Biological Sciences

The course is an introduction to the basics of ecology, concepts, approaches, and applications, with a focus on the utilization of natural resources. Topics include the history and discipline of ecology; population ecology; principles of population growth, effects of density, and population regulation. Species interactions: competition, predation, and other interaction forms. The structure and diversity of biological communities, succession, food webs, stability, and biodiversity. Ecosystems: nutrient and energy cycles and trophic efficiency.  An introduction to Icelandic ecosystems.

This course provides an understanding of the structure, organization, and function of cellular membranes. Particular emphasis is placed on membrane composition and organization, and involvement of membranes and membrane proteins in ion and solute transport, signal transduction, and vesicular transport. Diseases that arise from defects in these processes are used to exemplify the importance of this topic to life science.

This course explores the anthropogenic impact on the marine environment. Topics include: context and causes of changes to the marine environment; habitat loss; exploitation of the marine environment; marine pollution; exotic species and diseases in marine organisms.
 

This course explores the origin and evolution of hominins (including humans) within the family Hominidae. It examines the more significant cranial and skeletal anatomical features of the different species of Hominoidea. This course discusses the emergence of humanity, DNA studies of modern humans, and the progressive interaction between biology and culture characteristic of human evolution.

This course gives students the skills to work with biological datasets to present, summarize, and explore patterns in a wide range of datasets using python, pandas, and seaborn. For each course topic, student apply the concepts they have learned to complex research datasets. Student groups choose a dataset to work with at the start of the course. The course is taught in workshops, with short lectures introducing the topic, and group practice with examples and complex datasets using Jupyter notebooks.

This Cell Biology course is tailored for graduate or upper-division undergraduate students with a background in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The course delves into key concepts across various sub-fields of cell biology, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the subject.  

This course focuses on the biology of viruses, main viral agents, and their interactions with organisms. It examines the characteristics of viral particles from a structural perspective, the replication strategies of different groups of viruses, and the routes of transmission of viruses in their hosts. 

This course highlights behaviors such as learning, sociality, territoriality, predation and defense, courtship and communication, with examples from across animal diversity. Students examine how behaviors have evolved to fit specific ecological conditions. Students gain an understanding of and empathy for animals and examine how animals live and survive in their environment.

"Fun Microbiology Experiments" is a general experimental course designed for non-life science students to develop interesting, easy and close to hot spots and closely related to life microbial experiments to understand the discipline of microbiology more intuitively. 

The course explores how this complex organization of hundreds of cells emerges during embryo development. The course focuses on the precise organization of tissues that arises during embryo development by the coordinated control of the differentiation, migration, proliferation, and death of cells. It provides a solid grounding for future specialized study of nervous system development, function, and repair.