Biology is the study of life. This course focuses on understanding the smallest units of life – cells. Understanding how we unravel the mysteries of living things is as important as understanding what we currently know about the world around us, so the process of science is a running theme in the class. To lay a foundation for this, we start with an exploration of how scientific analyses are carried out, building knowledge that will allow you to interpret and critique analyses. From there, we journey into the world of cells, looking at the molecules that form cellular structures and how these molecules interact to carry out cellular processes. Questions we address include: How do cells use and store energy? What are the instructions used to create and maintain a cell? How are these instructions copied and used to direct the production of other molecules? Our exploration of cells continues by examining the ways in which cells divide and investigating how traits are passed on to the next generation. We then take a step back to see how variation in heritable traits relates to evolution at the population level. The course wraps up by applying many of the concepts we’ve discussed to understand human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with a focus on the evolution of drug resistant viruses and the potential effects of HIV on the evolution of humans. Throughout the course, we’ll use examples to illustrate how the processes in our cells relate to our everyday lives. For many topics, we also examine how we know what we know, discussing scientific analyses that have led to our current understanding.

This online course is primarily asynchronous. Class content videos will be posted in the morning three to four days a week on Brightspace. There will be sets of homework assignments due weekly, and we’ll use the discussion platform Yellowdig to promote engagement and interaction. Exams and Q&A sessions will be held during specific time blocks on days specified in class schedule (typically Mondays, Tuesdays, or Fridays); both will be online. Labs will involve a mix of printed material, informational videos, experiment videos, and photos. You’ll get to collect some of your own data, and assignments will be geared towards engaging in hypothesis development and experimental design as well as presenting, analyzing, and evaluating data. New lab materials will be made available twice a week, and assignments due on set dates/times.

Assessments include weekly homeworks, Yellowdig contributions, exams (4), and lab-related assignments