A view of how an animal embryo is specified to develop and differentiate into a wide spectrum of cell types, and how the spatial patterns and axes of embyros are determined. The course will focus on genetic and molecular approaches, but will also cover the comparative anatomy of developing embryos to the extent necessary to understand the conserved aspects of embryonic patterning. Special emphasis will be placed on organisms with particular advantages for the study of embryonic development: e.g., mouse, frog, zebrafish, and Drosophila. The first half of the course will cover cell fate restrictions, cloning animals using nuclear transfer, stem cell biology, formation of the embryonic axes in vertebrates and Drosophila, and patterning of the neural tube and mesodermal tissues. The second half of the course will focus on emerging ideas and findings in the field, with emphasis on analysis of original literature.

This course is designed to introduce the undergraduate student to the structure of tissues at the cellular level and to the way in which those tissues are assembled into organs. This knowledge of structure will be the basis for discussion of tissue and organ function. This course is open to students in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies only.

Intermediate level course covering principles of modern biochemistry. Topics include protein structure, protein purification and characterization, proteomics, enzyme kinetics and mechanisms, membrane structure and function, metabolism, and cellular energy transduction. Emphasis will be on biochemical problem solving, experimental design, and application of quantitative methods in a biological and clinical context. This course is open to students in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies only.

Microbiology plays a central role in diverse areas of human life such as infectious disease, ecology, and biotechnology. This course will cover aspects of modern microbiology with an emphasis on prokaryotic organisms. The topics will include basic aspects of microbial diversity, genetics, and pathogenesis as well as examples of applied microbiology. This course is open to students in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies only.

Microbiology plays a central role in diverse areas of human life such as infectious disease, ecology, and biotechnology. This course will cover aspects of modern microbiology with an emphasis on prokaryotic organisms. The topics will include basic aspects of microbial diversity, genetics, and pathogenesis as well as examples of applied microbiology. This course is open to students in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies only.

The study of living organisms in their natural environment, spanning the ecological physiology of individuals, the structure of populations, and interactions among species, including the organization of communities and ecosystem function.

Introductory probability theory. Principles of statistical methods. Problems of estimation and hypothesis testing in biology and related areas.

A comparative and quantitative approach to the physiological function of vertebrates. Topics include muscles, nervous system, cardiovascular system, respiration, and renal function. This course is open to students in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies only.

This course will survey the discipline of molecular genetics. Two broad areas will be considered 1) Molecular Biology: DNA replication, transcription, translation, regulation of gene expression in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems, and genomics and 2) Genetics: basic Mendelian & molecular genetics.

This course will survey the discipline of molecular genetics. Two broad areas will be considered 1) Molecular Biology: DNA replication, transcription, translation, regulation of gene expression in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems, and genomics and 2) Genetics: basic Mendelian & molecular genetics.