Reading assignments include scientific articles, online resources, class handouts, and sections from the required text. Assignments for this course also used to include several readings from the MIT Biology Hypertextbook, but these have been removed as that site is no longer active. At this time there are no plans to re-present the materials.
Purves, Orians, Heller, and Sadava. Life: The Science of Biology. 7th ed. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates; Gordonsville, VA: W.H. Freeman and Co., 2003. ISBN: 9780716798569.
| LEC # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | Purves, et al. Chapter 1, p. 526. |
| 2 | Introduction (cont.) | Purves, et al. Chapter 4, pp. 169-171. |
| Foundations | ||
| 3 | Biochemistry 1 | Purves, et al. Chapter 2. |
| 4 | Biochemistry 2 | Purves, et al. Chapters 3, 6. |
| 5 | Biochemistry 3 | |
| 6 | Genetics 1 | Purves, et al. pp. 164-167, 171-184. |
| 7 | Genetics 2 | Purves, et al. Chapter 10. |
| 8 | Genetics 3 | |
| 9 | Genetics 4 | |
| 10 | Molecular Biology 1 | Purves, et al. Chapter 11. |
| 11 | Molecular Biology 2 | Purves, et al. Chapter 12. |
| 12 | Molecular Biology 3 | Purves, et al. pp. 285-299. |
| How To - 1 | ||
| 13 | Recombinant DNA 1 | Purves, et al. Chapter 16. |
| 14 | Recombinant DNA 2 | |
| Quiz 1 | ||
| 15 | Recombinant DNA 3 | Purves, et al. pp. 339-350, 357-361. |
| 16 | Cell Biology 1 | Purves, et al. pp. 247-250. |
| 17 | Cell Biology 2 | Purves, et al. Chapter 15, pp. 800-801, 815-818. |
| 18 | Cell Biology 3 | Purves, et al. pp. 167-169, 184, and 401. |
| Formation | ||
| 19 | Steps in Development | Purves, et al. pp. 390-393. |
| 20 | Fertilization/Fertility | Purves, et al. Chapter 43, p. 348. |
| 21 | Cell Type and Position | Purves, et al. Chapter 20, pp. 903-907. |
| 22 | Morphogenesis | |
| Quiz 2 | ||
| How To - 2 | ||
| 23 | Stem Cells | Purves, et al. pp. 396-397, 441. |
| 24 | Cloning | Purves, et al. pp. 393-396. |
| Systems - 1 | ||
| 25 | Nervous System 1 | Purves, et al. Chapter 44. |
| 26 | Nervous System 2 | |
| 27 | Nervous System 3 | |
| Problems - 1 | ||
| 28 | Cancer 1 | Purves, et al. pp. 350-355. Weinberg, R. A. "How Cancer Arises." Sci Am 275, no. 3 (September 1996): 62-70. ———. "Finding the Anti-oncogene." Sci Am 259, no. 3 (September 1998): 44-5. |
| 29 | Cancer 2 | |
| 30 | Cancer 3 | Purves, et al. pp. 355-357. NCI Gleevec Article |
| Quiz 3 | ||
| Systems - 2 | ||
| 31 | Immunology 1 | Purves, et al. Chapter 18. |
| 32 | Immunology 2 | |
| Problems - 2 | ||
| 33 | Virology 1 | Purves, et al. pp. 257-263. Viruses (PDF) AIDS (PDF) |
| 34 | Virology 2 | |
| 35 | Prion Disease | Purves, et al. p. 343. |
| 36 | Future of Biology | |