Biology
Course details: Board and Specification Code: AQA 7402
Summer work for prospective A level Biologists
Welcome to Biology at The Judd School!
'A level is a big step up from GCSE.'
You have heard this many times, and it is true! So, it is important that you hit the ground running at the start of year 12. Therefore, we recommend that you prepare for the start of the course. You have a long summer ahead of you so it is a good idea to devote some time before the start of term getting ready.
Get organised: organisation is very important at A level as the pace of the course is fast and you will have three separate teachers who will be covering different areas of the course. Make sure you follow the instructions for task 1 from the A Level Biology Bridging Work .
Revise GCSE content: we expect you to remember what you have learned at GCSE. Make sure you complete tasks 2, 3 and 4 from the A Level Biology Bridging Work .
Read around the subject: this is probably the best thing you can do over the coming weeks as it will help you make sense of the topics that you will be studying, it will keep you up to date with current biological research and, most importantly, it will inspire and challenge you. Use the A Level Recommendations to find ideas of what to read/watch/listen/do. Additionally, you can use the ideas below.
We have compiled for you some ideas for how to find things to read, listen or watch around the subject:
New Scientist - This is a weekly science magazine that keeps you up to date with what’s new in science. http://www.newscientist.com/
BBC News - Keep up to date with science and environment news as it happens as well as breaking news from the world of human health.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health
Lectures - There is a wealth of very interesting lectures aimed at the general public but of very high scientific standards at the Royal Society and the Royal Institution. https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/ and https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures
Podcasts - An excellent selection of podcasts recommended by the Royal Society of Biology.
Popular Science Books - Here is short compilation:
A short history of nearly everything, Bill Bryson. Bill Bryson’s quest to find out everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us.
The body, Bill Bryson. Bill Bryson sets off to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself.
The selfish gene, Richard Dawkings. A gene’s eye view of evolution - a view giving centre stage to these persistent units of information, and in which organisms can be seen as vehicles for their replication.
The blind watchmaker, Richard Dawkins. A brilliant and controversial book which demonstrates that evolution by natural selection - the unconscious, automatic, blind yet essentially non-random process discovered by Darwin - is the only answer to the biggest question of all: why do we exist?
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being, Alice Roberts. Alice Roberts combines embryology, genetics, anatomy, evolution and zoology to tell the incredible story of the human body
The Epigenetics Revolution, Nessa Carey. A fascinating introduction to epigenetics. If you enjoy this, follow up with Seed to Seed (see below).
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot. How one woman’s cancer cells changed the medical world forever, and because a multi-million dollar industry.
Bad Science, Ben Goldacre. Looking objectively at popular science reporting.
The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan. A very different approach to science writing, Michael Pollan turns our normal perspective on its head to consider how plants manipulate humans.
Almost Like A Whale, Steve Jones. Using contemporary science to update Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of the Species”.
Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution, Holly Tucker. The dramatic history of blood transfusions, from 17th century France onwards.
Seed to Seed, Nicholas Harberd. A research scientist tells the story of ten years of discovery in his own laboratory. A very valuable insight into contemporary genetics and epigenetics research, and what it means to be a scientist.
Calculus Diaries, Jennifer Ouellette. A non-mathematician finds out how maths can help you tackle anything – even a zombie apocalypse.
Life Ascending, Nick Lane. Where does DNA come from? How did the eye evolve? A reconstruction of evolutionary history through ten of its greatest landmarks.
Genome, Matt Ridley. 23 human chromosomes in 23 chapters.
The Energy of Life, Guy Brown. Introduction to the cutting-edge science of Bioenergetics