine, and ecology. 

Biologists consider living beings’ origin, evolution, growth, function, structure, and distribution. It’s a comprehensive subject, so there are many things you can write about in your essay. However, at the same time, you might find it challenging to focus on just one area. 

Below are examples to give you an idea of how to write your essays about biology:

1. Essay About Biology by Kelli Wilkins

2. my interests in biology by anonymous on essaywriting.expert, 3. essay on the importance of study of biology by akhila mol, 4. what biology means to me by anonymous on studymode.com, 5. how my biology teacher changed my perspective of learning the subject by sankalan bhattacharya, 1. biology in my everyday life, 2. something i realized because of biology, 3. my memorable biology class experience, 4. genetics’ role in people’s diseases, 5. my experience during the pandemic, 6. biology and health.

“Studying Biology is important for a number of reasons, but in particular because it is used in every field. If we did not have a good understanding of Biology then nobody would be able to understand how bodies work, and how life on earth functions.”

Wilkins shares her desire to study anatomy, a branch of biology, and expounds on what makes biology an essential field. Because biology lets people know more about the world, she digs into why she’s interested in anatomy, specifically to find ways to cure illnesses and develop technologies to discover new treatments. She ends her essay by relating biology to the existence of doctors and hospitals. 

“It is known that education plays an important role in the life of any individual. It gives an opportunity to develop personality and gain specific skills, to get profound knowledge and experience in order to apply them practically in the future. As for me, my major goal is to study Biology in order to get appropriate knowledge and skills required for my future profession.”

The author shares why they want to study biology, referring to the human body as the “perfect machine” and curious about how it performs each of its systems’ functions. The writer also mentions how biology is critical to their future profession. They aim to help people with their health problems and relay their desire to research the brain to find more data on it. 

“The study of biology owes great significance in human life, because man for its day-to-day requirements is dependent on plants and animals either directly or indirectly.”

Mol lists seven reasons why humans need biology in their daily lives. Her list includes health, diseases, agriculture, horticulture, food, animal breeding, and entertainment. She expounds on each point and how they affect a man during his time on Earth. She explains each relationship in a simple manner that’s easy to understand for the readers.

“Without biology, we would have no idea about an organism’s makeup, or the most basic unit of life, a cell… Biology influences me in many ways. Biology influences me by teaching me why to take care of the environment, why I am to take care of my body, and by giving me a better overall view of all scientific areas of study.”

In this short essay, the writer lists down reasons why biology is essential. These reasons include taking care of the environment, one’s body, and others. The author also expounds on their reasons by presenting facts supporting biology’s importance to the world and human lives.

“He told that the syllabus may be a good way to prepare for an exam but our knowledge should not be limited to any syllabus and the questions that were asked in the examination were related to the topic only. He told that if we try to know things in detail and understand them properly then the interest in the subject will develop, otherwise, students will not treat the subject as a subject of their choice. 

Bhattacharya shares his experience with a teacher with a unique teaching style. His Biology teacher from Class 7, before the era of the internet, don’t just carry one book to get all his lessons from. Instead, he has a notebook with the collated information from many books to teach his class. 

Bhattacharya’s teacher taught them things that were not in the curriculum, even if following the curriculum would give him higher points in his evaluation. He only wanted his students to learn more and share with them why learning differs from just knowing. 

Do you want to be sure you have an excellent essay? See our round-up of the best essay writing apps to help you check your output.

6 Prompts for Essays About Biology

You don’t have to be a biology student to write an essay about the subject. If you’re looking for easy prompts to write about, here are some to get you started:

If mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell, who is the powerhouse of your classroom? Your home? Relate a biology topic to a similar structure in your life, then explain why you think they are the same. 

For instance, you can compare your mother to mitochondria which generate the energy needed to power a cell. The cell being you. You can say that she gives you energy every day by being there and supporting you in whatever way she can. This prompt bodes for a creative and intriguing essay.

Relay a lesson you learned from biology and how it perfectly explained something you were once hesitant about. Such as being insecure about your big ears – only to know from a biology trivia that ears never stop growing. You can then share how this help lessen your insecurity because you now know large ears are normal. 

Do you have a memory you won’t forget that happened during biology class? Narrate this story and explain why it’s something that left an impression on you. To give you an idea, you can talk about the first time you dissected an animal, where you first realized how complex organisms are and that they are made of many systems to function, no matter how small.

Gene action and heredity are evolving. If you have a genetic illness or know someone who has it, you can share your experience. Then explain what your genes have to do with the disease. Is it something you got from your parents? Did they inherit it from your grandparents? Finally, you can add what your parents’ and grandparents’ lives were like because of the disease.

Virology, another branch of biology, studies viruses and viral diseases. A recent example is the coronavirus pandemic, where more people realized the importance of knowing a virus’ origin, structure, and how they work. Write an essay where you explain how the pandemic operates, such as why people should wear masks, social distance, etc.

For this essay, you can write about how biology helps you care for your health. For example, you can include how biology helped doctors give you the appropriate diagnosis, how you had the opportunity to have the proper treatment, etc. 

If you want to write on a related topic, here are essay topics about nature you can consider for your next essay. 

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How to Write a Biology Essay

By: Tasha Kolesnikova

Studying natural sciences and biology in particular, you’ll deal with essays as one of the ways to assess your knowledge and skills. Professors believe that this assignment helps students to develop their skills regardless of the major you pursue. Future biologists should organize their ideas in a structured and transparent manner, using reliable sources and persuasive examples to support your perspective. Even if you’ll work in laboratories, you will deal with written reports.

What is a Biology Essay?

Select the topic for your essay, select a research question, create an outline, essay introduction, thesis statement, essay conclusion, citation and references, look for samples, practice your writing, plan your writing process, ask for feedback, appropriate language for complexity science, writing services, editing proofreading services, what is biology as science, what is the importance of biology in our life, major concepts and topics in biology.

Don’t worry if you don’t have enough experience and doubt your ability to deliver a perfect paper. We have prepared useful tips to help you write a killer biology essay and deliver it on time.

A biology essay is a piece of student writing where you provide arguments and ideas concerning a particular biological topic.

There are various academic essay types, and you can adhere to one of them. For example, you can write a descriptive paper explaining a biological subject. Or an argumentative paper, providing evidence to support your point of view. One of the most common essay types is a cause and effect piece where you explain the reasons and the consequences of some events. You can also come up with the “how-to” instruction or a detailed analysis . The concrete type depends on your professor’s requirements and your preference.

How to Write a Good Essay in Biology

Some people consider writing an art process. However, it is a work that requires your time and effort. You should organize the whole process if you want to get the desired result. There is a step-by-step instruction to follow.

If you want to get a good grade, it is important not only to make your paper informative but also enjoyable. It depends on the topic you choose. And it is crucial to stay on something that you wish to explore. Try to find something you want to investigate.

It is not easy because you may have many ideas in your head, but once you start writing, they disappear. That’s why studying at college, you should always have a notebook at hand, to write down things that come to mind.

The most effective way to select the topic is a brainstorming technique. Let your brain provide you with 30-50 decent options, and then research to create the shortlist with the best ones.

Writing a biology essay, you should use a scientific approach. Come up with a research question you want to answer in your paper. Of course, you shouldn’t choose something too complicated that it is impossible to work through in terms of one piece. It shouldn’t be too obvious as well. Connect your research question with the topic.

Starting a paper, you should have a clear plan to follow. Most student papers have a 5-paragraph structure with specific instructions. It would be almost impossible to keep the main idea and develop good arguments if you just begin. It would help if you started with the outline to keep it in mind when writing.

Don’t worry about how it looks. Nobody will check your plan (if your professor didn’t ask you to deliver it as well). You can organize your thoughts the way you like. Sketches, paints, mind maps, and so on. Use anything you need to make your paper structured. Get rid of all ideas that don’t work for your research question, even if they seem reasonable. You may use them in another paper.

Whenever you need it, you can make some amends and correct your outline.

It is the first paragraph that is intended to attract the readers’ attention. Writing it, you should consider your target audience.

If you’re preparing a paper for newbies, you should provide some basic knowledge, interesting facts, and statistics to introduce the topic.

However, the experienced audience may find such an introduction a bit boring. They already know the main point, and they have a single question: why is this topic important? So, you should provide them with an explanation of why you have chosen this issue and which directions you see for further development.

The introduction finishes with the thesis. It is your research question or the statement you’re going to develop in the body paragraphs. In other words, you should synthesize the overall essay, meaning just in one sentence. It will explain to your readers what the paper is about and your point of view. Without a strong thesis statement, the whole piece becomes useless, given that the audience cannot understand your position.

Body paragraphs are the essay core because they are most voluminous and informative. Once you’ve grabbed the readers’ attention, you should provide them with food for thought.

In a classic 5-paragraph essay structure body takes 3 paragraphs. Each of them is intended to reveal just one idea. You need to provide a short thesis, an explanation, and an example to illustrate your point.

It would help if you were very attentive in writing the essay body because it is easy to lose your way. This is where your outline may be helpful.

Once your readers finish the paper, they have a question “So what?” If you leave them with it, you’ll fail. Your task is to provide an answer to explain how the audience can use the information you’ve written in the body.

Don’t use any new data; just conclude the thoughts you’ve already declared. Are they important in any sense? Can readers conduct their research and gain more insights? Should they be more attentive to environmental issues?

You’ve written a paper with a particular goal (except for getting a good grade), so show your readers whether you’ve achieved it.

Most academic papers require authors to provide additional information. For example, a list of references you’ve used. It is impossible to write a biology essay without data from books, websites, research papers, and so on. And if you use any journal or other source, you should cite it correctly since, in the other case, your piece would be considered plagiarism.

You should adhere to a particular citation style. When it comes to biology, the academic society uses the APA and the CSE format. Make sure you know what style your professor prefers. You also need a relevant guide with all requirements to follow.

Some Essay Tips for Successful Writing

Whatever major you pursue, you’ll deal with written assignments that affect your academic performance. That’s why you need to develop your writing skills. Here you’ll find some actionable tips to follow.

If you want to write well, you should read well. There are various modern sources where you can find many biology papers. It goes about scientific books and journals, specific web-portals. Don’t undervalue the fiction literature as well. You need to understand how other people write and to learn from them.

Once you’ve noticed something interesting that is worth your attention, write it down. You may use these notes in your future writings.

Coming up with a perfect piece, you should understand what the “perfect” stands for. Please take a look at some essays or a research paper example and analyze them.

It doesn’t mean that all samples that are published online are excellent. They have advantages and disadvantages, and you should mention them.

However, don’t copy and paste these samples. Your paper should be unique, and it goes not about paraphrasing some sentences only. The ideas and concepts you use should be fresh as well. Even if you’re just a student, without tremendous research opportunities, you may look at the issue from an interesting angle. Essay samples will show you the right direction.

You shouldn’t expect that your first paper will be outstanding. You have to submit dozens of poor essays until you succeed. It means you should use any opportunity to write something. Whether it is a note, a blog post, a lab report, or an experiment description, you should master your ability to formulate thoughts and choose the best words to convey your ideas.

Don’t leave these texts without attention since you can’t become a better writer if you don’t know your mistakes. Find a mentor who will provide you with essential tips. There are many useful resources online, and you can always hire a professional tutor who will support you.

You can’t sit and wait for the inspiration. Your professor won’t understand the excuse that you aren't in an appropriate mood to write a paper. Therefore you should be able to organize yourself and the work process.

Firstly, define stages, e.g., the research stage, the introduction writing, and so on. Think about how many times you’re going to devote to each of them and include these tasks in your calendar. You can use different strategies, starting with the most complicated part, or, vice versa, from the easiest one. It doesn’t matter if you’re able to provide a good result.

It is also important to get rid of all distractors in advance. Switch off your smartphone and make sure you have anything you need to come up with a paper. It won’t leave the space for procrastination.

People are usually biased when it goes to work. You can’t define for sure whether your biology essay deserves an A-grade. And it would be the wrong decision to wait until your professor spoils your academic performance. You can then discuss your writing with your friends, fellow students, instructors at the college club. If you think someone can provide you with professional assistance, ask for it. Feedback will show your strengths to focus on and weaknesses to work out.

Writing a research paper, you should use a language of scientific thought to explain your ideas. Think about the audience and its level of education. If your paper is full of specific terms, most readers won’t understand it. However, it should not be too simple at the same time since you’re a future biologist and should speak this language at a decent level.

It is also important to know all requirements and follow them. Each paper has its features, so make sure you understand the essay, analysis paper, or a lab report format before writing.

Get Biology Essay From Us

Modern students are lucky in some way. They have unlimited educational opportunities. Most likely, you can find any information you need just in a couple of minutes. However, it imposes on you a particular responsibility that leads to immense stress. Even the term FOMO, fear of missing out, is common for many people these days.

It means that if you can’t cope with a bunch of tasks, you should take a pause and relax. Our professional writing service is here to help you with any assignment. Just fill in the order form and provide us with your requirements. We’ll deliver your biology essay exactly on time!

Firstly, you can hire a professional essay writer who will prepare the biology paper from scratch. We work with people who have a Master’s or Ph.D. degree in natural science, as well as the writing experience. Having prepared dozens of assignments for students from different educational institutions, they know what professors expect. So, if you want to unload your head, without worsening your academic performance, rely on our authors.

The papers we deliver are always high-quality. They don’t contain any plagiarism and mistakes. If you have some objections, contact our customer support for qualified help.

If you have written the paper on yourself, you’ve covered a lot of ground. The writing process is exhausting, and sometimes there is no opportunity to read the final draft several times and make sure it is flawless. Before you deliver the paper, it is vital to get rid of all mistakes and typos. Our professional proofreaders will read the text with a keen eye and make necessary changes.

Don’t hesitate to use professional help since it is your chance to provide a fantastic result with fewer hurdles!

Biology is a science that studies our life in different ways. Students learn about organisms and living creatures that inhabit the planet, their functions, behavior, interaction, and their individual and historical development.

Modern biology covers various sub-topics, such as virology that studies viruses, botany that studies plants, the anatomy that studies the human’s body, etc. Some students choose a particular direction to work in, but all these subjects are united. It would be best if you had morphology and genetics knowledge to succeed with microbiology, and vice versa.

Writing a biology essay, you should think about their final purpose. Some papers are intended to provide people with a fresh look, e.g., when you find exciting information and want to share it with your colleagues. At the same time, you can write a paper for people who don’t have solid biology knowledge. These essays will be very different, so you need to approach this task with all responsibility.

Biology knowledge is important regardless of your career plans. Many facets point to this. First, this science is mainly studying life that is surrounding us. Second, it is important to have an understanding of how all organisms interact with each other. And the next reason that is no less important is the diversity of our life. Thanks to biology knowledge, people treat illnesses, improve food quality, and take care of the whole ecosystem.

It is the study of life that helps people shape the world and provides them with answers that explain why things happen.

Studying biology, you’ll deal with the following topics:

• Cellular structure and function;
• Evolution and natural selection;
• Heredity and genetics;
• Ecosystems and interdependence.

Many concepts are accepted by modern biology science. These are ideas and understandings that professors want you to remember. For example, all organisms share a standard set of important life processes. It goes about movement, respiration, reproduction, nutrition, and others. All organisms use the same genetic system to maintain continuity. The next essential concept is about species that arise, change, and become extinct over time. Diverse adaptations are the reason why evolution results and ensures survival.

Writing your paper, you should show your knowledge and understanding of significant biology concepts and topics. It would be an excellent platform to create powerful, evidence-based content.

And of course, if you need a  website that writes an essay for you , you're on the right page! Feel free to send us your request!

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How to Write a Biology Essay Like a Pro

Table of Contents

Writing effectively in the scientific realm is integral to any decent education. However, it is frequently ignored in favor of more theoretical topics in introductory science classes. 

It is also crucial to have excellent presentation skills if you want to achieve any level of success in the sciences. Moreover, graduate students must write several scientific papers to enter the scientific workforce as a professional.

It is, therefore, crucial that students work with research paper writing services to do my statistics homework and have a firm grounding in scientific writing to advance in their academic careers.

Most biology students are so preoccupied with the scientific method that they neglect developing their writing skills. As a result, the first step is to tell you not to skip the step of writing a quality scientific paper.

Writing essays in the sciences is not the same as in an English or art class. 

Such factors can complicate the already challenging task of creating a scientific paper. That is, more so when dealing with novel or technically complex material. 

However, a good essay can help you learn more about the subject as you have to write and submit an article that makes sense and is supported by research. Here are six useful tips for writing an excellent biology essay.

1. Pick an essay topic

Your work must be valuable and interesting to the reader to score highly. It’s up to you to decide on a subject. For starters, it is essential to maintain focus on a topic you are eager to investigate. Determine what it is that you would like to learn more about.

While you may have a lot of ideas floating around in your head, you might find that they evaporate once you put pen to paper. This is why, while you study for your college courses with the help of a persuasive essay writer , who you can find by checking out objective essay writing service reviews online, you should always have a notebook at hand. Here you can jot down any ideas that come to you.

Using a brainstorming method is the most efficient means of choosing the topic. Try to generate 30–50 viable choices. Based on your study, narrow that down to a manageable handful.

2. Develop a plan

To get started on a paper, you need to establish a plan. The standard format for student essays is five paragraphs, although instructors may provide additional guidelines. If you just start writing, you probably won’t be able to keep the basic idea and build solid arguments.

The outline will serve as a guide as you write, so it’s best to start with that. Ignore aesthetic concerns. No one would bother if your professor didn’t specifically ask for a copy of your plan. 

Artistic mediums such as sketches, paint, and mind maps can prove very valuable. You can use whichever tools you like to give your document structure. 

Eliminate any plausible but unhelpful concepts that don’t relate to your study subject. You can repurpose them in another one of your papers. The outline can be revised and updated as much as necessary.

3. Introduction

In this section, your readers will learn the basics of the topic at hand. Here, you should briefly review any relevant prior research.

The essay’s purpose needs to be stated explicitly so that your readers understand where the narrative is going. Your introduction should be well-organized and brief (no more than two pages).

The body comprises the major conclusion drawn from your study or your own view or stance on the matter. This section needs to describe the experiment in-depth, highlight the most important results, and explain how and why those results were obtained.

Writers and students penning essays based on their personal opinions should back up their claims with research and theory. Citations and references are required as a result.

Students could also include relevant charts, graphs, and pictures. The illustrations must have clear titles and explanations. The axis of the graph must also be described.

5. Conclusion

Clearly outline the main arguments and explain your thinking. 

Additionally, you can suggest new lines of inquiry into the matter, which may lead to the discovery of hitherto unknown answers. It’s crucial to ensure your conclusion is structured similarly to your introduction.

The last paragraph should be a short restatement of its primary themes. Remember, the latter section of your paper should be just as concise as the first.

Refrain from passing off someone’s writing as your own. Although there are other accepted styles for doing this, the American Psychological Association (APA) format is the most popular. If you need assistance locating credible references, any the best research paper writing service can help.

6. Relevance is key

The topic you choose should have everything to do with the material you’re discussing in your essay. If you don’t, it’ll seem haphazard and awkward or, at best, forced into the report. If you don’t have a firm grip on your scientific subject, it will reflect poorly on your overall essay.

To capture the reader’s interest in your paper, start with a surprising or humorous fact.

The information you give can either back up your essay’s thesis or serve as a component of the body of evidence you describe in your expository paper.

Simply being a good writer isn’t enough to create a fantastic essay. As you prepare to write your biology paper, these are a few things you should keep in mind.

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Biology - Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

Biology is the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environments. Essays could explore significant discoveries in biology, discuss the ethical implications of biological research, or delve into the interdisciplinary aspects of biology in addressing complex environmental and health challenges. A substantial compilation of free essay instances related to Biology you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

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Writing an Essay About Biology

Biology, a core STEM subject in college, is widely recognized by students for its difficulty, stemming from its vast scope and the intricate details of living organisms and ecosystems. This complexity often leads to struggles, as students grapple with understanding concepts ranging from molecular biology to large-scale ecological interactions. However, there is a solution to these academic challenges: Papersowl, an educational platform, provides essential support for students facing difficulties in biology. Papersowl helps students navigate through the complexities, offering tailored biology homework help that enables them to understand, engage with, and excel in this demanding yet fascinating field of study.

Biology essays require a deep understanding of the natural world and an ability to convey complex biological processes and theories effectively. Here’s a guide to help you craft a comprehensive and insightful essay on a biology topic:

Understanding the Essay Topic

Begin by thoroughly understanding the specific biology topic you're dealing with. Biology encompasses a vast array of subjects, from molecular biology and genetics to ecology and evolution. Identify whether your essay should explore a specific biological process, discuss a theoretical aspect, analyze a biological problem, or evaluate the impact of a biological study.

Conducting In-Depth Research

Research is a critical component of a biology essay. Utilize reputable sources such as academic journals, biology textbooks, and scientific publications. Look for current research findings, experiments, and case studies that align with your topic. Taking detailed notes on relevant biological processes, findings, and theories is essential.

Developing a Clear Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement should succinctly convey the main argument or purpose of your essay. This might be an assertion about a biological principle, the significance of a research finding, or an argument concerning environmental policies. Make sure your thesis is specific, focused, and directly related to the biology topic you are discussing.

Planning the Essay Structure

Organize your essay logically and coherently. Start with an introduction that introduces the topic and presents your thesis statement. In the body, structure your main points into separate paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect or argument. Support your points with examples, scientific data, and explanations. Conclude by summarizing your main arguments and restating your thesis in the context of the information presented.

Writing the Essay

Use clear and precise language. Biology can involve complex terminology and concepts, so it's important to explain them clearly. Avoid unnecessary jargon, but when specific terms are required, define them to ensure clarity. Present your arguments logically, backing them with evidence from your research. Be analytical and critical, especially when discussing biological models, theories, or controversies.

Incorporating Scientific Data and Examples

Biology essays often include scientific data, diagrams, and graphs. Ensure that these elements are accurately presented and relevant to your argument. Use real-world examples and case studies to illustrate your points and demonstrate how they apply to your thesis.

Citing Your Sources

Proper citation is crucial in a biology essay, especially when referring to data, theories, or experiments from other researchers. Use an appropriate citation style (such as APA, MLA, or Chicago) and consistently cite all your sources, including figures and diagrams.

Editing and Proofreading

Review your essay for clarity, coherence, and logical flow. Check for accuracy in your biological descriptions and ensure that your analysis is comprehensive. Proofread for grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. Having someone else read your essay can be helpful, as they might catch mistakes or unclear sections you overlooked.

Writing an essay about biology involves understanding complex life sciences concepts and effectively communicating them in a structured and insightful manner. By methodically researching your topic, organizing your essay logically, and presenting your arguments with clarity and precision, you can create a compelling biology essay that showcases your understanding and insights into this diverse and fascinating field.

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• How to write a lab report

How To Write A Lab Report | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

Published on May 20, 2021 by Pritha Bhandari . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A lab report conveys the aim, methods, results, and conclusions of a scientific experiment. The main purpose of a lab report is to demonstrate your understanding of the scientific method by performing and evaluating a hands-on lab experiment. This type of assignment is usually shorter than a research paper .

Lab reports are commonly used in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This article focuses on how to structure and write a lab report.

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Table of contents

Structuring a lab report, introduction, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about lab reports.

The sections of a lab report can vary between scientific fields and course requirements, but they usually contain the purpose, methods, and findings of a lab experiment .

Each section of a lab report has its own purpose.

• Title: expresses the topic of your study
• Abstract : summarizes your research aims, methods, results, and conclusions
• Introduction: establishes the context needed to understand the topic
• Method: describes the materials and procedures used in the experiment
• Results: reports all descriptive and inferential statistical analyses
• Discussion: interprets and evaluates results and identifies limitations
• Conclusion: sums up the main findings of your experiment
• References: list of all sources cited using a specific style (e.g. APA )
• Appendices : contains lengthy materials, procedures, tables or figures

Although most lab reports contain these sections, some sections can be omitted or combined with others. For example, some lab reports contain a brief section on research aims instead of an introduction, and a separate conclusion is not always required.

If you’re not sure, it’s best to check your lab report requirements with your instructor.

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Your title provides the first impression of your lab report – effective titles communicate the topic and/or the findings of your study in specific terms.

Create a title that directly conveys the main focus or purpose of your study. It doesn’t need to be creative or thought-provoking, but it should be informative.

• The effects of varying nitrogen levels on tomato plant height.
• Testing the universality of the McGurk effect.
• Comparing the viscosity of common liquids found in kitchens.

An abstract condenses a lab report into a brief overview of about 150–300 words. It should provide readers with a compact version of the research aims, the methods and materials used, the main results, and the final conclusion.

Think of it as a way of giving readers a preview of your full lab report. Write the abstract last, in the past tense, after you’ve drafted all the other sections of your report, so you’ll be able to succinctly summarize each section.

To write a lab report abstract, use these guiding questions:

• What is the wider context of your study?
• What research question were you trying to answer?
• How did you perform the experiment?
• What did your results show?
• How did you interpret your results?
• What is the importance of your findings?

Nitrogen is a necessary nutrient for high quality plants. Tomatoes, one of the most consumed fruits worldwide, rely on nitrogen for healthy leaves and stems to grow fruit. This experiment tested whether nitrogen levels affected tomato plant height in a controlled setting. It was expected that higher levels of nitrogen fertilizer would yield taller tomato plants.

Levels of nitrogen fertilizer were varied between three groups of tomato plants. The control group did not receive any nitrogen fertilizer, while one experimental group received low levels of nitrogen fertilizer, and a second experimental group received high levels of nitrogen fertilizer. All plants were grown from seeds, and heights were measured 50 days into the experiment.

The effects of nitrogen levels on plant height were tested between groups using an ANOVA. The plants with the highest level of nitrogen fertilizer were the tallest, while the plants with low levels of nitrogen exceeded the control group plants in height. In line with expectations and previous findings, the effects of nitrogen levels on plant height were statistically significant. This study strengthens the importance of nitrogen for tomato plants.

Your lab report introduction should set the scene for your experiment. One way to write your introduction is with a funnel (an inverted triangle) structure:

• Start with the broad, general research topic
• Narrow your topic down your specific study focus
• End with a clear research question

Begin by providing background information on your research topic and explaining why it’s important in a broad real-world or theoretical context. Describe relevant previous research on your topic and note how your study may confirm it or expand it, or fill a gap in the research field.

This lab experiment builds on previous research from Haque, Paul, and Sarker (2011), who demonstrated that tomato plant yield increased at higher levels of nitrogen. However, the present research focuses on plant height as a growth indicator and uses a lab-controlled setting instead.

Next, go into detail on the theoretical basis for your study and describe any directly relevant laws or equations that you’ll be using. State your main research aims and expectations by outlining your hypotheses .

Based on the importance of nitrogen for tomato plants, the primary hypothesis was that the plants with the high levels of nitrogen would grow the tallest. The secondary hypothesis was that plants with low levels of nitrogen would grow taller than plants with no nitrogen.

Your introduction doesn’t need to be long, but you may need to organize it into a few paragraphs or with subheadings such as “Research Context” or “Research Aims.”

A lab report Method section details the steps you took to gather and analyze data. Give enough detail so that others can follow or evaluate your procedures. Write this section in the past tense. If you need to include any long lists of procedural steps or materials, place them in the Appendices section but refer to them in the text here.

You should describe your experimental design, your subjects, materials, and specific procedures used for data collection and analysis.

Experimental design

Briefly note whether your experiment is a within-subjects  or between-subjects design, and describe how your sample units were assigned to conditions if relevant.

A between-subjects design with three groups of tomato plants was used. The control group did not receive any nitrogen fertilizer. The first experimental group received a low level of nitrogen fertilizer, while the second experimental group received a high level of nitrogen fertilizer.

Describe human subjects in terms of demographic characteristics, and animal or plant subjects in terms of genetic background. Note the total number of subjects as well as the number of subjects per condition or per group. You should also state how you recruited subjects for your study.

List the equipment or materials you used to gather data and state the model names for any specialized equipment.

List of materials

35 Tomato seeds

15 plant pots (15 cm tall)

Light lamps (50,000 lux)

Nitrogen fertilizer

Measuring tape

Describe your experimental settings and conditions in detail. You can provide labelled diagrams or images of the exact set-up necessary for experimental equipment. State how extraneous variables were controlled through restriction or by fixing them at a certain level (e.g., keeping the lab at room temperature).

Light levels were fixed throughout the experiment, and the plants were exposed to 12 hours of light a day. Temperature was restricted to between 23 and 25℃. The pH and carbon levels of the soil were also held constant throughout the experiment as these variables could influence plant height. The plants were grown in rooms free of insects or other pests, and they were spaced out adequately.

Your experimental procedure should describe the exact steps you took to gather data in chronological order. You’ll need to provide enough information so that someone else can replicate your procedure, but you should also be concise. Place detailed information in the appendices where appropriate.

In a lab experiment, you’ll often closely follow a lab manual to gather data. Some instructors will allow you to simply reference the manual and state whether you changed any steps based on practical considerations. Other instructors may want you to rewrite the lab manual procedures as complete sentences in coherent paragraphs, while noting any changes to the steps that you applied in practice.

If you’re performing extensive data analysis, be sure to state your planned analysis methods as well. This includes the types of tests you’ll perform and any programs or software you’ll use for calculations (if relevant).

First, tomato seeds were sown in wooden flats containing soil about 2 cm below the surface. Each seed was kept 3-5 cm apart. The flats were covered to keep the soil moist until germination. The seedlings were removed and transplanted to pots 8 days later, with a maximum of 2 plants to a pot. Each pot was watered once a day to keep the soil moist.

The nitrogen fertilizer treatment was applied to the plant pots 12 days after transplantation. The control group received no treatment, while the first experimental group received a low concentration, and the second experimental group received a high concentration. There were 5 pots in each group, and each plant pot was labelled to indicate the group the plants belonged to.

50 days after the start of the experiment, plant height was measured for all plants. A measuring tape was used to record the length of the plant from ground level to the top of the tallest leaf.

In your results section, you should report the results of any statistical analysis procedures that you undertook. You should clearly state how the results of statistical tests support or refute your initial hypotheses.

The main results to report include:

• any descriptive statistics
• statistical test results
• the significance of the test results
• estimates of standard error or confidence intervals

The mean heights of the plants in the control group, low nitrogen group, and high nitrogen groups were 20.3, 25.1, and 29.6 cm respectively. A one-way ANOVA was applied to calculate the effect of nitrogen fertilizer level on plant height. The results demonstrated statistically significant ( p = .03) height differences between groups.

Next, post-hoc tests were performed to assess the primary and secondary hypotheses. In support of the primary hypothesis, the high nitrogen group plants were significantly taller than the low nitrogen group and the control group plants. Similarly, the results supported the secondary hypothesis: the low nitrogen plants were taller than the control group plants.

These results can be reported in the text or in tables and figures. Use text for highlighting a few key results, but present large sets of numbers in tables, or show relationships between variables with graphs.

You should also include sample calculations in the Results section for complex experiments. For each sample calculation, provide a brief description of what it does and use clear symbols. Present your raw data in the Appendices section and refer to it to highlight any outliers or trends.

The Discussion section will help demonstrate your understanding of the experimental process and your critical thinking skills.

In this section, you can:

• Interpret your results
• Compare your findings with your expectations
• Identify any sources of experimental error
• Explain any unexpected results
• Suggest possible improvements for further studies

Interpreting your results involves clarifying how your results help you answer your main research question. Report whether your results support your hypotheses.

• Did you measure what you sought out to measure?
• Were your analysis procedures appropriate for this type of data?

Compare your findings with other research and explain any key differences in findings.

• Are your results in line with those from previous studies or your classmates’ results? Why or why not?

An effective Discussion section will also highlight the strengths and limitations of a study.

• Did you have high internal validity or reliability?
• How did you establish these aspects of your study?

When describing limitations, use specific examples. For example, if random error contributed substantially to the measurements in your study, state the particular sources of error (e.g., imprecise apparatus) and explain ways to improve them.

The results support the hypothesis that nitrogen levels affect plant height, with increasing levels producing taller plants. These statistically significant results are taken together with previous research to support the importance of nitrogen as a nutrient for tomato plant growth.

However, unlike previous studies, this study focused on plant height as an indicator of plant growth in the present experiment. Importantly, plant height may not always reflect plant health or fruit yield, so measuring other indicators would have strengthened the study findings.

Another limitation of the study is the plant height measurement technique, as the measuring tape was not suitable for plants with extreme curvature. Future studies may focus on measuring plant height in different ways.

The main strengths of this study were the controls for extraneous variables, such as pH and carbon levels of the soil. All other factors that could affect plant height were tightly controlled to isolate the effects of nitrogen levels, resulting in high internal validity for this study.

Your conclusion should be the final section of your lab report. Here, you’ll summarize the findings of your experiment, with a brief overview of the strengths and limitations, and implications of your study for further research.

Some lab reports may omit a Conclusion section because it overlaps with the Discussion section, but you should check with your instructor before doing so.

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A lab report conveys the aim, methods, results, and conclusions of a scientific experiment . Lab reports are commonly assigned in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The purpose of a lab report is to demonstrate your understanding of the scientific method with a hands-on lab experiment. Course instructors will often provide you with an experimental design and procedure. Your task is to write up how you actually performed the experiment and evaluate the outcome.

In contrast, a research paper requires you to independently develop an original argument. It involves more in-depth research and interpretation of sources and data.

A lab report is usually shorter than a research paper.

The sections of a lab report can vary between scientific fields and course requirements, but it usually contains the following:

• Abstract: summarizes your research aims, methods, results, and conclusions
• References: list of all sources cited using a specific style (e.g. APA)
• Appendices: contains lengthy materials, procedures, tables or figures

The results chapter or section simply and objectively reports what you found, without speculating on why you found these results. The discussion interprets the meaning of the results, puts them in context, and explains why they matter.

In qualitative research , results and discussion are sometimes combined. But in quantitative research , it’s considered important to separate the objective results from your interpretation of them.

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• Published: 26 June 2024

Deconstructing synthetic biology across scales: a conceptual approach for training synthetic biologists

• Ashty S. Karim   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5789-7715 1 , 2 ,
• Dylan M. Brown   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8153-7683 1 , 2 ,
• Chloé M. Archuleta 1 , 2 ,
• Sharisse Grannan 1 , 3 ,
• Ludmilla Aristilde   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8566-1486 1 , 4 ,
• Yogesh Goyal   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3502-6465 1 , 5 , 6 ,
• Josh N. Leonard   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4359-6126 1 , 2 ,
• Niall M. Mangan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3491-8341 1 , 7 ,
• Arthur Prindle 1 , 2 , 8 ,
• Gabriel J. Rocklin 1 , 9 ,
• Keith J. Tyo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2342-0687 1 , 2 ,
• Laurie Zoloth 1 , 10 ,
• Michael C. Jewett 1 , 2   nAff13 ,
• Susanna Calkins   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0001-3653-0236 1 , 11   nAff14 ,
• Neha P. Kamat   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9362-6106 1 , 2 , 12 ,
• Danielle Tullman-Ercek   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6734-480X 1 , 2 &
• Julius B. Lucks   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0619-6505 1 , 2  

Nature Communications volume  15 , Article number:  5425 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Synthetic biology

Synthetic biology allows us to reuse, repurpose, and reconfigure biological systems to address society’s most pressing challenges. Developing biotechnologies in this way requires integrating concepts across disciplines, posing challenges to educating students with diverse expertise. We created a framework for synthetic biology training that deconstructs biotechnologies across scales—molecular, circuit/network, cell/cell-free systems, biological communities, and societal—giving students a holistic toolkit to integrate cross-disciplinary concepts towards responsible innovation of successful biotechnologies. We present this framework, lessons learned, and inclusive teaching materials to allow its adaption to train the next generation of synthetic biologists.

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Introduction.

Synthetic biology is the fundamental science and engineering research that allows us to reuse, repurpose, and reconfigure biological systems to address society’s most pressing challenges. Synthetic biologists leverage tools and concepts from biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, computer science, and the social sciences to harness the enormous diversity of biological function, creating new biological systems that are advancing agriculture 1 , 2 , sustainable biomanufacturing 3 , 4 , 5 , and medicine 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 . Recognition of this potential has led to synthetic biology becoming a major driver of the growing bioeconomy 10 , 11 , 12 . This in turn has created a surge of interest in synthetic biology, attracting an increasing number of researchers and students from around the world who bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives to the field.

While the potential of synthetic biology is clear, developing an approach to train students that meets the diverse needs of this field faces two related challenges. The first challenge is that the field has developed from threads rooted in multiple individual disciplines, resulting in a broad diversity of concepts that must be taught and integrated. At the core are the biological concepts that explain how a function is encoded within a DNA sequence, how control of gene expression activates this function, and how this function can be changed by manipulating the DNA sequence. Building upon this, early synthetic biology incorporated concepts from physics and computer science abstractions that viewed biological components as being ‘wired’ in genetic networks that controlled information flow, much like electronic circuits 13 , 14 , 15 . At the same time, systems biologists were using some of these concepts to study and manipulate cellular networks and signaling pathways 16 , 17 , and chemical engineers were using principles of dynamics and control to engineer metabolic processes for bioproduction 18 , 19 . From these roots, mathematical approaches developed in systems biology were added 20 as well as concepts from chemistry to create new components not yet found in nature 21 . As the field has advanced concepts out of the lab and into the world, approaches from ethics, social sciences, business, and law have become important to incorporate so that researchers innovate responsibly with positive societal impacts 22 , 23 , 24 .

The conceptual breadth of synthetic biology is difficult to cover in any single training program which gives rise to the second challenge for training in synthetic biology—undergraduate and graduate students are often siloed within single disciplines and degree programs, creating barriers to learning outside of these traditional boundaries. Thus, students receive most of their exposure to synthetic biology through elective courses or research in labs rather than through a structured curriculum as might be associated with other mature disciplines. This can lead to synthetic biology training that emphasizes a narrow set of concepts over others or focuses on content rather than “science practices” 25 that are known to support deep learning 26 , 27 . For example, there might be an intense focus on training students how to manipulate CRISPR genome editing systems on the molecular scale, but very little integration of how deficiencies of the molecular-level genome targeting affect the function of the larger cellular system, tissue, or organism in which the CRISPR system is utilized.

The field must overcome these training challenges, as integration of these multi-disciplinary concepts is critical for developing successful synthetic biology technologies. For example, cellular synthesis of products from sustainable feedstocks requires understanding the underlying reaction chemical kinetics (chemistry), enzyme biophysics and substrate transport (physics), genetic regulation of enzymes and cellular physiology (biology), reactor vessel scale-up (engineering), and socio-techno-economic analyzes (business). Similar combinations of expertise are also required to create synthetic biology technologies that address other important societal goals in sustainability, environmental health, and human health.

Fortunately, important first steps to developing new training approaches are beginning to happen with the emergence of new undergraduate opportunities and PhD programs in synthetic biology. For high school students and undergraduates, experiential learning opportunities have emerged to facilitate hands-on learning, such as BioBits Kits 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , the ODIN marketplace for genetic engineering supplies 32 , BioBuilder 33 , and others 34 , 35 . In addition, opportunities such as the international Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition, the Build-a-Genome Course 36 , and the Cold Spring Harbor Summer Course in Synthetic Biology have paved the way to explore synthetic biology and this integration of disciplines. Though, there is an opportunity to refine and expand these efforts with an overarching framework that more systematically incorporates concepts from the many fields contributing to synthetic biology. At the PhD level, two notable programs in the US (Rice University) and the UK (Imperial College) have begun to explore systematic approaches to training in synthetic biology. Rice’s PhD program covers physical biology, systems biology, and synthetic biology, requiring one dedicated course in synthetic biology. Imperial College’s program starts with a Master of Research degree followed by a PhD with courses in systems biology and synthetic biology. Both programs are structured to provide training to students to integrate concepts across disciplines but require significant prerequisites in STEM. But how do students who may not have access to one of these programs receive this type of synthetic biology training? The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) has worked to address this by creating an “Introduction to Engineering Biology” curriculum module to give students a basic understanding of the tools, technologies, and opportunities in synthetic biology 37 . While each of these programs are important first steps, a critical opportunity remains for creating a new approach to synthetic biology training that can: (1) teach synthetic biologists of the future how to traverse and integrate multiple disciplines into their understanding of the field, no matter what their specific background; (2) be accessible to students from a range of backgrounds in order to democratize opportunity and access to synthetic biology concepts; and (3) be adaptable to incorporate advances in a rapidly changing field.

To address this opportunity, we created a conceptual framework for synthetic biology training that can be used in any course or program, developed over the past several years as part of the National Science Foundation-sponsored “Synthesizing Biology Across Scales“ graduate training program at Northwestern University. The framework is based on the observation that every synthetic biology technology is made up of components that function across multiple scales—molecular, circuit/network, cell/cell-free systems, biological communities, and societal—and that the success of these technologies is deeply dependent on their interfaces (Fig.  1 ). This scales framework can be found in other engineering disciplines as well, such as in electrical and computer engineering where technologies naturally break down along scales, from transistors, to circuits, to chips, to devices, and integrate across scales to enable powerful applications.

A schematic representation of the deconstruction framework: biotechnologies can be deconstructed along scales to identify biological phenomena that are important to the technology at each scale, understand the principles by which these phenomena work at that scale, and identify the important interfaces between scales where engineering challenges often arise. Deconstructing technologies along scales allows multidisciplinary concepts to be mapped and applied at individual scales (annotated) and allows new technologies to be reconstructed by combining elements and applying concepts at each scale.

Here, we describe a course-based implementation of the scales framework that teaches undergraduates, masters, and PhD students how to deconstruct synthetic biology across scales, analyze how components interact at interfaces between scales to yield emergent phenomena, conceptualize how to combine components across scales to create new synthetic biology solutions to global challenges, and incorporate the consideration of ethics when developing synthetic biology technologies. Our vision is that training students to deconstruct synthetic biology technologies across scales will help them (1) recognize where their domain expertise fits within a particular synthetic biology technology, (2) identify their own knowledge gaps that can be filled through additional topical learning or research collaborations, and (3) gain a holistic picture of the landscape of pieces that must work together to create a successful technology. Each of these “science practices,” which allow students to actively engage in scientific inquiry, promotes disciplinary learning and development as a scientist 25 . Emphasizing the societal scale, we hope to drive responsible innovation by training students to think of concepts in ethics, access, equity, and societal-level impact early and often throughout the development of synthetic biology technologies. We envision that the scales framework and the corresponding deconstruction approach is a launching point for the field of synthetic biology to provide a foundational way of training the next generation of synthetic biologists.

The scales framework for synthetic biology

The scales framework is a conceptual way to understand how to build synthetic biology solutions to address societal challenges how biological phenomena work across multiple scales (Fig.  1 ). The deconstruction approach to teaching this framework posits that for a given synthetic biology technology, the components and functions that work together to form that technology can be thought of as working along distinct scales: molecular, circuit/network, cellular, biological communities, and societal. Each of these scales represent a distinct set of components and functions and the physical, chemical, biological, and social science concepts that naturally drive function or impact at that scale. In addition, interactions between components at the interfaces between these scales often give rise to emergent behavior and engineering challenges that are important for real-world applications. Below we briefly describe the components, functions, and concepts that arise at each scale.

The molecular scale includes the individual molecular components of biological systems (e.g., nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, metabolites) and the physical, chemical, and mathematical principles required for understanding and engineering the function of these components. Driving concepts at the molecular scale include the biophysics of protein and RNA folding (including concepts such as free energy folding landscapes and folding kinetics), molecular interactions, enzymology, and others 38 , 39 . The functions that occur on this scale are molecular structure, complex assembly 40 , catalysis (enzymes) 41 , motion (molecular motors) 42 , charge transport 43 , and others that are carried out by individual molecules.

The components of the network/circuit scale consist of collections of molecules that interact to give rise to higher-order functions, often depending on which subset of interactions are present. Network/circuit scale functions are those that biological systems utilize to propagate information, coordinate physiological states, and implement control over those states 44 , 45 . Common biological functions at this scale include coordination and regulation of gene expression (transcription/translation), propagation of information in biological systems in signaling networks, and control of molecular transformations in metabolic reaction networks 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 .

Phenomena at the cell/cell-free systems scale encapsulate the components of the molecular and network/circuit scale, creating a biochemical environment that supports systems-level functions. Biological functions at this scale include coupled transcription, translation, and post-translational modification 49 , mechanobiology 50 , cell division 51 , exo- and endocytosis 52 , cell sensing 53 , somatic hypermutation (i.e., antibody production) 54 , homeostasis 55 , and transport 55 , 56 . Sometimes these functions can be spatially organized within a range of cellular components such as lipid vesicles, bacterial microcompartments, and macromolecular condensates that organize molecules in membrane-less organelles 57 , 58 . At this scale, concepts that govern the behavior include molecular transport, reaction diffusion, energy and redox balance, and others. Cell-free systems are included here because they can perform many of the same functions as cells with similar levels of biological complexity 7 , 59 , 60 .

The components of the biological communities scale include multi-cellular interactions and communities of organisms that work together to give rise to higher-order functions and emergent behaviors 61 . There is a rich diversity of systems at this scale, ranging from microbiomes and biofilms to tissues, organs, and even whole bodies 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 . Biological functions that occur on this scale include emergent microbial community dynamics 65 , cell-cell signaling 67 , 68 , biofilm formation 69 , tissue-scale phenomena such as tissue growth 70 , regeneration and function, cell-material interactions, inter- and intraspecies metabolic interaction 71 , and others 72 , 73 , 74 . Population dynamics, microbial ecology, metagenomics, and micro- and macroevolution play a significant role at this scale.

Finally, the societal scale encompasses concepts that will determine how synthetic biology technologies impact, influence, and change the world around us. Functions at this scale include technology distribution; equity and affordability in technology access; social, biological, and economic sustainability; public perception; legal and regulatory aspects of technology (intellectual property and policy); and more 24 , 75 , 76 , 77 . The concepts associated with this scale include the philosophical ethics of synthetic biology research, stakeholder interaction and analysis, frameworks for user studies and field trials, lifecycle analysis, and quantitative estimates of the needs and viability of synthetic biology technologies 78 , 79 . Traditionally this scale has been separated from science and engineering at the other scales, yet it contains components and functions driven by scientific principles similar to the other scales. Recognizing the need to train ethically minded practitioners, we emphasize the integration of the societal scale as one of the five key scales so that we consider it as an important part throughout training and technology development.

The interfaces between these scales give rise to emergent behavior important for applications, though this can also present challenges for engineering. By understanding these interfaces, we can learn general “rules” to emergence of complexity and, in turn, engineer-improved technologies. We can understand these interfaces through common methods for bridging across scales. For instance, mathematical techniques such as mean-field averaging, which assumes that many identical components interact in similar ways 80 , and asymptotic analysis, which characterizes the strongest interactions between heterogeneous components 81 , enable us to analyze the transition between scales. The fundamental properties, process, and results of mapping interactions to macro-level behavior inform our understanding of the emergence of complexity across scales 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 .

For some technologies that we deconstruct, the scales are clear. Practitioners can identify a global challenge (e.g., chemical production, environmental health, human health) and deconstruct synthetic biology technologies that address them (e.g., semi-synthetic artemisinin, bacterial nitrogen fixation, CAR-T therapeutics) (Box  1 ). However, for some technologies, scales with strong interfaces may naturally blur together; for instance, it is hard to define exactly when a molecular scale complex that regulates protein phosphorylation begins to process and propagate information through a phosphorylation cascade at the network scale 87 . Learning to deconstruct synthetic biology solutions allows practitioners to understand when the boundaries between scales become ‘fuzzy’, so that they can take advantage of the gradation of phenomena that occur across different spatial and temporal scales and engineer them accordingly. By using case studies on real-world synthetic biology technologies, we can teach core concepts of the field to students from diverse backgrounds in an interactive and engaging way.

Box 1. Deconstruction case studies

The deconstruction approach provides a framework to analyze synthetic biology technologies through case studies . Synthetic biological systems that address challenges in (A) the environment (nitrogen fixation), (B) sustainable bioproduction (semi-synthetic artemisinin production), and (C) human health (CAR-T therapies) are deconstructed along scales.

Box   1 Text . Many synthetic biology technologies can be broken down into components that must work together across the molecular, circuit/network, cellular, and biological communities scales. For each technology, societal scale concepts concerning ethics, equity, access, intellectual property, and business considerations are critical to its success. Here are several examples of flagship synthetic biology technologies deconstructed across these scales.

Environmental Health—nitrogen-fixing bacteria for sustainable fertilizers. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria that can produce fertilizer compounds offer a potential solution for sustainable farming, currently challenged by an over-reliance on energy-intensive chemical fertilizers that cause environmental contamination when overapplied 91 . Engineering a bacteria to produce enough fixed nitrogen for farming needs requires understanding and engineering across scales. At the molecular scale, the core nitrogen-fixing reaction is carried out by the nitrogenase enzyme complex 92 , 93 . Nitrogenase requires coordinated interaction with electron-transporting proteins that work together at the network/circuit scale 92 , 108 . Also important at the network/circuit scale are the layers of genetic circuitry that coordinate the synthesis of the many nitrogenase components and its cofactor synthesis enzymes—this regulation must be understood as it presents potential barriers to controlling nitrogenase expression 108 . Both of these scales are embedded in a cellular chassis that must support their function 94 , 95 . Finally, the eventual application of a nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil requires considerations at the biological communities scale to understand how this bacteria would interact with the native soil microbiome and the target plants 109 , 110 . At the societal scale, questions arise as to the safety and biocontainment strategies needed when releasing engineered organisms, technology access, which intellectual property strategies that can benefit the most people including farmers, and stakeholder analysis to understand if the technology will be adopted.

Biochemical Production—semi-synthetic artemisinin production. Artemisinin is a frontline anti-malarial drug produced in the plant Artemisia annua , and its availability can be challenged by seasonal production variation 111 . Microbial bioproduction of more artemisinin requires understanding and engineering across scales. Often bioproduction strategies genetically integrate metabolic pathways into a heterologous host that is then further engineered to make the molecule of interest 18 . At the molecular scale, artemisinin production requires tailored cytochrome P450s and dehydrogenases 96 . At the network scale, these enzymes, along with others, must work together in metabolic pathways with carbon flux carefully controlled to minimize toxic intermediates and side reactions 112 , 113 . This control requires selection of an appropriate cellular scale host organism that can support the necessary central carbon metabolism and tolerate the acid toxicity of the product 114 , 115 . As production is scaled, the communities scale becomes important, as scale up requires populations of cells to interact with one another in a complex bioreactor environment where availability and transport of nutrients (e.g., oxygen levels, pH) can become important 116 , 117 , 118 . At the societal scale, questions of cost and profitability, sustainability of production, infrastructure requirements, accessibility to the biochemicals, public perception, and acceptance of the technologies naturally arise.

Human Health—CAR-T cell therapy. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a promising approach to provide treatments for an expanding range of cancers 97 , 98 , 119 . CAR-T therapies are designed to reprogram the natural abilities of the human immune system to recognize cancer cells and trigger their destruction, and as such they require engineering and consideration across multiple scales. At the molecular scale, a key challenge is designing the CAR protein to recognize features that are unique to the surface of cancer cells while not recognizing healthy cells 120 . Once a cancer cell is recognized, the CAR must activate processes at the network scale within the T cell, triggering cell-mediated killing and gene expression programs 121 . At the cellular scale, the importance of cell identity becomes critical, since CARs can be implemented in a range of immune cell types, with each choice impacting CAR performance 121 . At the biological communities scale, concepts related to side effects (including off-target and on-target activity) become important, creating a natural interface to the molecular scale at which CAR variants can be engineered to have improved specificity 122 . In this scale, concepts such as transport also become important, such as distinct challenges associated with using CAR-T cell therapies to treat solid tumors because of limited penetration, as compared to blood cancers in which T cells can more readily access cancerous cells. At the societal scale, challenges and concepts related to safety, ethics, clinical trials and cost and access of the treatment become important when analyzing the success of the technology 123

A case studies-based course in the deconstruction approach

Our course teaches senior undergraduate students and first-year graduate students from a range of degree programs how to analyze problems and solutions related to synthetic biology through the deconstruction approach. The learning objectives of this course are for students to be able to: (1) deconstruct biological phenomena along the scales that they occur; (2) analyze how engineering choices made at one scale affect biological function at another scale; (3) assemble potential synthetic biology solutions to global challenges across scales; and (4) identify the scientific value and impacts of synthetic biology research on broader societal goals, as well as ethical considerations that arise. The course has no prerequisites and was designed to achieve these learning objectives through a case studies pedagogical approach, which is proven to enhance learning and student engagement 88 , allowing integration of multi-disciplinary concepts across scales.

For the course, we identified three of the most pressing global challenge areas currently being addressed by synthetic biology to develop case studies—environmental health, biochemical production, and human health (Box  1 ) 2 . Each challenge area is taught over the course of a three-week module and includes a historical basis for the global challenge (e.g., defining the problem), current synthetic biology research and commercial endeavors in this area, a deconstruction of at least one poignant example, homework assignments (e.g., investigating and designing solutions), student presentations (e.g., explanation), and a guest lecture by an expert in that area. We introduce each challenge area loosely based on the Heilmeier Catechism 89 , defining the problem, how it is addressed today, how synthetic biology might play a role in addressing it, and a discussion on the societal risks, success, and future of synthetic biology in the challenge area. Each module builds on the previous module, adding a deeper layer of understanding of the deconstruction approach (Fig.  2 ). For example, in the first module we define the scales in the context of a guided case study, in the second module we ask students to weight the importance of each scale to a chosen technology, and in the third module students tackle the challenges at the interfaces between scales. While our course used environmental health for module 1, biochemical production for module 2, and human health for module 3 (Fig.  2 ), the progression of modules can be taught using any topic sequence, allowing the course to be adapted to the needs or interest of different teaching environments and to new topics that emerge as the field progresses. In addition, the division of the course into modules is naturally amenable to team teaching approaches.

The course is split across three modules with each subsequent module exploring deeper concepts of the deconstruction approach. Different case studies can be used to implement each module, depending on instructor and student interests. Here we show the progression from environmental health to biochemical production to human health topics in the Northwestern course.

We begin the course by introducing environmental health challenges in the context of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 90 —good health and well-being—and survey the many ways synthetic biology could contribute to solutions in soil, water and air quality, carbon sequestration, waste valorization, remediation, sustainable resource recovery, sustainable biomaterials, recycling, and sustainable fertilizers. We then focus on our first major deconstruction case study on bacterial nitrogen fixation for sustainable fertilizers (Box  1 ). The nitrogen fixation example also serves as the first introduction to the five scales, as it is deconstructed in the narrative of imagining a synthetic biologist wanting to address the environmental challenge of chemical fertilizers. After a historical introduction to Crooke’s challenge of the need for fertilizers, the geopolitics of fertilizer distribution, and the development of the Haber-Bosch process 91 , we then imagine how a synthetic biologist may partner with nature to create a more sustainable way to produce fertilizer. This naturally starts at the cellular scale by identifying nitrogen fixing bacteria, and quickly dives into the molecular and network/circuit scales on the quest to understand how to engineer the microbe to fix more nitrogen through understanding the nitrogenase enzyme complex and its regulation 92 , 93 . Reviewing the literature gets us back to the cellular scale to understand which microbes are optimal 94 , 95 . The biological communities and societal scales naturally emerge when we consider applying engineered microbes to the field. Two guest lectures in this area, one focusing on academic synthetic biology research in this area and another representing synthetic biology startup companies, give students multiple perspectives to understand how this area is actively being pursued.

The focus on fertilizer and agriculture naturally transitions the course to the biochemical production challenge area, where we begin by understanding how commodities such as food, energy, water, materials, and chemicals are intricately linked, and how holistic understanding of a challenge area can give rise to useful solutions. We deconstruct early advances of molecular biology and early synthetic biology technologies such as golden rice, Roundup Ready® crops, and first, second, and third generation biofuels. Our major deconstruction case study in this section is the semi-synthetic artemisinin project 96 (Box  1 ), where we use class time to deconstruct the technology along each scale and identify the scales in which key hurdles were overcome during the project. Importantly, we discuss the number of resources that were dedicated to the project, the amount of fundamental knowledge that was gained, the technologies developed during the project that are being used in other areas of synthetic biology, and the current commercial use of the technology as way to evaluate the success of the project. An industry speaker is included in this section to give students perspective on sustainable bioproduction products that are actively being marketed and sold.

The course finishes with the human health challenge area, where we begin by introducing the unique layers of complexity that occur at the biological communities and societal scales. We frame the need for synthetic biology solutions in human health by discussing the historical development of pharmaceuticals and the promise of synthetic biology for developing new therapeutic approaches 6 . We then dive into cell-based therapies and recent synthetic biology tools that allow for molecular, network, and cellular scale engineering of mammalian cells, and control of variability across a population of cells. Our deconstruction case studies in this section are CAR-T-cell therapies 97 , 98 (Box  1 ) and gene drives 99 . Following a student-led deconstruction of these activities, we use discussion-based learning techniques to emphasize the ethics of human subject research through case studies on the use of HeLa cells and personal genomics. Our guest lecturer in this area is a societal scale expert (e.g., bioethicist, artist) that emphasizes the application of societal scale concepts in the course. In addition, we include a guest lecture from one of our faculty to introduce research actively being pursued in our institution.

An important component of our pedagogy is activities for students to actively deconstruct technologies across scales, including individual assignments, small-group evaluation of technologies, and cooperative learning activities based on inclusive teaching practices 100 , 101 , 102 (Fig.  3 ). This begins in the environmental health section where students are assigned to pick a technology and deconstruct it without the scales framework introduced ( assignment 1 ). Once the nitrogen fixation technology is deconstructed in lectures, they are then asked to revisit the deconstruction of this same technology with the scales framework ( assignment 2 ), and present to class. In the biochemical production section, the course begins to flip from instructor-centric to student-centric deconstructions through additional group work. We randomly paired students together and asked them to pick a technology to deconstruct and go beyond just identifying the scales by weighting the importance of each scale within their chosen technology (Fig.  3A ). We found that students interpret the importance of scales differently. For example, two students focusing on food alternatives found different scales are important for different technologies, while in some metabolic engineering examples, students found the network/circuit scale to be of importance regardless of the selected technology. This type of cross-case comparison helped promote the abstraction of deconstruction concepts.

A Students deconstructed technologies in groups of two and assessed the importance of each scale for their given technology. Each group was asked to rank how important each scale was for their selected synthetic biology technology from 0 (no importance) to 10 (high importance). Radar plots are displayed for different student groups’ responses where each geometric shape or area represents one response. Differences in student responses on ‘the importance of scales’ are depicted in three ways: deconstructing the same technology, deconstructing different technologies that aim to tackle a similar problem, and deconstructing similar technologies within a research area. B Students deconstructed technologies across scales using an inclusive teaching technique called a jigsaw group activity. Each circle represents one student in the course, each letter is a specific scale, and each number corresponds to a specific grouping of students that are assigned a different technology. Home groups allow students to frame their deconstruction across different scales, while scale expert groups allow students to gain expertise in a scale by comparing across different technologies. Reassembling back into home groups allows students to share their expertise and learn from each other. Discussing the societal scale across technologies as a class allows comparisons between different technologies.

In the human health section, CAR-T and gene drives are deconstructed through a unique jigsaw method, a cooperative and inclusive learning approach that requires students to address a complex problem from various theoretical and/or methodological approaches (Fig.  3B ) 100 , 101 , 102 . Students are first split into several “home (jigsaw) groups” consisting of one “scale expert” at the molecular, network, cell/cell-free, and biological communities scales to discuss a game plan to deconstruct their assigned technology. While students do not necessarily have expertise in their assigned scale, using the term ‘expert’ is meant to inspire confidence in students to learn scale concepts and then empower them to teach their peers. Students then divide small “scale expert groups” and use peer instruction to develop deep knowledge in a specific scale (a ‘piece of the puzzle’). The students then return to their home groups, synthesize their expert information into a compelling deconstruction of their technology and together discuss the societal scale. At the end of this activity, we come back to a large group discussion of technology challenges across scale interfaces and the societal implications of the technology.

Throughout the course, each student is assigned to conduct a newsreel presentation by presenting one synthetic biology research article and one news item of their choice to the class using the scales framework, creating a consistent source for ethics discussions and other societal scale topics. Finally, students perform and present a deep dive deconstruction of a technology of their choice as their final project. In this way the course incorporates a wide range of technology case studies that are both instructor and student chosen. The ability for students to drive most of the topic selection (e.g., engaging in the practice of science) in this course builds off the known positive impact of choice on student engagement 103 and allows course content to adapt as the field of synthetic biology evolves.

By framing the course around biotechnologies and the scales of synthetic biology, we can teach synthetic biology in a way that is agnostic to student backgrounds and expertise. In this way, we can introduce multi-disciplinary concepts from biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, engineering, and the social sciences in the context that they are needed within a given scale. This helps students identify where their background and expertise can be incorporated within a synthetic biology technology. The scales framing also allows students to identify their own knowledge gaps so that they can fill them with further study and collaboration.

Evaluating success of the deconstruction approach

Teaching a course rooted in quantitative fundamentals of synthetic biology technologies, but largely taught through learning how to define problems, develop models, construct explanations, and build arguments (e.g., scientific practices) has proven to be a rewarding experience for students. In total, 103 students from chemistry, biology, biomedical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, and chemical engineering programs took the course across three separate years that the course was offered at Northwestern University. Students across implementations of the course resonated with the deconstruction approach as can be seen from an analysis of end-of-course written reflections as part of their final projects (Table  1 ). Responses, subjected to thematic analysis 104 , revealed that students not only enjoyed the course but also developed holistic ways of thinking, critical thinking skills, an ability to recognize challenges at the interface between scales, and an understanding of how they would use the deconstruction approach outside the course (e.g., reading literature, career aspirations). Years after taking the course, one student reflected in an interview that, “[the scales framework] has been super helpful for the conception of my own research because I’m often on the lower scales, more of the mechanisms and specific interactions of molecules and proteins. Anytime we’re making single changes to add more of this one component to our mixture, it really changes everything else … and it goes beyond these lower-level interactions. It’s not that I’m consciously trying to think in that way, but I think it’s been baked into me. These scales all do interact and are relevant. Even when it feels like I’m making small changes, I feel I need to stop and consider the potential for repercussions and effects that would climb up the ladder.” Students have applied and seen value in the skills developed in the course years after taking the course.

Integrating the societal scale into a STEM course

An important goal of the deconstruction approach is to train students to think about the societal scale impacts of their work as it is being conceptualized, rather than after it has been done. Traditional science and engineering training often leaves out societal scale components or relegates them to special courses in the humanities (e.g., bioethics) or business (e.g., intellectual property) that do not fully integrate these topics within science and engineering. We integrated the societal scale into our course in three specific ways: (1) training students to identify challenges at the societal scale, and biological functions needed to address these challenges, through course assignments; (2) creating space for students to explore the connectedness of how science and engineering choices made at one scale could drive outcomes at the societal scale through in-class discussion grounded in bioethics best practices 105 ; and (3) inviting a guest lecturer with expertise in bioethics and the societal scale to guide an informed and meaningful discussion around this scale using examples from their own work. Our intent was to introduce students to the many topics this scale encompasses (e.g., bioethics, technology access and equity, intellectual property, business models, investment strategies, and policy), teach them to identify connections between the societal scale and the four other scales and teach them how to discuss and grapple with societal scale challenges for any technology.

Our specific societal scale and bioethics discussion activities were based on bioethics best practices 105 . We conducted think-pair-share class discussions with prompts along several themes: (1) themes related to societal perceptions of biotechnology; (2) themes related to unintended consequences of developing biotechnologies; and (3) themes related to additional safeguards and regulatory processes that could be developed in response to unintended consequences. For example, during the human health part of the course when we discussed gene drives as a method to combat malaria. Our discussions touched on intellectual property, genetically modified organisms, and regulations; molecular and cellular approaches to biocontainment to mitigate risk; and public perception of technology and what is natural. We wove these types of concepts into each case study, student deconstruction assignments and discussions, and a standalone discussion of the ethics of human subject research. The most recent iteration of the course also had an artist lead discussion of how science and art can interface to impact the world. As a result, students often expressed excitement and eagerness to think about the societal scale and how they might advance or disrupt the world in which we live. In our discussions we did not try to seek an answer to questions at this scale but rather focused on presenting and discussing different viewpoints, emphasizing the importance of considering societal scale challenges. Many students came away with their viewpoints expanded, with 34% commenting on the importance of societal scale thinking (Table  1 ).

Adapting the approach to other learning environments

In developing the course, we created a syllabus, a schedule, and content that is designed to be adapted to other learning environments. Our goal is for the scales framework and the deconstruction approach to be adaptable to support a range of learning objectives within different institutions and programs and to be adapted to changes with the field. Towards this goal, we have created and included here a modular version of our course structure, a syllabus, and the three evaluated deconstruction assignments with corresponding rubrics for any instructor who would like to use them or adapt them for a course in synthetic biology (see Supporting Information). The content can be used in several ways. If instructors are comfortable with the progression of topics from environmental health to biochemical production to human health, then the course plan could be used verbatim to implement a full course that could serve as an introduction to synthetic biology, or as a second course in synthetic biology. If instructors would rather begin with a different topic area, then they could use our course plan and structure as an example and choose a different framing example in a different topic area (Box  1 ) to do a full deconstruction of a technology at the beginning of the course, followed by similar activities to explore other topic areas. This method could also be used to implement a standalone module on the deconstruction approach within a different synthetic biology course. In this model, case studies can be used to get students excited by the field before deep diving into synthetic biology tools and principles that are typically discussed in introductory synthetic biology courses. It was important to select case studies that we as instructors had expertise in to give the most enriching experience for our students and to help facilitate their learning. Including more formal cross-case study comparisons would help enhance student understanding of the deconstruction approach and mobilize knowledge. Portions of the course could even be used as modules to add an ethics component to an existing synthetic biology course. In addition, the three framing deconstruction assignments can be added into existing courses to teach and evaluate student learning of the deconstruction approach. While our implementation of the course was tailored to a mixed class of advanced undergraduates, masters, and beginning PhD students, we envision the approach being easily tailored to other groups.

Over three years of implementing this course, several best practices for implementation appeared. Initially the course was developed for synchronous, remote learning and was adapted to in-person sessions which means that the course is fully compatible with remote, in-person, or hybrid teaching. At the heart of the course are student presentations and discussions. This made the course challenging to implement when class sizes reached more than 30 students. The number and type of presentations can be changed to address this. We also struggled to identify the proper number of assignments and in-class activities given that most assignments were free-form writing. Giving comprehensive rubrics and instructions helped manage expectations and improved student enjoyment of the course. While we had no prerequisites for the course, many students who took previous biology and/or synthetic biology courses had an advantage. Implementations of the course where this is the only available course in synthetic biology may benefit from an “introduction to synthetic biology” module to familiarize students with tools and techniques in the field. Despite differences in prior knowledge, we had students come to this course from chemistry, biology, engineering, and biotechnology and left inspired to work in synthetic biology.

Looking to the future

As the field of synthetic biology matures, there is a compelling opportunity to explore common training approaches across institutions that can be used to accelerate progress in the field even further. As a highly multi-disciplinary field, it can be challenging to find a convergent training approach that incorporates cross-field concepts while giving students and practitioners a common language to integrate these concepts towards a common engineering goal. We believe that by emphasizing the scales of engineered biological systems and their application use cases, the scales framework and the deconstruction approach helps to achieve this goal and can incorporate discipline-specific concepts simultaneously. In this way, the scales framework facilitates the teaching of “science practices” (e.g., modeling, explanation, argumentation) 25 and core ideas of 21st-century science which will facilitate developing disciplinary expertise and versatility 26 , 27 .

Here, the scales approach has allowed us to train students from a range of disciplinary backgrounds in common, multi-disciplinary concepts. Teaching students first how to deconstruct technologies along scales and then identify concepts that apply at each scale, allows them to integrate diverse concepts together in the context of how they are used for engineering. While biological emergent behavior lends itself to the scales-based framework, synthetic biology has traditionally been skewed towards the molecular and circuits/network scales. In contrast, bioengineering and biomedical engineering are traditionally skewed towards the cell and biological communities scales. Yet often the goals of synthetic biologists and bio/biomedical engineers are the same: to tackle a global challenge with biological solutions. The scales framework allows for appreciation of all the scales, which we hope encourages researchers to seek out knowledge of traditionally overlooked scales and work across scales to develop impactful biotechnologies.

While we have started to lay the framework for a deconstruction approach to teaching synthetic biology, it is far from complete. As the field evolves, it is our hope that the deconstruction approach evolves with it. We can already see evidence of this through the definition of the scales. For example, in our recent implementation of the course during a deep dive into CRISPR gene drives, students challenged our definition of the biological communities scale and actively discussed whether a new scale should be added to encapsulate concepts relevant to organismal populations such as population genetics. In addition, drawing connections to how different other fields use the scales framework—like computer engineering where technologies are built from transistors, to circuits, to chips, to devices—can further refine its application to synthetic biology and drive additional innovation. For example, the existence of computer-aided design tools that can be used within and across scales to design computer systems is a powerful encapsulation of the scales framework and is a particularly exciting prospect for synthetic biology 106 , 107 . Using this central framework, iterations of this course could be developed that bring in additional discipline-specific concepts, pointing out when in each synthetic biology technology those concepts can be applied. In this way, a student trained in that discipline can learn when and how to collaborate with researchers in other disciplines, addressing the need to learn to integrate and traverse disciplines. We anticipate that continued adoption, discussion, and development of the deconstruction approach will allow the concepts to be refined to match the needs of the field.

We envision the deconstruction approach to be more than just a pedagogical approach to teaching synthetic biology. Rather, we hope that it is viewed as a way of thinking for synthetic biologists of the future. By teaching students to think across scales, we hope that their holistic view of what it takes to make a successful synthetic biology technology will allow them to identify knowledge gaps that can be filled by new learning, new collaborations, or even drive new research to fill those gaps. By placing the societal scale on equal footing with the other scales, we hope to create an ethically minded workforce that will drive responsible innovation. And by emphasizing how many disciplines are needed across scales to achieve success, we hope to welcome diverse perspectives to the field of synthetic biology so we can all work towards solving society’s grand challenges together.

Supporting Information

The following supplemental materials are provided on the Northwestern Arch database ( https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-x989-tb47 ) to aid the adoption and adaption of the scales framework and deconstruction approach to other learning environments:

Northwestern_CSB_Deconstructing_SynBio_Content_Map.pdf – a table outlining how the course content can be delivered across a ten-week course. Modules on environmental health, biochemical production and human health are outlined. A schedule for the provided assignments is given, along with how to integrate guest lectures.

Northwestern_CSB_Deconstructing_SynBio_Syllabus.pdf – example syllabus for the deconstructing synthetic biology course.

Northwestern_CSB_Deconstructing_SynBio_Assignment_1-First_Deconstruction.pdf – the first deconstruction assignment given to students before they have been taught about the scales framework.

Northwestern_CSB_Deconstructing_SynBio_Assignment_2-Second_Deconstruction.pdf – the second deconstruction assignment given to students immediately after they have been taught about the scales framework.

Northwestern_CSB_Deconstructing_SynBio_Assignment_3-Final_Project.pdf – the course final project entailing a deep dive deconstruction using all the principles learned in the course.

Data availability

The full set of deidentified responses used for thematic analysis in Table  1 can be made available upon reasonable request pending ethical consideration of intended use.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all 103 students that participated in this course and our evaluations since 2021 as without them this would not be possible. We would also like to provide many thanks to several colleagues that have provided various forms of feedback on the conceptual framework and this manuscript: Mark Blenner (University of Delaware) for trying out an early version of the course content; Mary Dunlop (BU), Richard Murray (Caltech), Joff Silberg (Rice), Kristala Prather (MIT), Ron Weiss (MIT), and Natalie Kuldell (MIT) who serve on the Synthetic Biology Across Scales (SynBAS) NSF National Research Traineeship (NRT) advisory board who provided critical feedback on the development of the deconstruction approach; and Ron Vale (HHMI) and Tim Mitchison (Harvard) for advice on publishing this work. We would also like to thank Karsten Temme (Pivot Bio), Michael Köpke (LanzaTech), Sam Weiss Evans (Harvard), Weston Kightlinger (Resilience), Jennifer Brophy (Stanford), Khalid Alam (Stemloop), Marilene Pavan (LanzaTech), and Dario Robleto for invaluable contributions made to developing the deconstruction approach through their guest lectures. The development of the deconstruction approach was supported by the National Science Foundation through the SynBAS NRT program (2021900) and by the Bachrach Family Foundation. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Author information

Michael C. Jewett

Present address: Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

Susanna Calkins

Present address: Nexus for Faculty Success, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Chicago, IL, USA

Authors and Affiliations

Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

Ashty S. Karim, Dylan M. Brown, Chloé M. Archuleta, Sharisse Grannan, Ludmilla Aristilde, Yogesh Goyal, Josh N. Leonard, Niall M. Mangan, Arthur Prindle, Gabriel J. Rocklin, Keith J. Tyo, Laurie Zoloth, Michael C. Jewett, Susanna Calkins, Neha P. Kamat, Danielle Tullman-Ercek & Julius B. Lucks

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

Ashty S. Karim, Dylan M. Brown, Chloé M. Archuleta, Josh N. Leonard, Arthur Prindle, Keith J. Tyo, Michael C. Jewett, Neha P. Kamat, Danielle Tullman-Ercek & Julius B. Lucks

Independent Evaluator, Lake Geneva, WI, 53147, USA

Sharisse Grannan

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

Ludmilla Aristilde

Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

Yogesh Goyal

Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60201, USA

Niall M. Mangan

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

Arthur Prindle

Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

Gabriel J. Rocklin

The Divinity School, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

Laurie Zoloth

Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

Biomedical Engineering Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

Neha P. Kamat

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Contributions

A.S.K.—Devised and developed the deconstruction concept, developed and taught the course, wrote the manuscript, made figures, and edited the manuscript. D.M.B.—Developed the course, wrote the manuscript, made figures, and edited the manuscript. C.M.A.—Developed the course and edited the manuscript. S.G.—Developed the course evaluation approach, performed course evaluation, collected, and analyzed evaluation data, and edited the manuscript. L.A.—Developed the deconstruction concept and edited the manuscript. Y.G.—Developed the deconstruction concept and edited the manuscript. J. N. L.—Devised and developed the deconstruction concept and edited the manuscript. N.M.M.—Developed the deconstruction concept and edited the manuscript. A.P.—Developed the deconstruction concept and edited the manuscript. G.J.R.—Developed the deconstruction concept and edited the manuscript. K.J.T.—Devised and developed the deconstruction concept and edited the manuscript. L.Z.—Developed the deconstruction concept, developed the approach to integrating ethics into the course, and edited the manuscript. M.C.J.—Devised and developed the deconstruction concept and edited the manuscript. S.C.—Developed the deconstruction concept, developed the course evaluation approach, performed course evaluation, collected and analyzed evaluation data, and edited the manuscript. N.P.K. – Devised and developed the deconstruction concept and edited the manuscript. D.T.E.—Devised and developed the deconstruction concept and edited the manuscript. J.B.L.—Devised and developed the deconstruction concept, developed and taught the course, wrote the manuscript, and edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ashty S. Karim or Julius B. Lucks .

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Karim, A.S., Brown, D.M., Archuleta, C.M. et al. Deconstructing synthetic biology across scales: a conceptual approach for training synthetic biologists. Nat Commun 15 , 5425 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49626-x

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Received : 01 December 2023

Accepted : 13 June 2024

Published : 26 June 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49626-x

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