BIO290 is a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) that is designed to reinforce genetics, developmental biology, and cell biology concepts through guided inquiry and experimentation using the Drosophila melanogaster model system. Students will learn the basics of fly husbandry, genetic crosses, immunostaining, and data analysis to uncover phenotypes associated with genetic mutants uncovered by the national FlyCURE consortium. Students will be expected to present results and contribute to a poster presentation and/or a research manuscript.

Prerequisite(s)/Corequisite(s):  [Prereq: BIO130]

Typically Offered: Periodically Offered

Units: 1

Animal development, with an emphasis on the molecular mechanisms that regulate cell fate, cell adhesion and motility, and the formation of different tissue types. Cell signaling pathways and gene regulatory mechanisms that control development, and are relevant to adult stem cell biology and cancer biology, are stressed throughout the course. The laboratory focuses on major invertebrate and vertebrate model organisms and both classical and molecular genetic approaches used to study animal development. Includes one three-hour laboratory per week, plus 1-2 hours arranged. 

Prerequisite(s)/Corequisite(s):  [Prereq: BIO130 and either BIO221, BIO224, or BIO226] [Coreq: BIO320L]

Typically Offered: Periodically Offered

Units: 4

Core Requirements Met: Laboratory Science

This course focuses on understanding the processes in a cell, at a molecular level, that transfer information from genetic information through the expression of functional proteins. Topics include: basic structure of DNA, RNA, and proteins; gene structure; chromosomal organization; genomic structure and organization; DNA replication; transcription, translation, and processing of gene products; molecular regulation of gene expression, mechanisms in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; regulatory and catalytic RNA, including siRNA and miRNA; and the techniques to study these processes. Includes one three-hour laboratory per week, plus two hours arranged. 

Prerequisite(s)/Corequisite(s):  [Prereq: BIO130 and CHEM220 or Permission of Instructor] [Coreq: BIO221L]

Typically Offered: Fall

Units: 4

Core Requirements Met: Laboratory Science