Biological Sciences

This course explores the diverse life forms and ecosystems of the world's oceans and coastal regions. It covers the biology, behavior, and ecological roles of marine organisms, from microscopic plankton to large marine mammals. Key topics include marine biodiversity, oceanography, and the complex interactions that sustain marine ecosystems. The course also addresses the impact of human activities, such as pollution and overfishing, on marine life, as well as current issues in marine conservation and the sustainable management of marine resources. Students gain a comprehensive understanding of the importance of preserving ocean health and the challenges facing marine environments today.

The course examines microbes in human disease and the contribution of microbiomes to our health. It also covers the role of microbes in food preparation or spoilage, and the detection and control of food-borne pathogens.

This course critically explores principal drivers behind the erosion of natural capital and resilience of ecosystems in light of them. Students take a solutions-based approach for how best to deal with habitat transformation, biodiversity loss, climate change, overexploitation of natural resources and contamination. Solutions incorporate a biological understanding of local and global impacts, drawing from the physical and life sciences, and extend it to actual and potential political, economic, and socio-cultural instruments appropriate and effective to address threats and changes to global biodiversity and ecosystem health.

This course examines the structure and function of forest ecosystems. Topics include forests as complex adaptive systems; forests of the world; history of forests and forestry; disturbance ecology; ecological succession; soils; biogeochemical cycling; energetics; population, community, ecosystems and landscape ecology; biological diversity; stability; complexity; resilience; and sustainable forest management as climate changes.

This course introduces the principles of evolution and the major events in the history of life, while providing a basic understanding of how scientific methods are used in the field of evolutionary biology and how evolutionary thinking is applied to issues in biological diversity, animal behavior and modern human biology. The goal of the course is to develop a scientific way of thinking about the facts of life, including the evolution of human beings. 

Preferred prerequisites: Introductory/intermediate biology courses.

This course aims to develop flexible and logical problem-solving skills, understanding of main bioinformatics problems, and appreciation of main techniques and approaches to bioinformatics. Through case studies and hands-on exercises, students (i) master the basic tools and approaches for analysis of DNA sequences, protein sequences, gene expression profiles, etc. (ii) understand important problems and applications of computational biology, including identifying functional features in DNA and protein sequences, predicting protein function, and deriving diagnostic models from gene expression profiles, (iii) be confident to propose new solutions to both existing and emerging problems in computational biology. This course requires students to take prerequisites.

This course covers the physiological functions of hormones that regulate homeostasis in the human body. The course provides an understanding of hormone production and action at the cellular and molecular levels. Students acquire specialized knowledge about the functions and roles of hormones and regulation of hormone secretion. 

The course introduces the study of genetics and focuses on understanding phenotypic variation and the mechanisms underlying inheritance. The processes that participate in converting an individual’s genotype into the phenotypes displayed by that individual are of particular interest and importance. In this course students explore the fundamental properties of genes and the various approaches to genetic analysis, as it is performed in several different model organisms. When applicable, the course examines current examples of genetics issues that
arise in the literature or in the media and link these examples to topics covered in class.

Prerequisites: General Biology

This course examines the specific immune system at the molecular level, dealing with the structure and function of the soluble and cell surface proteins involved, and to study the roles of the various cell types which participate in the immune response. This course covers a range of topics in molecular and cellular immunology, including the immune response and acquired immunity; antibody structure and function; antibody diversity and clonal selection; genetics of immunoglobulin expression; the complement system; antibody techniques; monoclonal antibodies; hypersensitivity reactions (allergies); the activity of T cells; major histocompatibility complexes, their role in transplant rejection and non-self recognition; HIV and AIDS.

The course focuses on integrative human physiology, which means how the internal organ systems interact to maintain homeostasis. This includes the structure of the organ systems (anatomy, histology) and their function and regulation (physiology). The course includes the following organs and organ systems: the heart, the circulatory system and the blood, the kidneys and the urinary tract, the respiratory system, the digestive tract and accessory organs, endocrine organs and the reproductive organs. The structure, function and regulation of the musculature is also studied. Integrated knowledge of the autonomic nervous system and energy metabolism are also included. The organ systems in question are studied from the cellular to systemic level. Major emphasis is placed on the understanding of homeostatic regulation. The course concerns how homeostasis is maintained at rest and under different conditions such as physical activity and potentially homeostasis imbalance changes in the surroundings. In order to explain physiological functions, the required anatomy and histology is studied in parallel with physiology.  Course requires 60 credits and is graded Pass or Fail.