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In his popular classes and bestselling textbooks, Jay Phelan uses questions as a way of introducing both the practical impact and awe-inspiring wonder of biological research. Phelan knows how to captivate nonmajors with stories of how scientists investigate life. He is also a master at using the study of biology as a context for developing the critical thinking skills and scientific literacy students can draw on through university and beyond.

Phelan´s dynamic approach to teaching biology is the driving force behind this textbook. The rigorously updated new edition brings forward the features that made the book a classroom favourite (chapters anchored to intriguing questions about life, spectacular original illustrations, innovative learning tools) with a more focused and flexible presentation and enhanced art. What is Life? is available with LaunchPad. LaunchPad combines an interactive ebook with high-quality multimedia content and ready-made assessment options, including LearningCurve adaptive quizzing. See ´Instructor Resources´ and ´Student Resources´ for further information.

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Part 1. The Facts of Life.- Part 2. Genetics, Evolution & Behaviour.- Part 3. Evolution and the Diversity of Life.- Part 4. Ecology and the Environment.- Part 5. Plant Life.- Part 6. Health and Physiology

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Jay Phelan teaches biology at UCLA, where he has taught introductory biology in large lectures for majors and non-majors for fifteen years. He received his PhD in evolutionary biology from Harvard in 1995, and his master´s and bachelor´s degrees from Yale and UCLA. His primary area of research is evolutionary genetics, and his original research has been published in Evolution, Experimental Gerontology, and the Journal of Integrative and Comparative Biology, among others. His research has been featured on Nightline, CNN, the BBC, and NPR; in Science Times and Elle; and in more than a hundred newspapers.

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