How Biology Works

Discover everything you need to know about biology, with the simplest most visual guide to the science of life.

How do vaccines work? What is special about stem cells? How did we evolve from bacteria? The science of life can be dauntingly complex, and it can be hard to separate "good" science from "bad", fundamental truths from the much-hyped breakthroughs reported in the media.

With clear, easy-to-understand graphics and packed with fascinating facts, How Biology Works demystifies both the core biology that may have eluded us at school, and the cutting-edge life science that makes the news, answering the questions that spark our curiosity.

With power to every page, this striking science book:



Is illustrated entirely by specially commissioned, boldly coloured, distinctive, flat, vector graphics that explain each topic clearly and engagingly.
Supports the curriculum up to GCSE, but also includes some higher-level topics and cutting-edge biology that makes the news.
Uses clear, distinctive, eye-catching graphics to make even complex biology easy to understand.
Offers a practical, no-nonsense approach to each subject.


Building from life's fundamental ingredients, such as carbon and water, the book explains chemical processes in living cells, controlled by the ultimate biochemical, DNA. It shows how DNA is made of units called genes, which are shuffled in each generation of offspring, leading to variation and evolution. It covers topics from school biology, such as how plants work and how animals, including humans, work, and goes on to ecology and biotechnology.

Beyond school science, however, it covers the background to the latest medical technology and biotechnology: how gene therapy works, what stem-cell research is achieving, and how our immune systems, boosted by vaccines, are in an arms race with ever-mutating viruses and other pathogens.

At DK, we believe in the power of discovery.

So why stop there?

How Biology Works is part of DK's widely successful How Stuff Works series. Discover the inner workings of the mind with How the Brain Works, succeed in all things science with How Science Works and discover the cosmos like you've never known before with How Space Works. Whatever topic sparks your interests, there's a plethora of knowledge to discover!