Best Resources to Learn the Fundamentals of Biology
To better understand cancer, I’ve been reading many books and academic papers, but they often assume that you are already familiar with complex biology and medical concepts. To build a stronger foundation, I started taking Khan Academy’s Middle School Biology course, and it’s been fantastic. It covers concepts that are surprisingly relevant to health, including cell structures, metabolism, genes, and heredity—and best of all, it's free!
Interestingly, this also connects to my work as an AI researcher. I focus on using AI to understand animal communication better, and many biological principles, such as genetics and evolution, play a role in how species communicate and interact.
I plan to continue learning with these additional Khan Academy courses:
Below are my rough notes from the first units of the course. My plan is to cover three units per week and keep updating my notes as I progress.
Unit 1: Cells and organisms
- Cells and organisms
- unicellular: one cell (e.g., E.coli bacteria), multicellular: many cells
- Cell parts and functions
- cell membrane, cytoplasm (substance that contains cell parts), organelles
- mitochondria, nucleus, chloroplasts (produce sugars, only in plants), cell wall
- Comparing animal and plant cells
- membrane, cytosol, nucleus, mitochondria (breaks down sugars)
- plants only: cell wall, chloroplasts (photosynthesis)
- Organization in the human body
- hierarchy: cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems
- Sensory processing and the brain
- Stimuli: mechanical stimuli, chemical stimuli, and electromagnetic stimuli
Unit 2: Organism growth and reproduction
- Sexual and asexual reproduction
- asexual reproduction -> only one parent, same genes as parent (e.g., bacteria, succulents, starfish)
- Animal behavior and offspring success
- behaviors to increase reproductive success: mating displays, protecting and feeding offsprings
- Plant reproductive success
- pollination (with the help of pollinators) and seed dispersal
- Organism growth and the environment
- genetic and environmental factors
Unit 3: Matter and energy in organisms
- Photosynthesis in organisms
- chloroplasts (chlorophyll, the green color): sunlight + water + CO2 --> O2 + sugar
- Food and energy in organisms
- food: a source of new molecules for the body
- fats, sugars, protein
- hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur -> breakdown -> cells
- cellular respiration: glucose + oxygen -> carbon dioxide + water -> both animals and plants
- cytosol -> mitochondria