a level biology

Fresh perspectives on A-level Biology

What are these articles for?  You will be hard pressed to find much in any of the A-level specifications which relate to an extensive knowledge about Tetrapod evolution!  There are other considerations however.  This series of articles introduces material which certainly is within the A-level cannon and in a context… Read More

When fish wore armour

Armour was all the fashion of the day in the Silurian and Devonian periods and is particularly associated with a group of heavily armoured fish, the Placoderms. This group of highly successful animals lived from early Silurian through to the end of the Devonian (443.8 – 358.9 Ma ago). In… Read More

A-level Biology: Neurotoxins

The history of accidental and deliberate acts of poisoning predates the arrival of humans. Toxins of some kind have been used by both animals and plants to avoid being predated upon or to deter other species from competition. Neurotoxins are a group of chemicals which directly affect the functioning of… Read More

A-level Biology: Chordates and Tetrapods

In previous articles we have looked at the possible methods by which protocells could have started and later evolved into prokaryotic cells and eventually, eukaryotic life. These were very distant events occurring in the Precambrian period around 2-3 billion years ago (2-3 thousand Ma ago). Taking the view that the… Read More

A-level Biology: Understanding Cladistics

Classification Blues? Try New Clades Controversially, for a writer, I’m starting by warning you about reading.  The fact is clades, or to give the study a proper title, “Cladistics” is a bit of a bore to learn about, but there is a spin-off – aside from the obvious one that… Read More

A Level Biology: Telomeres and Ageing

Following on from his post on the life and death of cells, John Giles looks at the role of telomeres in aging. Includes lots of links to further reading and examples of relevant syllabus content. Read More