Biological Sciences

This course promotes an understanding of core concepts in microbial growth and form, with an emphasis on diversity of function. It explores microbes, their major properties, and how they influence processes, such as global warming, acid rain, and nutrient cycling in the world. It examines how microbes interact with plants to influence crop production and spoilage, or affect the safety of the food we eat. The course also explores how microbes are exploited in the biotechnology industry, as well as how we might make new products in the future, using cutting edge technology, such as synthetic biology.

The course covers many of the core topics in animal biology. The emphasis is on animal diversity, evolution, terrestrial and aquatic ecology, and the impact of human activities on terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.

The behavioral differences between individual cells from normal tissues and those from tumors, and how cancer cells learn to invade other tissues and create the metastases responsible for cancer mortality. To introduce the major concepts and principles of cancer biology including tumor viruses, oncogenes, signal transduction, tumor suppressors, the cell cycle, angiogenesis, metastasis, and cancer treatment. Students are able to comprehend and explain the molecular and cellular nature of cancer. Students are able to comprehend and explain tumorigenesis, maintenance of genomic integrity, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Students are able to comprehend and explain tumor immunology, immunotherapy, and cancer treatment.

Prerequisites: Organic Chemistry 1, Biochemistry 1, Cancer Biology (recommended)

This course provides an introduction to the scientific basis of modern medicine and the role of biological sciences in the understanding and treatment of disease. This is delivered through a series of lectures, facilitated group discussions, a practical class and assessed written reports. The course provides a basic understanding of practical material relevant to biological sciences and enables students to develop personal skills in interpreting basic scientific research and communicating scientific ideas and information in a clear, accurate, and well-organized manner.

On the basis of expanding the scope of students' knowledge of modern biology, strengthen the cultivation of students' practical ability through various experimental operations with points and aspects. At the same time, to promote the integration of students towards interdisciplinary aspects, focusing on the cultivation of students' innovative thinking, innovative ability and practical ability.

General biology experiment is a basic and comprehensive general education experiment course of life science for non-life science majors in the whole school. The course basically involves the major fields of current life science research. Taking into account the actual situation of students in different disciplines and majors, the experimental content is set up into four major sections, namely the form and structure of various types of organisms, tissues and cells, physiology and biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology, etc. At the same time, it tries to start from real life, and gradually in-depth into the basic principles and basic methods of life science And the latest progress of life science. In the course of design, in view of the characteristics of non-life science students, especially liberal arts students, who rarely conducted experimental operations by themselves before, the experimental operation steps start from simple and easy to operate basic experimental methods, and guide them to complete all experimental operations independently or cooperatively step by step; At the same time, they are required to examine and think about some phenomena in life from the perspective of their professional knowledge, and stimulate students' innovative thinking; By choosing some biological phenomena in daily life and the more cutting-edge experimental content in the current life science research, stimulate students' learning initiative and enthusiasm.

Structure and function of nervous system is a course designed to introduce the structure and function of the human nervous system. Learning formats include lecture, laboratory observation, and group discussion. The course begins with the structure of spinal cord, spinal, nerves, brain, and cranial nerves. Role of nervous system in sensation, movement, and homeostasis, higher mental functions, autonomic system, and special senses are introduced and developed as the course proceeds. Common diseases of the nervous system will be discussed in group. A neuroanatomy laboratory will observe the structures in gross brain specimens and models. 

Neuroendocrinology is the discipline concerned with how the nervous system controls hormonal secretion and how hormones control the brain. It is pivotal in understanding both general physiology and medicine. This course provides up-to-date and research-orientated information delivered as a series of lectures and group exercises. The lectures are presented by experts in the particular area of research, and the group exercises are based on current research literature and/or results, and are designed to develop students' ability to read, understand, and appraise the current research literature.

This course reviews the basic theory and understanding of the most important molecular genetic methods used in modern ecological and evolutionary research projects. The course is mainly based on practical learning through wet labs (DNA extraction, PCR, DNA sequencing) and computer exercises (editing of DNA sequences that you obtain during the course, phylogeny, and various programs for analysis of DNA sequences) and leads to mastery of different methods used to detect and analyze variation at gene, genome and protein levels within and between individuals, populations, and species. Emphasis is also placed on improving one's ability to assimilate and critically review scientific articles based on molecular genetic data and analyses. The course ends with a research project that is carried out in small groups.

This course examines marine system quantitative ecology including soft shores, rocky and coral reefs. It emphasizes quantitative methods including design, statistical analysis and interpretation of field experiments and observational studies.