Biological Sciences

This course provides an integrated approach to the understanding of the biology of the cell, from understanding the molecular mechanisms that underpin cellular processes through to how such processes allow cells to function in their physiological context (i.e. in tissues and during development); to teach both "classical" and leading edge experimental approaches to cell biology research. 

This course introduces students to the diversity of major groups of living organisms, and the importance of maintaining diversity in natural ecosystems. With emphasis on the need for conservation of biodiversity to maintain a balance of nature, the course highlights the biodiversity in the major habitats and vegetation types in and around Singapore.

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the world of insects and addresses common misconceptions. Through a combination of classroom lectures and hands-on field trips, the course explores the fascinating world of these six-legged creatures. Field trips include visits to the NTU campus, the NTU Insectarium, the Taiwan Insect Museum, Fuyang Ecological Park, and Zhinan Temple. These excursions aid the observation and identification of insects in their natural environments, using field guides and direct observation. 

Lectures cover a range of subjects, including insect morphology, systematics, diversity, ecology, and behavior. Additionally, guest lectures from faculty at NCHU/NCU and industry experts provide valuable insights and broaden students' perspectives.   

This course introduces students to the power of cross-disciplinary research. It discusses the contribution of chemists, microbiologists, immunologists, and physicists to solving cell biological problems. The course emphasizes the relationship between the chemical scale and more complex levels of organization in cells, and the balance of interactions required for cellular function. It explicitly recognizes the different understandings of cell biology in different branches of biosciences, including virology and microbiology in health and disease.

This class provides training in experimental skills and scientific presentation for doing research in the field of Life Science. Students perform their assigned research project; join weekly lab meetings; present up-to-date research articles, and participate in scientific discussion with the instructor and lab colleagues. Students are required to perform experiments under instructor's supervision and present their research work and scientific paper over the semester.

This comprehensive course provides a balanced and stimulating overview of marine ecology. It introduces the fundamental processes and systems that shape the marine environment and addresses the pertinent issues and challenges associated with its future conservation.

The course covers the following topics: 

• Patterns in the Marine Environment
• Primary Production
• Microbial Production and Decomposition
• Secondary Production
• Estuaries
• Salt Marsh Mangrove Seagrass
• Rocky and Sandy Shore
• Coral Reef
• Pelagic Ecosystems
• Continental shelf seabed
• The deep sea
• Polar ecosystems

This course offers a study of the general biochemical processes of signaling, the biological molecules involved, and the pathways that control essential functions –growth, differentiation, and cell death. Topics include: the mechanisms of metabolic regulation in response to extracellular signals; biochemical messengers; regulatory proteins that bind guanine nucleotides; cyclic nucleotides; protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation; receptors-- intracellular, ionotropic, G Protein-Coupled (GPCRs), tyrosine kinase activity, enzyme-coupled, and serine/threonine kinase; regulated proteolysis-mediated signaling.  

In this subject, students are introduced to gene structure and function, DNA replication, transcription and translation; molecular biology; protein structure and its relationship to protein function.

This course examines cutting edge concepts in genetics, genomics and evolution: genome structure (the components and organization of genomes), genomics (genome sequencing and annotation), genome variation and the forces that shape it (mutation, recombination and genetic drift) and applications of genomics (conservation genomics, host-pathogen interactions, genome engineering, and systems biology). Multiple aspects of genome biology will be studied and integrated to understand how genomes function and evolve. Core concepts and methods in genomics, molecular evolution and gene regulation will be supported by an integrated set of workshops, science communication tasks and bioinformatics analysis. Modern research methods will be applied to the analyses of differential gene expression in RNA sequencing datasets.

This course will introduce general knowledge of forensic medicine and the relationship between related disciplines; a brief history of the development of forensic medicine at home and abroad; forensic medicine and its main branches; the concept of science and its research objects, methods and contents; explain with actual cases: death, corpse changes, mechanical knowledge on injury, mechanical asphyxiation, poisoning, sudden death, forensic clinical medicine, medical damage, individual identification, paternity testing, etc.