1. The history of life science is a history of thought.
It reveals the ideological process of people thinking and solving biological problems. These ideas were restricted by the cultural background and the level of science and technology at that time, and the emergence of new biological knowledge first needed a breakthrough in thinking methods. For example, the establishment of the view that "species are evolutionary" is a breakthrough to the view that "species are immutable". The exploration process of human individual development also reflects the breakthrough of thinking mode. These facts reflect that the ideological atmosphere has influenced people's understanding of things. If the ideological atmosphere at that time was unscientific, it would lead to people's wrong understanding of things. On the other hand, people get a correct understanding of things through scientific exploration of things, which will change people's thinking, thus changing the ideological atmosphere and making people's understanding of things leap forward.
The history of life science shows the background of scientists' life, records their thoughts and ideological changes, and is closely related to their scientific inquiry. This is of positive educational significance for learners to form a correct concept.
2. The history of life science shows the history of the formation of various disciplines in life science, which can tell us what problems have developed in the process of solving various disciplines as a whole, and also tell us the relationship between various disciplines. This is helpful for researchers to find unsolved problems and problems that need to be further solved; It is helpful for learners to establish the connection between knowledge points and build a complete knowledge structure.
For example, the establishment and development of genetics has gone through the stages of cytogenetics, population genetics, microbial genetics and molecular genetics. If Mendel didn't use mathematical knowledge and analyze the data statistically, he could not find the genetic law; Without the development of cytology, Sutton and Boveri could not infer the relationship between genetic factors and chromosomes; If tatum is not proficient in microbial knowledge, the relationship between genes and enzymes cannot be established, and so on. In short, it is impossible to open the road to solving problems without relying on all aspects of knowledge.
Genetics is developed in the process of solving a series of problems such as what is the genetic law, what is the genetic material, what is the structure of the genetic material, how to copy the genetic material and how to control the generation of polypeptide chains. Interlinked, the knowledge system is quite clear. If we can follow this clue and understand the process of solving this series of problems in our study, then this part of the knowledge structure will be constructed and may be associated with new problems.
3. The history of life science reveals the essence of natural science. Natural science essentially shows the following characteristics: quantification, observation, experiment, scientific process, perfection and accumulation in self-correction.
The characteristic of quantification is the combination of life science and mathematics. Mendel found the laws of separation and free combination only by statistical analysis of experimental data by mathematical statistics. If there is no population geneticist to study the population and establish a mathematical model, the mechanism of natural selection theory may not be revealed. Only by statistically analyzing the genetic variance of large-scale samples obtained in different environments can we distinguish the variation caused by heredity from the variation caused by environment. Accurate quantification makes life science a real science recognized by people.
Observation and experiment are the cornerstones of life science. It is another prominent feature of natural science to study things through experiments, especially to study problems through accurate control experiments. In the field of natural science, experiment is a method to ask real and necessary questions to nature and find answers. Experimental methods were first used in the field of physiology. From 65438 to 1970s and 1980s, the botany school headed by saxophone (1832- 1897) played a particularly important role in the application of experimental methods in biology. From 65438 to 1980s, Lu (1850- 1924) introduced experimental methods into the field of embryology, which used to focus on descriptive work. Through embryology, the experimental method is extended to cytology and genetics, and finally to the study of evolution. By the 1930 s, except paleontology and systematics, new progress had been made in most biological fields by adopting experimental analysis and physical and chemical methods.
The history of life science shows the scientific process of each knowledge point. For example, at the beginning of the 20th century, Sutton and Boveri put forward Mendel's chromosome theory in genetics and the result of chromosome change and division in somatic cells and germ cells at the end of 19, that is, genetic factors may be on chromosomes. But there was no evidence to prove their point of view at that time. Until 19 10, Morgan discovered through a series of experiments that the gene that controls the blinking of Drosophila is located on the sex chromosome, which proved the hypothesis of Sutton and Boveri. From the formation process of the knowledge point that "genes are located on chromosomes", we can see the steps of the scientific process.
Life science is also accumulated and improved in the process of self-correction. Darwin established the theory of evolution with natural selection as the core. While acknowledging the theory of biological evolution, people are unwilling to accept Darwin's method of speculating the reasons for evolution and are not satisfied with Darwin's explanation of evolution mechanism. Defrees introduced experimental methods into the study of evolution and put forward "catastrophe theory" to explain Darwin's theory of natural selection. In the first decade of the 20th century, it was widely accepted by biologists. However, during the period of 19 10, the development of Drosophila genetics showed that there were constant mutations in Drosophila population, but no species changes occurred. The precise study of cytology from 19 12 to 19 15 has dealt a heavy blow to Defrees' theory that the traits produced by large-scale mutation are actually complex recombination of existing traits. The establishment of cytogenetics, especially population genetics, clarified the mechanism of natural selection. In the 1940s, based on Darwin's theory of evolution, a comprehensive theory of evolution was put forward. After 30 ~ 40 years of comprehensive evolution, Gen Kimura put forward the "neutrality theory of molecular evolution" in 1968. 1972, Eldredge and S.J. Gould put forward the theory of discontinuous equilibrium, which attracted the attention and research of the scientific community. Evolution is still developing.
From the development of evolution, we can see that the knowledge of life science is accumulated in the process of self-correction on the basis of constantly questioning and confirming the previous conclusions. Through the history of life science, it is of positive significance to cultivate the critical thinking of researchers and learners, and at the same time, it can deepen learners' correct understanding of the relationship between absolute truth and relative truth and improve their philosophical literacy based on facts.
4. The history of life science is the history of the scientific process in which predecessors explored biological knowledge. The production process of each knowledge point is a process of inquiry. In a word, the history of life science contains the unity of knowledge and process. The process includes ways of thinking, such as curiosity, thirst for knowledge, questioning, reasoning, etc. ; The process includes research methods). Knowledge and process are two dimensions of natural science, which are unified and inseparable. Without knowledge as the foundation, how can we innovate?
The establishment of DNA double helix structure model brings together the wisdom of many scientists from different disciplines, which proves that knowledge is very important. Obviously, it is impossible to rely solely on Watson and Crick's knowledge.
It is worth noting that since the new curriculum reform, it has pointed out the disadvantages of attaching importance to the conclusion and ignoring the process, and put forward that "the new curriculum regards the process method itself as an important part of the curriculum objectives, thus highlighting the status of the process method from the height of the curriculum objectives". However, it is extremely wrong to interpret "emphasizing the status of process method" as emphasizing the process and ignoring the conclusion, because the process and the conclusion are not antagonistic. In biology teaching, both must be taken into account and unified. Learning the history of life science is one of the effective ways to unify the conclusion and process method, which not only helps to understand the ins and outs of various knowledge points, but also can learn the scientific inquiry methods of predecessors from some typical events, which is deeply inspired.
The history of life science shows that in the process of exploring knowledge, there is not only cooperation between people with the same research direction, but also cooperation between people with different research directions.
The appearance of DNA double helix structure fully illustrates this point. This fact shows that people engaged in research in different disciplines have different knowledge and skills, and people with different academic backgrounds have three different ways of thinking (especially the ideas of Bohr, Delbrouck and Schrodinger have injected new vitality into gene research, and their thoughts have a great influence on Watson and Crick). Their cooperation provides different ideas for solving problems. They inspire, complement and promote each other in solving problems. At the same time, the research results were shared.
Different teachers also have different knowledge systems and experiences. Especially in the era of knowledge explosion, the speed of knowledge updating is very fast, and the knowledge structure of teachers at different levels will be more different, and the cooperation between teachers can make up for this difference. Therefore, in the process of biology teaching, not only biology teachers should cooperate with each other, but also with teachers from other disciplines. At the same time, it also inspires students to pay attention to the study of various subjects. Only in this way can they lay a good foundation for lifelong study, life and work.
6. The history of life science shows the collision and debate of scientists' views in the process of exploring knowledge, in which knowledge is constantly clarified.
For example, shortly after Darwin's theory of natural selection was published, someone raised the question of "what kind of variation does natural selection act on", which became the focus of debate at that time. Darwin believed that selection mainly acted on the types of continuous variation. Gao Erdun (1822-1911) and Pearson (1857- 1936) agreed with Darwin's judgment. By the end of 19, batson proved that the environment is constantly changing, but the biological variation is discontinuous and controlled by heredity, not the environment. 1904, at the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, batson and Ben Wilden had a final argument, and batson won.
For another example, Justus von Liebig and Pasteur argued about what caused the fermentation. Pasteur pointed out that the fermentation in brewing is due to the existence of yeast cells. Without living cells, sugar can't be turned into alcohol. Justus von Liebig insists that fermentation is caused by some substances in yeast cells, which can only play a role after yeast cells die and rupture. 1897, Justus von Liebig was proved to be correct by experiments. Even the great Pasteur made mistakes.
These facts enlighten us that it is normal for students, teachers and students and teachers to have arguments in teaching, especially in biological inquiry teaching. The new curriculum teaching advocates this kind of communication and allows people to express their opinions. Even if there are mistakes, it is normal. The key is to produce evidence to prove them.
7. The history of life science shows that successful experiments can not be separated from the selection of suitable experimental objects.
Mendel chose peas; Morgan chose fruit flies; Wang Shi, the founder of cell theory, chose animal notochord cells and chondrocytes with similar cell walls to plants. When Dambert Deng and Boveri studied cell division, they chose ascaris cells. Wolf (1733- 1794) studied the growth and development of organisms with plant tissues as research materials, and extended them from plants to animals. Bedell and Tatum finally chose baker's yeast as the research material of biochemical genetics. Delbruck, Lulja and hershey formed a famous "phage group" and finally chose the virus as the research object; Warburg chose sea urchin eggs that are undergoing cell division to study the respiratory rate; Sydney Brane, Robert Horvitz and John Sulston [Three winners of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine finally chose nematodes to explore the mystery of programmed cell death; Scientists choose Arabidopsis thaliana as a model plant for plant genetic research.
The above examples show that it is very important to choose the right research object to solve the problem. These facts give us enlightenment: First, the inquiry teaching in the new biology curriculum in the basic education stage also involves the problem of choosing inquiry objects. To solve the inquiry problem, we must first select the inquiry object. Secondly, the biological experiment courses offered in normal universities are planned, and the experimental objects are also specified in advance, as long as they are followed. This is a standard "recipe-style" experiment, which is only to verify the proven phenomenon or learn a standard experimental procedure. In this mode, are students interested in "experiments"? Can the trained teachers adapt to the teaching of the new curriculum? Paying attention to scientists' choice of research objects should be helpful to teacher training and biological inquiry teaching.
8. The history of life science presents scientists' scientific attitude, scientific spirit and scientific world outlook. A scientific attitude is seeking truth from facts. Scientific spirit is to dare to doubt, seek truth and innovate. The scientific world outlook is to realize that the world is knowable, at the same time, we should pay attention to the influence of scientific and technological development on society and cultivate a responsible attitude. The deeds of Pasteur (1822- 1895) and Berg (1927-, DNA sequencing expert, 1980 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry) fully reflect the scientific literacy of scientists. The life stories of scientists are recorded in the history of life science. Excavating scientists' scientific attitude, scientific spirit and scientific world outlook and infiltrating them into biology teaching has positive educational significance for cultivating students' biological literacy, even scientific literacy and humanistic literacy.