Biological Sciences

This course examines the principles of animal structure and function. Comparative aspects will be emphasized in how animals adapt to their environment. Topics covered include homeostasis, the function of major organ systems, ecophysiology, musculoskeletal design and
locomotion. An introduction to the physiological basis of animal behavior will include chemical ecology, orientation and senses, biological rhythms and the genetics of behavior.

This course examines weight loss by tracing every atom one eats into and out of the body while investigating the fate of fat during weight loss. There will be a focus on how humans convert food into useful energy, why energy is important, what exactly happens in the body during weight loss and weight gain, and how one can change their lifestyle in subtle ways to live a healthier life.

The course reviews the most important principles and technologies in cellular and molecular neurobiology with a focus on understanding the methods used to increase our knowledge and be able to relate this to current research in the subject area. The course starts with an introduction to important methods for studies on molecular and cellular neurobiology, as well as basic practical exercises. The course also includes detailed studies of the mechanisms that underlie neuronal signaling and cell function, and how these are activated during development and neuronal plasticity. A central part of the course is the application of technologies that push the research forward, including optogenetic manipulation and gene editing to manipulate neural circuits and identify neural functions.

This is a course in Cognitive Neuroscience in which various disciplines (such as psychology, biology, physics, philosophy, medicine, and more) meet in a joint effort to understand the most remarkable mechanism in nature: the human brain. The first part of the course involves a brief historic overview on the methodology used to learn about brain functions and specializations with an emphasis on the novel methods characterizing neuroscience research. The remainder of the course sheds light on sensation and perception, namely the flow of information from the outside world into our inside world, and about behavior and motion, specifically the flow of information from the inside world back to the external environment. The course covers a wide variety of cognitive functions, from basic perception of color, touch, and sound, to higher functions such as object representation, emotion, and consciousness. In each part of the course, students explore neurological cases, experiments, and studies that have made great advances in the specific field with a special focus on how neuroscience research helped in significantly advancing the human brain is conceptualized. During the course, students gain an in-depth understanding of cutting-edge studies in neuroscience and deal with the most acute questions in the field, such as: How does the brain represent stimuli from the different senses? How can we efficiently act in our environment? How much can the brain change its functioning or even regain lost functionalities through our lifetime? The course also explores studies and information in order to separate knowledge from theory and propose questions for further scientific research.

This course examines the genetic and physiopathological bases of monogenic diseases due to occasional mutations, dynamic mutations, and large reordering of the genetic material. Other topics include: genomic, chromosomal, and imprinting diseases; multifactorial diseases; pathologies of the mitochondrial genome.