15850 |
BIO 129 THE Biology OF PLANTS |
Sasha Wright
LAB: |
M . W
. . M . . . . |
10:10am- 11:30am 1:30pm-4:30pm |
RKC 102 RKC 114 |
SCI |
This
course, intended for students NOT intending to major in Biology, provides an introduction
to the essential biology of plants, including the use of plants in human
society. We will conduct laboratory investigations to familiarize ourselves
with plant form and function, with special emphasis on campus plants.
Class size: 18
15083 |
BIO 134 A Cancer Fundamentals |
Andrea
Henle LAB: |
M . W . . M . . . . |
8:30am-9:50am 1:30pm-4:30pm |
RKC 101 RKC 112 |
SCI |
Where
are we in the war against cancer? This introductory
course, intended for students not planning to major in biology, will discuss
the many diseases and intricacies that comprise cancer. We will examine cancer from a historical
perspective to understand its origins, diagnosis, and how potential treatments
are developed. Several key experiments
in cancer biology will be analyzed and discussed to introduce the importance of
the scientific method, experimental design, and data analysis. In the laboratory, we will investigate some
of the common mechanisms used by cancer cells and explore techniques used for
cancer diagnosis. Class size: 16
15084 |
BIO 134 B Cancer Fundamentals |
Andrea
Henle LAB: |
M . W . . . T . . . |
10:10-11:30am 8:30am- 11:30am |
RKC 101 RKC 112 |
SCI |
See
above. Class size: 16
15087 |
BIO 144 Biostatistics |
Gabriel
Perron |
. . W . F |
1:30pm-4:30pm |
RKC 101 |
MATC |
Cross-listed: Environmental & Urban Studies, Global
& Int’l Studies, Mathematics This course introduces
students to the statistical methods biologists use to describe and compare
data. Students will learn methods are appropriate for different types of data.
Topics covered include elementary probability and statistics, characteristics
of frequency distributions, hypothesis testing, contingency tests, correlation
and regression analysis, different ways to compare
means, nonparametric tests, and an introduction to multivariate tests. This
course is intended for sophomore and junior biology majors, although it is open
to students of all years. One objective of the course is to provide
biology majors the statistical background they need to analyze data for their
own senior research; biology students should take this course before their senior
year, if possible. Notice, though, that the topics in this course are
applicable to many advanced courses. Prerequisite: passing score on part I of
the Mathematics Diagnostic and at least one introductory biology course. Class
size: 18
15088 |
BIO 151 From Genes to Traits |
Michael
Tibbetts |
. T . Th . |
1:30pm-4:30pm |
RKC 114/115 |
SCI |
Cross-listed: Global & Int’l
Studies; Science, Technology & Society This
course takes an introductory look at the relationships between genetics, environment,
and biochemistry. It is intended for students with a strong interest in science
and is appropriate for biology majors. The course will begin with an
examination of heredity in both classical and modern molecular contexts. It
will then focus on the relationships between genes and proteins, and the
complex biochemical interactions that produce a phenotype. The course will
culminate in a discussion of the ways in which the environment interacts with
multiple genes to influence complex traits, for example schizophrenia, and the
modern methods applied to the problem of identifying the genetic components of
these traits. The laboratory will provide an opportunity to examine some of the
principles discussed in the lecture in more detail and to become acquainted
with some of the methodologies and instrumentation found in a modern biology
laboratory. Prerequisites: passing score
on part I of the Mathematics Diagnostic, and experience in high school biology
and chemistry. Class size: 18
15089 |
BIO 155 Botany |
Sasha Wright
LAB: |
. T . Th . . . W . . |
8:30am-9:50am 1:30pm-4:30pm |
RKC 111 RKC 114 |
SCI |
Imagine
a super toxin that killed every living plant on earth: how long do you think we
would have before we felt the impact? Could human civilization survive forever
without plants? This course, intended for students considering majoring in
Biology, provides an introduction to the essential components of botany
including: morphology and basic plant identification, photosynthesis,
respiration, cellular function, reproduction, and the use of plants in human
society. We will work from textbooks and spend a substantial amount of time
discussing how to read and utilize primary literature. Labs will be used to
familiarize ourselves with plant form and function, with special emphasis on
campus plants. Class size: 18
15090 |
BIO 162 FROM SHRIMPS TO CHIMPS: Introduction to Neurobiology |
Arseny
Khakhalin LAB: |
M . W . . . . . Th . |
1:30pm-2:50pm 1:30pm-5:30pm |
RKC 111 RKC 112 |
SCI |
Cross-listed: Mind, Brain & Behavior Many neuroscience textbooks
begin with the description of the brain's nuts-and-bolts (neurons, synapses,
ion channels), while all the fun topics (behavior, cognition, memory) get
clumped at the end. This happens because most textbooks pretend to be
discussing human brains, even though the majority of what we know about the
brain we learned from model organisms, such as rats, flies, and sea slugs. In
this course, we will gradually climb up the ladder of complexity: from single
neurons in invertebrates, through small circuits in fishes and birds, and up to
large-scale networks in primates, to see how simple elements can combine and
interact to produce meaningful behaviors. The course provides an introduction
to neuroscience, and is recommended for students with interests in biology,
psychology or computation. Class size:
18
15091 |
BIO 201 Genetics and Evolution |
Brooke
Jude |
M . W . . |
8:30am-11:30am |
RKC 111/112 |
SCI |
Cross-listed: Mind, Brain & Behavior; Global & Int’l Studies This course is an introduction to the
mechanisms of inheritance and the generation of diversity in eukaryotic
organisms. This course takes a modern
approach to the study of genetics in which classical ideas about genotype,
phenotype and inheritance are integrated into the modern molecular and genomic
understanding of the processes involved in the generation of diversity. In addition to discussions of the molecular
mechanisms involved in DNA replication, recombination, the generation and
repair of mutations, and the relationship between genotype and phenotype,
special consideration is given to our understanding of the processes involved
in generating population-level variation in complex traits and how this
understanding can help us identify the myriad genetic
and non-genetic factors influencing these traits. The laboratory consists of a semester long
project involving the genetic manipulation of a model organism’s genome to
address one or more topics in the course.
Prerequisite: One biology
course at the 140 level or higher. Class size: 18
15092 |
BIO 202 Ecology and Evolution |
Felicia
Keesing |
. . W . F |
8:30am- 11:30am |
RKC 114/115 |
SCI |
Cross-listed: Environmental & Urban Studies This core course for biology majors is an
introduction to the general principles of ecology and evolution that, with
genetics, form the core of biological understanding. In addition to studying
foundational ideas in both ecology and evolution, we will explore modern topics
at the boundary between these two areas. We will consider, for example, how
genetic variation among individual organisms can influence ecological
interactions, and how these interactions can influence fitness. We will focus
on a mechanistic understanding of processes, using model-building to inform
that understanding. Prerequisite: Successful
completion of Biology 201, Genetics and Evolution. Class
size: 18
15093 |
BIO 208 Biology Seminar |
Bruce
Robertson |
. . . Th . |
12:00pm-1:00pm |
RKC 103 |
|
1 credit This course will provide
students with broad exposure to biology through the biology visiting speaker
seminar series. Students will hear about the wide-ranging research interests of
invited biologists and have opportunities to interact informally with them. The
course is graded Pass/Fail and students are responsible for short follow-up
assignments for at least 80% of the talks. Recommended for all biology majors
and other interested students. Class size: 60
15095 |
BIO 303 Microbiology |
Brooke
Jude LAB: |
. . . Th . . T . . . |
3:10pm-5:10pm 1:00pm-5:00pm |
RKC 111 RKC 112 |
SCI |
This
course is designed to investigate the principles of microbiology that make
microbes unique. A systems based approach is taken, examining such topics as
microbial cell structure and function, bacterial motility and chemotaxis,
secretion systems, biofilm formation, quorum sensing and antibiotic resistance.
The course examines primarily bacterial species,
however a limited amount of time is devoted to the biology of eukaryotic
microbes. The laboratory portion of the
course is a semester long, inquiry based, team project that involves
examination of local microbial populations using culture, molecular and
biochemical approaches. The class will require lab work to be completed outside
of the class times. Students will analyze primary literature and produce peer
reviewed research manuscripts. This course is appropriate for both those
interested in a career in the health professions and those interested in
ecology. Class size: 16
15097 |
BIO 324 Animal Physiology |
Arseny
Khakhalin LAB: |
M . W . . . . . . F |
11:50am-1:10pm 8:30am-12:30pm |
RKC 101 RKC 112 |
SCI |
How do animals work? What is inside them, and more importantly,
how do all those veins, membranes and tissues make it possible for animals to
move, feel, and reproduce? What are the reasons for all those things to be
there, and how are they different in different animals? Why do you have a
spleen, and how can a crane breathe through a neck that long? Do fishes need to
drink, and do they urinate? These are the kinds of questions we will tackle in
this course, comparing human physiology to that of other animals; discussing
how lungs, eyes, kidneys and intestines work, and putting it all in an
evolutionary perspective. Prerequisite: Upper college standing in Biology. Class size: 12
15096 |
BIO 389 Advanced Cell & Molecular Biology |
Michael
Tibbetts |
. T . Th . |
10:10am- 11:30am |
RKC 115 |
|
This course is a continuation of the Molecular Biology
Laboratory. Students who have
successfully completed Biology 302, Molecular Biology, will continue working
with the gene they chose at the beginning of that course. They will use
cellular techniques to ask questions about the role of the gene product in
zebrafish hair cell function. In
addition to utilizing various cell labeling techniques, students will perform
knockdown experiments in which they examine the cellular and physiological effects
of limiting the production of the gene product in zebrafish larvae. In addition to the laboratory component of
the class, students will be examining the literature pertaining to their gene
and will write a literature review that places their results into a broader
context. Prerequisite: BIO 302, Molecular Biology. Class size: 8
15100 |
BIO 411 ADVANCED SEMINAR ON Cancer |
Michael
Tibbetts |
. . . . F |
1:30pm-3:30pm |
HEG 102 |
SCI |
2 credits Cancer is a genetic disease that cannot be inherited, it is a disease in which
one's own cells disrupt normal physiological functions, it is a disease for
which some therapies result in the loss of the bodies
ability to fight disease. This advanced
course will look at the complex reasons for these paradoxes and more by looking
at a particular cancer from several perspectives: epidemiological,
physiological, genetic, molecular and cellular.
A seminar style approach will be taken in which both text and the
primary literature sources will be used to examine issues of cancer cause,
progression, and treatment. Students
will be expected to present primary literature articles and to write a research
paper on a type of cancer.
Prerequisites: moderated in biology and permission of instructor. Class size: 12
15099 |
BIO 415 Advanced Seminar in URBAN Ecology |
Bruce
Robertson |
. . . . F |
1:30pm-3:30pm |
RKC 200 |
SCI |
2 credits Urban development is among the
most pervasive and ubiquitous forms of land cover change. Thus, urbanization
poses significant challenges to many organisms, including humans. In this
seminar course, we'll focus on the processes determining patterns of abundance and distribution of organisms in
urban ecosystems, the interactions among organisms in the urban environment,
behavioral and evolutionary responses that facilitate adaptation to urban
environments, and the interactions between humans (and societies) and nature in
urban environments. Urban organisms and ecosystems also provide services (e.g.
temperature mitigation, pest control) to humans and we will focus on aspects of
urban planning as it relates to maximizing those services. Prerequisites: BIO
202 or consent of instructor. Class size:
12
Of related interest for biology
students:
15094 |
EUS
221 Water |
Elias Dueker |
. T . Th . . . W . . |
10:10am- 11:30am 1:30pm-4:30pm |
RKC 111 RKC 112 |
SCI |
This course offers
a detailed exploration of the earth’s hydrosphere and its interactions with the
biosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere.
Topics will include origins of the hydrosphere, origins of life, the
global hydrologic cycle, and anthropogenic influences on that cycle. We will
further explore pressing global environmental issues associated with the
hydrosphere: climate change, protection of drinking water resources, freshwater
and marine ecosystem degradation, and waste water treatment. Lab work will be guided by scientific
questions related to these issues, and will focus on detection of anthropogenic
influence, management and maintenance of water resources, and frontiers of
scientific approaches to sustainable human interactions with water resources. Specifically, students will conduct field
sampling and utilize microbiological and chemical assays in the lab to better
understand the ecological ramifications of water pollution in marine, estuarine
and freshwater systems. Prerequisites:
EUS 102, Bio 202, or permission of instructor. Class size: 16
15385 |
HR
223 Epidemiology: A Human Rghts Perspective |
Helen Epstein |
. . W . F |
1:30pm-2:50pm |
RKC 115 |
SSCI |
Epidemiologists
study how diseases and other health-related events spread through populations.
They track down the sources of outbreaks, they explore trends in the incidence
of cancer, heart disease and mental illness, and they try to understand the
social forces that influence sexual behavior, weight gain and other complex
human phenomena. Because the spread of diseases is frequently influenced
by economic conditions and/or government policies, epidemiology can also serve
as a powerful forensic tool in the hands of human rights activists. By the end
of the course, students will understand how epidemiological studies are
designed and carried out; be able to generate hypotheses about the underlying
causes of diseases based on prevalence and incidence data; and understand how
the presentation of data and the design of studies can restrict or expand our
understanding of the human condition. Examples will be drawn from many
sources, including research on international public health emergencies such as
Ebola and AIDS and mysterious increases in mental illnesses including
schizophrenia and autism. Class size: 17