BIO X37 BIO 137, 237, 337, 437 Selected Topics in Biology 1-4 Hours
1,2,3,4 Lecture Hours 0 Lab Hours
Recent developments and research methods in the biological sciences. For each semester hour of credit earned, one lecture hour a week for one semester. Some topics may require additional hours.
Pre/Corequisites: Biology 325 or 325H with a grade of at least C-; additional prerequisites vary with the topic.
Grading: Student Option
Repeatable for credit: May be repeated for credit when the topics vary.
Academic Level: Upper Division
Topic 1: Seminar in Human Biology. Only offered as Biology 137. One lecture hour a week for one semester. Additional prerequisite: Biology 346 with a grade of at least C-.
Topic 2: Research Methods: UTeach. Students perform independent inquiries and use skills from mathematics and science to solve research problems. Restrictions: Restricted to students in the UTeach-Natural Sciences program.
Topic 3: Natural History of Protists. A study of protista, a wide variety of eukaryotic organisms which are either unicellular or phylogenetically closely allied to unicellular organisms. Description of the basic taxonomic and ecological groups, and description of the natural history of the major groups of organisms.
Topic 4: Computational Neuroscience and Neural Networks.
Topic 5: Grant Writing and Research Skills. Explores skills required of research scientists, and specifically prepares students to submit a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Proposal (NSF-GRFP) grant proposal during the semester (deadline for GRFP submission is typically during the last week of October). There are weekly writing milestones to complete an NSF-GRFP proposal by the submission deadline. Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Statistics and Data Sciences 320E or 328M with a grade of at least C-.
Topic 6: Practical Ethics for Biologists. Incorporates weekly case studies to introduce common ethical issues faced by biologists in the field and the lab. Employs the Systematic Moral Analysis framework to critically examine ethical issues in scientific inquiry in general (data integrity, who pays for science) as well as issues specific to biologists in the field and laboratory (questionable research practices, conflicts of interest, expertise vs advocacy). Explores issues of personal values, implicit bias and environmental justice.
Topic 7: Sleep Science. Explores the basics of sleep science, current research questions and novel approaches, and the range of sleep disorders and their diagnoses. Additional prerequisite: Neuroscience 330 with at least a grade of C-.
Topic 9: The Emergence of Modern Biology. Explore biology through an analysis of classic texts from the age of Darwin to the present day. Survey the theory of evolution by natural selection, genetics and the Modern Synthesis, population and community ecology, molecular biology and genomics.
Topic 10: Renewable Resources: Environment and Future. Greenhouse gases and their effect on climate and the oceans, renewable energy and materials such as biofuels, bioplastics, and green chemistry: minimizing the generation of chemical waste in manufacturing processes. Biology 337 (Topic: Renewable Rsrcs: Envir/Future) and 137, 237, 337, and 437 (Topic 10) may not both be counted.
Topic 12: Quality Assurance for the Biosciences.
Topic 13: Advanced Genetics. Examine basic principles of Mendelian and molecular genetics, and explore the genetic toolbox using examples of analytic methods and modern manipulations. Focus on the genetic analysis of model organisms and human diseases. Use genetic tools in the dissection of complex biological pathways, developmental processes, and regulatory systems. Produce an independent research proposal and presentation focusing on a current question in molecular genetics. Additional prerequisite: Consent of instructor.