BIOL 1408 Introductory Biology: The Unity of Life Common Course Objectives

BIOL 1408 Introductory Biology: The Unity of Life. Designed for non-science majors who desire a more conceptual approach to biological topics. An introduction to the nature of science, the characteristics of life, the molecular and cellular basis of life, genetics, reproduction, and development. An emphasis will be placed on how these topics are related to current issues and problems facing modern society.

In the 21st century, molecular biology will change our lives in ways that we cannot yet even begin to predict. It will affect the food we eat, how we maintain health and treat disease, what we know about our children before they are born, our understanding of our relationships to all living things, our sense of what it means to be human.

All of our students need to be prepared to deal with these changes, including the students who are not majoring in biology. BIOL 1408 is not intended to be a "watered-down" or "dumbed-down" version of BIOL 1406 Cellular and Molecular Biology for science majors. On the contrary, it is a challenging course, but one with a different focus from the traditional cell biology course.

The primary focus of BIOL 1408 is the development of the skills that will enable our students to think critically and evaluate the flood of new information that the tools of molecular biology are making possible. To do this, they must have a foundation of general knowledge about cell biology. In addition, they must also learn about the techniques of molecular biology and their practical applications, how these applications will affect them, and the "current issues and problems facing modern society" that relate to these applications.

Instructors should spend about 50% of the course time on the core topics listed below so that students can learn the fundamentals of cell biology. Since only 50% of the class time is devoted to these core topics, they will not be covered in the depth or detail that they are in BIOL 1406. Understanding of basic concepts is the goal, not memorization of complex biochemical processes.

The remaining class time should be spent on the "current issues and problems facing modern society" part of the course, with the topics to be chosen based on instructor and student interest. Suggested applications topics are listed after each of the core topics. None of the applications topics is specifically required, and many other topics not listed may be appropriate for BIOL 1408. Instructors are free to determine the order in which the core topics are presented and how the core topics and applications are integrated.

BIOL 1408 Committee members: Steve Bostic, Jackie Jarzem, Steve Muzos, and Steve Ziser

o Core Topic: The nature of science
- Methods of science

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics
What is a "scientific fact"? What is a "scientific theory"?
What types of questions can science answer?
Conflicts between science and religion
Why can't scientists agree?
Evaluating scientific reports in the media
Science as a language
Scientific fraud
Use and abuse of statistics
Fringe science
History of scientific thought
Fallacy of "Creation Science"
Making informed choices
Critical thinking
Scientific responsibility
Value of science
Levels of certainty and different scientific methodologies (e.g. relative reliability of anecdotal      evidence, epidemiological studies, controlled experiments, elucidating mechanisms, etc.)
Science, religion, philosophy, ethics, art: Science compared to other ways of understanding nature
Social structure of science (scientific societies, peer-reviewed journals, etc.)
The responsibilities of scientists to society

o Core Topic: Cells
- Characteristics of life
- Basic cell components (organelles and other cell components, including plasma               membrane and an overview of membrane transport)
- Types of cells (prokaryotes and eukaryotes)
- Hierarchy of life (cells, organisms, ecosystems, biosphere)

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics
How do we define "life"?
Medical definitions of "life" and "death"
Endosymbiotic theory
Cell communication
Signal transduction
Origin and evolution of cells
Exobiology
The role of bacteria in the biosphere
Human diseases caused by microorganisms
How do antibiotics work? Why can't flu or AIDS be cured with antibiotics?
What are viruses?

o Core Topic: Evolution and its mechanisms
- Natural selection
- Recombination
- Mutations

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics
Other mechanisms of evolution, e.g. gene flow, genetic drift
Evolutionary time line
Gould, Eldridge, Margulis, and their critics
Debates about "how" vs. debates about "if"
Human evolution
Evolution vs. creationism
Origin of life on Earth
Antibiotic resistance
Species extinctions

o Core Topic: Substances important to living things
- Inorganic substances
- Biomolecules: Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Nucleic acids (Overview and practical                applications)

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics
Nutrition
Nutritional supplements
Electrolytes
Health foods
Vegetarianism
Malnutrition and hunger
Fad diets

o Core Topic: Cell metabolism
(at a level appropriate for non-science majors; emphasis on inputs and outputs)
- Photosynthesis
- Respiration

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics
How carbon cycles through the biosphere
Energy flows through the biosphere
Nutrient cycling
Why graphs of CO2 in the atmosphere spike up and down as the seasons change
How do yeasts make beer and wine? What's in it for them?
If plants "make their own food," why do we feed them? (e.g. Rapid-Gro)
Global warming

o Core Topic: Protein synthesis
- The structure of DNA
- Transcription: Writing the protein code in RNA
- Translation: Ribosomes link amino acids

[The following are not part of the "core topics," coverage is optional: mRNA processing, manufacture of ribosomes, specific enzymes of transcription and translation, gene regulation, protein synthesis in prokaryotes and eukaryotes]

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics

Decoding the human genome

Methods
Human Genome Project vs Celera: History and goals
Ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI)
Privacy issues and genetic discrimination
Medical and commercial applications

Decoding other genomes (bacteria, yeast, Drosophila, C. elegans, mouse, etc.); comparing species
Gene sequencing to choose effective drug treatments
Human genetic defects and the specific missing or defective proteins that cause them (Ex: albinism, sickle-cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, etc.)
Production of human proteins for medical use, e.g. Humulin (human insulin), Procrit (erythropoietin), Humatrope (human growth hormone)
Industrial microbiology

o Core Topic: Mutations
- What causes mutations
- The effects of mutations
- Somatic vs germ-line mutations

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics
Cancer and "cancer genes" (oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, telomerase, etc.)
Types of mutations (frame-shift, point mutations, chromosomal abnormalities)
The role of mutations in evolution
Harmful, neutral, and beneficial mutations
Incidence of specific mutations

o Core Topic: The cell cycle
- DNA replication
- Mitosis
- Bacterial fission
- Cytokinesis

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics
Parthenogenetic species
Cancer treatments and how they work
Growth and development

o Core Topic: Patterns of inheritance
- Meiosis
- Mendelian genetics
- Molecular genetics
- Hereditary disease

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics
Genetic counseling
The mathematics of probability
Making pedigrees
Hereditary diseases and genetic screening (psychology, ethics, discrimination issues)
Paternity testing
Gene therapy
Amniocentesis and other prenatal tests
Karyotyping
Human reproduction
Birth control
Infertility treatments
Genetics of domesticated animals (pets, livestock)
Genetics of crop plants, how common food plants have changed
Problems of monoculture
Seed banks

o Core Topic: Biotechnology
- Basic methods of biotechnology
- Representative practices

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics
Polymerase chain reaction
Gel electrophoresis
Restriction enzymes
Vectors
DNA and protein sequencing
Recombinant DNA
RFLP analysis and DNA fingerprinting
Pharmaceuticals from biotechnology
Biotechnology research tools
Biotechnology regulation
DNA microarrays
How genetic testing is done
Genetically modified crops
Cloning
Germ warfare
Safety issues

o Core Topic: Viruses
- Basic structure
- Viral replication

Applications, current issues, and problems facing society: Suggested topics
HIV and AIDS
Immune system
Treatments for HIV infections--how do they work? (e.g. AZT, protease inhibitors)
1918 influenza pandemic
Viruses in our genome
The role of viruses in evolution
Viruses and autoimmunity
Other non-cellular agents of disease: prions
Emerging diseases

posted March 7, 2001