Biological Sciences

The course begins by discussing the evidence for the origins of the solar system, the emergence of life, and the conditions under which it emerged, and the origin of eukaryotic cells. The theory behind reconstructing trees of evolutionary relatedness is introduced and patterns of relatedness in the living world discussed, ranging from familiar creatures to new and bizarre forms being discovered in the depths of the oceans and under the earth’s surface. All main branches of life are covered with a particular focus on the evolution of plants and their importance to global biodiversity and on the many groups of invertebrates and vertebrates including ourselves. In addition to lectures, students attend practical sessions in the Grant Museum of Zoology. 

This course examines the dynamic nature of cells and the metabolic processes that occur in a regulated manner within cells. The lecture material is complemented by a graphics workshop, tutorials, laboratory practicals, and sessions that follow-up some of the practical classes. The course emphasizes that in order to understand biology it is first necessary to understand the basic unit of life: the cell. It is important not to view cells merely as the highly organized, static structures built up from lipids, proteins, and polysaccharides that seen in electron micrographs. Cells are, first and foremost, dynamic entities and students of this course examine the variety of cell units, biochemistry, and processes which make them so. 

This course explores the wonders of animal behavior and how the interaction between behavior and ecology has been shaped by natural selection. Students use examples of a wide range of behaviors, from simple innate responses to complex decision-making, while at the same time getting a comprehensive introduction to evolutionary thinking.

The unifying topic of this course is how genes and their interactions, either with other genes or with the environment, make us what we are. The course introduces students to the subject of human genetics, enable them to appreciate the implications of genetic research for society and provide a basis for more advanced studies. Students learn to understand and critically evaluate scientific studies in human genetics, whether reported in scientific journals or in the lay press.

This course is an introduction to developmental biology and genetics - in plants, animals and other relevant groups of organisms. It uses concepts and principles from genetics and epigenetics to focus on classical, experimental systems/organisms and connections. The context of the course is system-oriented genetics development in a genome perspective, and the essence is how genetics and epigenetics via specialization and interaction between cells form the foundation for development and morphological traits.

This course is an advanced biology course providing an understanding of the fate, uptake, and effects of anthropogenic pollutants in the environment. Students study and apply ecotoxicological theories, models, and common methods and approaches concerning the fate of pollutants in the environment using fugacity-based multimedia partitioning models, uptake and accumulation using models of bioconcentration and biomagnification, and effects on different levels of biological organization (cellular, organism, population, and ecosystem) using ecotoxicological test methods with different endpoints.

This course provides an integrated approach to modern genetics, which includes molecular genetics; genomics; information science; molecular evolution, and classical genetics. This course covers current genetics and a new viewpoints on the molecular basis of life.