BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES MAJOR

Spring 2021 Class Schedule

First year seminars & distribution courses

Core courses

300 level courses

Spring 2021 course descriptions

BIOL_SCI 101.6: First Year Seminar - Wonders of Biology 

At the molecular level, life is a chemical engine so complex that it makes everything humans have invented and built look like child play. Through a mix of lectures, workshops and writing assignments, the seminar will explore some of the wonders that are at the core of biological systems. The goal is to inspire you, and to illustrate how studying biology yields insights that are mirrored in seemingly unrelated things like social media, architecture, airline route design, computer sciences, or sociology to name but a few.

BIOL_SCI 103: Diversity of Life

This course constitutes a comparative survey of organisms, emphasizing adaptation and phylogenetic relationships. The gradual evolution of lineages of living things is treated chronologically. The evolution of Animals is covered in special depth. The mechanism of evolution via natural selection will be covered, in terms of both evidence and logic. The course is taught via lectures and reading assignments, with several exams for evaluation.  

BIOL_SCI 164: Genetics and Evolution

This course is an introduction into life sciences for non-biology majors. In this course, students can expect to learn the basics of genetic inheritance including modes of inheritance, genetic variation across and within species, and how genetics plays a key role in a wide variety of diseases. This class will have a strong focus on understanding how genetics and evolution impact everyday life and current events. Additionally, students will learn how to correctly evaluate and present the main points of short, scientific articles.

BIOL_SCI 201: Molecular Biology

Students will learn about the basics of molecular biology, including the structure of macromolecules, DNA replication, transcription, and translation and the mechanisms by which these processes are regulated. Students will also learn current biotechnology methods used to study molecular biology. Credit not allowed for both BIOL_SCI 201-0 and BIOL_SCI 215-0

BIOL_SCI 222: Investigative Laboratory

This course is the culminating life-science lab experience in the sophomore-year series. Students design and generate reagents that can be used in larger experiments. The topic varies from year to year, but typically revolves around the sub-cloning of a specific gene fused to a reporter for detection. Prerequisite: BIOL_SCI 221-0.

BIOL_SCI 301: Biochemistry

This class is an introductory level biochemistry course. It covers basic topics such as macromolecular structure and function of biologically relevant macromolecules (proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, lipids), membrane structure, membrane transport, signal transduction, chemical logic in metabolic transformations, and carbohydrate metabolism. The course strongly emphasizes conceptual understanding, and offers extensive student-teacher interaction. Active participation in all course elements is encouraged and advantageous as students are expected to move past memorization of facts to a fully interconnected and integrated understanding that allows students to apply their knowledge to solve complex problems. This course will equip students preparing for the MCAT. Wednesday discussion section meetings will be for quizzes/midterms.

Quizzes (20-30 minutes) are held during the Wednesday 7-9pm discussion section for Biol_Sci 301. To be as flexible as possible and accommodate multiple scheduling issues,  quizzes can be scheduled 30 minutes before the start of the discussion section (6:30pm). TAs will need 48 hr advance notice to schedule an early quiz. 
 
If another class conflicts with a Biol_Sci 301 exams, we do not offer an alternate time. Please make sure you do not have conflicts for the following exams: Friday, April 23rd 7-9pm and Wednesday, May 26th 7-9pm.

Prerequisites: CHEM 210-1 or CHEM 212-1.

BIOL_SCI 307: Brain Structure, Function, and Evolution

The Brain: Structure, Function and Evolution will provide an overview of the evolution of the nervous system and cognition, from the origin of neurons to the structure/function of human brains. 

BIOL_SCI 325: Animal Physiology

Bio 325 is a lecture/group discussion course designed to explore advanced concepts regarding the physiology of the major organ systems, with an emphasis on comparisons between vertebrate groups, and between vertebrates and invertebrates.

BIOL_SCI 328: Microbiology

Microbiology, the branch of biology that deals with microorganisms and their effects on other living organisms. This course aims to provide a foundation in both core microbial processes (including growth, gene regulation,and metabolism) and host-microbe interactions, with a primary focus on bacteria. Core concepts will be supplemented with discussions about experimental techniques used to measure and engineer microbes and the implications of this for human health and disease.Lectures will be complemented by discussions of primary literature. By the end of the class, students will develop familiarity with the diversity of microbial structure, function, and interactions and be comfortable reading primary scientific literature. Pre-requisistes: BIOL_SCI 201-0 or BIOL_SCI 215-0; BIOL_SCI 219-0; BIOL_SCI 222-0; and BIOL_SCI 301-0.

BIOL_SCI 333: Plant Animal Interactions

Plant-Animal Interactions: This course will explore the diversity of interactions between plants and animals, including antagonistic interactions (e.g., herbigory), mutualistic interactions (e.g., pollination, seed dispersal and ant-plant associations), and interactions involving multiple species and across trophic levels.

BIOL_SCI 336: Spring Flora

Spring Flora merges aspects of plant evolution and identification (with an emphasis on learning about the local flora) with plant ecology (with an emphasis on ecological interactions and adaptations). This course takes a field-based approach to learning the process of identifying major components of the local flora. Understanding vegetative and reproductive structures of plants, and use of this knowledge to identify plants with taxonomic keys will be emphasized. Ecological interactions, adaptations, and related conservation issues will also be discussed. The lecture portion of the course will take place synchronously and remotely on Monday. It will be recorded if you are unable to be there. The field component will be offered in a hybrid form. For those interested in an in-person experience, we will meet on Wednesday, outdoors on campus or nearby areas. Opportunities for outdoor field experiences off campus may be organized, depending on access to travel. For those who do not take part in in-person activities, there will be instructions each week for related activities you can do on your own – wherever you are located – with the opportunity for weekly check-ins to discuss the activities.

BIOL_SCI 342: Evolutionary Processes

Change in the genetic composition of populations over time is the basis of evolution. Evolution occurs when mutation introduces new alleles that replace existing alleles in populations via one of two mechanisms. Replacement can occur by chance (genetic drift) or by encoding a superior phenotype (natural selection). Natural selection produces one of the major features of the living world, adaptation. We will model these processes for single-locus traits, DNA sequences, and phenotypic traits. When populations are separated from one another geographically, they inevitably take different evolutionary paths; it is in this manner that most species are formed. These latter processes-change within lineages and diversification among lineages-have been iterated over staggeringly long periods of time, producing another major feature of the living world, its breathtaking biodiversity. We will familiarize ourselves with the history and diversity of life on earth by examination of the fossil record, and by inferring relationships among species using phylogenetic methods. Prerequisites: BIOL_SCI 201-0 or BIOL_SCI 215-0; BIOL_SCI 202-0 or BIOL_SCI 219-0; and BIOL_SCI 234-0 or BIOL_SCI 222-0.

BIOL_SCI 345: TOPICS - Principles & Methods in Systems Biology

Prerequisites: BIOL_SCI 201-0 or BIOL_SCI 215-0; BIOL_SCI 202-0 or BIOL_SCI 219-0; and BIOL_SCI 234-0 or BIOL_SCI 222-0.

BIOL_SCI 347: Conservation Biology

Conservation biology is an integrated science based primarily on ecology, with important contributions from genetics, evolution, and biogeography, as well as nonbiological disciplines, including economics, politics and ethics. The first half of the course will: address the definitions, origins, and patterns of biological diversity; explore why the maintenance of biodiversity in natural (and unnatural) ecosystems is fundamentally important to the continued well-being of humans and other species; examine the context and causes of extinction. The second half of the course will deal with strategies and tactics for preventing or ameliorating the loss of biodiversity. Specific topics will include: the biology of small populations (including population viability analysis); the selection, design, and management of protected areas; ecological restoration; conservation design, legislation, and other higher-level strategies. Prerequisites: BIOL_SCI 201-0 or BIOL_SCI 215-0 or ENVR SCI 202; one statistics course.

BIOL_SCI 363: Biophysics

The course is designed to be an introduction to biophysics and will provide both theoretical and practical perspectives for students that have concentration in biochemistry and biophysics. Students will gain an understating of common used techniques in biophysics. Prerequisites: BIOL_SCI 201-0 or BIOL_SCI 215-0; BIOL_SCI 202-0 or BIOL_SCI 219-0; and BIOL_SCI 301-0.

BIOL_SCI 378: Functional Genomics

The sequencing and assembly of genomes has sparked a new era in biomedical science, in which analyses of very large datasets drive new understanding of fundamental biological phenomena. This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of genome sequencing and assembly, analysis of important genome features, and large-scale identification of genes and regulatory elements. Moreover, it will cover genome-scale “transcriptomic” experiments that identify important gene expression patterns, proteomic analysis that seeks to define the dynamic molecular machines underlying life processes, and analysis of genes in complex functional networks. The course will introduce key concepts in bioinformatics and molecular evolution and will teach students to use computational analyses to derive interesting information from large datasets.  Prerequisites: BIOL_SCI 201-0 or BIOL_SCI 215-0, and BIOL_SCI 202-0 or BIOL_SCI 219-0

BIOL_SCI 391: Development & Evolution of Body Plans

Animals are complex living machines, but unlike artificial machines, animals must build themselves from scratch. This course will explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the self-assembly of the embryonic body plan. The course will focus on the biological principles of embryonic pattern formation, regulation of gene expression, morphogenetic movements and signal transduction, organized over broad physical scales from single cells to complete organs, and from minutes to complete life cycles. Course material will draw from both current and historical approaches, with a strong emphasis on biological criteria for knowing, including a weekly critical discussion of original literature. Most class meetings will be 50-60 minutes.  Additional time has been scheduled to allow for sufficient time for weekly discussions on original literature. Prerequisites: BIOL_SCI 201-0 or BIOL_SCI 215-0, BIOL_SCI 202-0 or BIOL_SCI 219-0; and BIOL_SCI 301-0.

BIOL_SCI 393: Biomedical Genetics

Recent advances in human ancestry and clinical medicine have underscored the importance of genetic principles. Biomedical Genetics will explore the logic and methods of transmission and regulatory genetics, including complementation, recombination, genetic modifiers, chromosomal aberrations, genetic screens and the "genetic toolbox" of diverse species. Additionally, we will discuss genome-wide association studies, linkage analysis, and the roles of rare and common variation as they relate to human genetics. Lectures will be provided, and emphasis will be placed on problem solving and active discussion. Prerequisites: BIOL_SCI 201-0 or BIOL_SCI 215-0; BIOL_SCI 202-0 or BIOL_SCI 219-0; and BIOL_SCI 301-0.

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