New Courses

Course Description: Introductory biology at the molecular, cellular, and organismal level.

Course Objectives: This course surveys fundamental concepts related to the chemical basis of life, biological chemistry, the structure and function of cells and organisms, DNA and RNA, molecular genetics, cellular replication, energy transformation, respiration and photosynthesis.

Course Structure: This class has a lecture that meets three times a week for 50 minutes each. There is also a lab once a week for one hour and 50 minutes.

Topics: Processes of cellular and organismic function • cell structure • respiration and photosynthesis • cell cycle; molecular genetics • structure and physiology of plants and animals

Semester(s) it will be offered: fall, spring, summer

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisite: None

Course Description: Introductory biology at the level of populations and communities.

Course Objectives: This is a survey course intended to provide a background in biological systems where the subjects are individual organisms and larger units, such as populations, communities, ecosystems, and species.  Concepts include introductory knowledge and understanding of species concepts, systematics, macroevolutionary processes such as extinction, transmission genetics, the origins and maintenance of genetic variation, natural selection and adaptation, other evolutionary processes including genetic drift, population biology and community ecology, worldwide biogeography, biomes, and biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, conservation biology, the scientific method, and human issues associated with extinction.

Course Structure: This class has a lecture that meets three times a week for 50 minutes each. There is also a lab once a week for one hour and 50 minutes.

Topics: Ecology • Evolution • Systematics and Speciation • Transmission Genetics • Biodiversity • Conservation

Semester(s) it will be offered: fall, spring, summer

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisite: None

Course Description: This course covers the fundamental concepts of Mendelian, molecular, microbial, human, and population genetics.

Course Objectives: Demonstrate a working knowledge of basic laboratory techniques used in Mendelian and molecular genetics. Interpret experimental data to test hypotheses and draw conclusions. Communicate scientific information in written and verbal form.

Course Structure: Two 3-hour labs per week to give students hands-on experience on laboratory techniques and genetic research.

Topics: •Maize, Drosophila, microbial, and yeast genetics • Human blood groups and karyotype • Genetic engineering of bacteria via transformation • DNA extraction • Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) • Gene expression and regulation • Restriction digestion and mapping • Population genetics

Semester(s) it will be offered: fall, spring, summer

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite: Credit or concurrent registration in BIOS 220

Course Description: Study of the major events in human development between fertilization and birth. Emphasis is placed on the developmental origins of normal adult body structure and function, anatomical variations, and origins of birth defects.

Course Objectives: Students will be able to describe the normal events of human development, explain how birth defects arise from variations and mistakes in development, and apply knowledge of
embryology, assisted reproductive technology and genetic testing to clinical case studies.

Course Structure: A lecture course that meets for 75 minutes twice per week.

Topics: Formation of eggs and sperm • fertilization • implantation and placenta development • embryonic folding • organogenesis • morphogenesis • birth• and environmental influences on development

Semester(s) it will be offered: Spring

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite: BIOS 100 or BIOS 110

Course Description: Examination of histological sections of mammalian embryos. Identification of cells and tissues from their microscopic appearance, reading serial sections.

Course Objectives: Students will be able to identify the major anatomical structures formed during development by studying serial sections of embryos and histology atlases. Operate a brightfield microscope to identify structures in sectioned pig embryos. Navigate digitized sections of human embryos via the Virtual Human Embryo project.

Course Structure: A 2 hour lab course that meets once per week. This is a companion course for BIOS 325: Human Embryology. Concurrent registration in BIOS 325 is required.

Topics: Microscopy •reading serial sections • histology • tissue types •reconstructing 3-D structures from 2-D images • analyzing tissue sections from pig and human embryos

Semester(s) it will be offered: Spring

Credit Hours: 1

Prerequisite: Credit or concurrent registration in BIOS 325

Course Description: How the human body works including digestive, neuromuscular, sensory, respiratory, excretory,
endocrine and cardiovascular systems using examples across animal species and human case studies.

Course Objectives: Students will be able to describe the physiological principles at play in the major organ systems required to sustain life and apply this knowledge to human health and disease through evaluation of case studies.

Course Structure: A lecture course that meets either 75 minutes twice per week or 50 minutes three times a week.

Topics: Topics: Digestion • Nervous system function • Endocrinology • Sensation • Muscle function • Circulation (heart, blood vessels, & lymphatic system) •  Gas transport and acid-base physiology • Respiratory systems • Thermoregulation • Water and salt balance • Kidney and other excretory systems • Human Case studies

Semester(s) it will be offered: Fall and Spring

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite: BIOS 100 or BIOS 110; and BIOS 101 or BIOS 120; and Credit or concurrent registration in BIOS
222.

Course Description: An in-depth intro to research design, data visualization, and modern univariate statistics from the basic to generalized linear model. Extensive computer use required. All work done in the open-source R statistical computing language.

Course Objectives: Become proficient in data description and plotting • Understand the theory underlying basic univariate statistical models used to analyze biological data • Learn to use R to perform a wide range of modern statistical analyses • Understand the challenges of analyzing data for which the normal (Gaussian) distribution is not an appropriate model • Learn the basics of experimental design and scientific hypothesis testing • Understand a major cause of the current crisis of replicability in the biological sciences (the problem of the “vanishing effect size”) • Serve as a pre-requisite for BIOS 533: Analyzing Ecological Data.

Course Structure: two 50-minute lectures to introduce basic statistical theory and associated R code, and a computer lab (1 hour 40 minutes) in which students will gain practical experience using R to analyze real-world biological data sets.

Topics: Introduction to R • Data visualization • Descriptive statistics • Probability distributions • Null hypothesis-significance testing (NHST) • Linear model • Analysis of variance • Effect size & confidence intervals • Avoiding pseudo-replication • Avoiding over-reliance on NHST • Linear regression • Non-parametric tests • Generalized linear model • Linear & generalized linear mixed-effects models

Semester(s) it will be offered: Fall

Credit Hours: 3