| "What
Every Lawyer, Businessman, and Citizen Needs to Know about Molecular
Biology" (Fall 2007)
Related
Links:
Overview
of the Pilot Curriculum General Education Requirement
2005-2006 Pilot Curriculum
General Requirement Course Descriptions
This course
fulfills Category III of the General Education Requirement.
Faculty:
Meeting
Times:
| LEC |
BIOL
003 001 |
T & R |
1:30
- 3:00 |
Course Description:
Modern biology is transforming our lives in myriad ways: DNA fingerprinting,
animal cloning, GM (genetically modified) agriculture, bio-terror, and gene
therapy. The public dimly understands the bases for these technologies and
thus tends to exaggerate both their promise and their dangers. These developments
raise practical, ethical, and philosophical issues that educated individuals
should be equipped to consider. This course for non-majors will introduce concepts
of modern biology and provide tools that will help to follow exciting/controversial
developments as they are reported in the press.
Each class period is divided into two sections. One section is a text-based
coverage of key concepts and terminology of molecular biology, cell biology,
physiology and neurobiology. This section provides a student with sufficient
literacy to understand new developments as they are reported in the press.
The ability to follow new developments is essential since biology is changing
so rapidly that much of what we know today will be out of date in 5 years.
The second section is a student-led discussion of biological topics in the
news. Student presentations describe the scientific concept/hypothesis underlying
a news item. The presentation includes a critique of the validity of the claim
by determining who is speaking for each side and whether they have a personal
interest in the outcome; what data/experimentation supports or refutes the
hypothesis; and whether controls were sufficient to rule out alternative hypotheses.
The course also includes readings from the excellent literature now available
for the lay public. Students write short responses to these lay readings and
write longer papers evaluating a particular advance in biotechnology.
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