Biological Sciences

The course is devoted to understanding the fundamentals of descriptive and inferential statistics (concepts, rationale of analyses, and their assumptions), and to the application of techniques on data sets. It starts with a definition of basic concepts relevant to all statistical tests, eg chance and odds, randomness, data levels, and probability distributions. Systematic errors and random errors are discussed concerning their impact on the reliability and validity of data. Concepts explained include the sampling distribution, standard error, test statistics, chosen (alpha) and observed (p-value) significance level, type I and type II error, the power of a test, confidence intervals, and effect size measures. Research designs that are widely used in applied science research and relate these to different types of samples are used. The lab sessions include data sets to be checked and summarized using appropriate descriptive statistical techniques. Data transformations are applied where needed.

This course introduces students to contemporary plant biology. It focuses on the flowering plants (angiosperms), one of the most successful plant groups that sustains all life on earth, and examines how they are organized, grow, and respond to the environment. A major theme the course highlights is that plant growth is highly dynamic – plants control growth and development through integrating intrinsic and external signals to best adapt to the changing surroundings. The concepts and techniques of gene manipulation for studying plants, as well as their applications in plant biotechnology, are also discussed.

This course provides an overview of the field of marine drug discovery and development and is designed to meet the needs of oceanographers, biologists and chemists interested in this topic. This course focuses on the entire process of drug discovery and development which necessitates the expertise of many disciplines such as marine natural product chemistry, biology, organic and medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and basic and clinical medicine. In addition, basic skills in the discovery of marine drug hits will be practiced in the lab.  

This module studies deep-sea, coastal, and pelagic habitats. Students learn how to identify the major groups of cnidarians commonly associated with seamounts and submarine canyons; describe the biology of deep-sea communities; provide detailed description of a range of marine systems including epipelagic, rocky benthos, soft sediment benthos & estuarine systems; describe the physico-chemical gradients found in these habitats and discuss their role in structuring the marine communities found there; describe biological structuring processes in these coastal marine systems; describe the features and adaptations of animals in these systems; and define the relationship between area and species richness and apply this relationship to real conservation problems.

The Ecology course provides an introduction to and overview of the field of ecology and builds on material learned in secondary school courses in biology.  The course covers the most important theories and principles of general ecology based on interesting examples from scientific research and the practice of nature management, agriculture and fisheries, land development, and environmental policy. Ecological insights are essential for solving major problems concerning biodiversity, food production, global climate change, and many other areas.

This course introduces the science of ecology and its role in understanding environmental processes. The course covers both the major concepts and their real-world applications. Topics include models in ecology, organisms in their environment, evolution and extinction, life history strategies, population biology, ecological interactions, community ecology, ecological energetics, nutrient cycling, and landscape ecology.

This course is designed for students in the Humanities or Social Sciences with no previous education in Biology. It may also serve as a remedial course for students with a high school Biology background insufficient for entering a regular level 1 Biology course. The course centers around three major themes: the basics of life, genes and evolution, and essential body functions. The course studies a wide variety of fundamental biological principles and concepts including the characteristics and basic units of life, biodiversity, the molecular basis of inheritance and genetics, origin of life and evolution, proliferation and differentiation of cells, principles of development and cancer, metabolism and energy, nutrition, health, nervous system and behavior, biological defense and communication, and reproduction and aging.

This course addresses the relationship between the microbiological quality of water and its impact on consumers or users. It considers the various treatments necessary to ensure a microbiological quality of water that does not pose an unacceptable health risk to the population. 

Students taking this course develop an understanding of core concepts in the disciplines of physiology, pharmacology, reproductive biology, neuroscience, infectious diseases, and medical biology as well as develop core competencies in scientific learning and disciplinary practice. The experimental basis of scientific knowledge ("How do we know what we know") is also discussed. Throughout the course, students acquire a fundamental factual basis for study of Biomedical Sciences disciplines, including core concepts and important scientific principles; competence in effective literature searching and written communication; and practical skills required for research in biomedical sciences, including data analysis and interpretation.