Courses tagged with "Chemical reactions (stoichiometry)" (66)

This course discusses the principles of genetics with application to the study of biological function at the level of molecules, cells, and multicellular organisms, including humans. The topics include: structure and function of genes, chromosomes and genomes, biological variation resulting from recombination, mutation, and selection, population genetics, use of genetic methods to analyze protein function, gene regulation and inherited disease.

Learn to differentiate between DNA and RNA and between mitosis and meiosis through Education Portal's chapter on basic genetics. Our team of professional educators, who have experience in biology, designed the video lessons in this chapter to be brief and easy to follow. You'll get an overview of genetics before exploring more complex topics, like DNA mutation and comparative genomics. Other topics covered in this chapter include cloning and genetic modification. To be sure you've mastered the material covered in each video lesson, you can take the accompanying self-assessment quiz. Biology 102: Basic Genetics can help you prepare for the Excelsior College Basic Genetics exam ; passing this exam can earn you actual college credit.

This course is designed to introduce you to the study of Calculus.  You will learn concrete applications of how calculus is used and, more importantly, why it works.  Calculus is not a new discipline; it has been around since the days of Archimedes.  However, Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, two 17th-century European mathematicians concurrently working on the same intellectual discovery hundreds of miles apart, were responsible for developing the field as we know it today.  This brings us to our first question, what is today's Calculus?  In its simplest terms, calculus is the study of functions, rates of change, and continuity.  While you may have cultivated a basic understanding of functions in previous math courses, in this course you will come to a more advanced understanding of their complexity, learning to take a closer look at their behaviors and nuances. In this course, we will address three major topics: limits, derivatives, and integrals, as well as study their respective foundations and a…

The goal of this course is to teach both the fundamentals of nuclear cell biology as well as the methodological and experimental approaches upon which they are based. Lectures and class discussions will cover the background and fundamental findings in a particular area of nuclear cell biology. The assigned readings will provide concrete examples of the experimental approaches and logic used to establish these findings. Some examples of topics include genome and systems biology, transcription, and gene expression.

The physics of the universe appears to be dominated by the effects of four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear forces, and strong nuclear forces.  These forces control how matter, energy, space, and time interact to produce our physical world.  All other forces, such as the force you exert in standing up, are ultimately derived from these fundamental forces. We have direct daily experience with two of these forces: gravity and electromagnetism.  Consider, for example, the everyday sight of a person sitting on a chair.  The force holding the person on the chair is gravitational, and that gravitational force balances with material forces that “push up” to keep the individual in place.  These forces are the direct result of electromagnetic forces on the nanoscale.  On a larger stage, gravity holds the celestial bodies in their orbits, while we see the universe by the electromagnetic radiation (light, for example) with which it is filled.  The electromagnetic force also makes…

Introduction to cell structure & function, molecular & organism genetics, animal development, form & function.

Genetics is the branch of biology that studies how traits are passed on from one generation to the next and why there are similarities and differences between related individuals. Prior to the discovery of genes, scientists knew that parents passed something down to their offspring, but they did not know how or what. Gregor Mendel’s famous experiments with peas indicated that certain features, such as pea texture and flower color, are encoded by two sets of traits and that the parental traits can be separated. Decades later, scientists discovered that parents passed down DNA, which was present in chromosomes. Since the discovery of DNA, we have come to appreciate the importance of chromosomes. Genomics is a relatively new field with the bold aim of understanding the function of every single gene in a genome, including the human genome. This field took off with the completion of the first sequenced genome, and after the completion of the Human Genome Project, it has attracted increasing research. Mendelian…

Biotechnology is the application of biology and biological concepts to science and engineering.  It is the crossroad of the biological sciences with other major disciplines of science, from organic chemistry to mechanical engineering.  The earliest applications of biotechnology involve people of ancient civilizations using organisms to create bread and wine.  The discovery of the Penicillium mold to combat infection is another famous example, as its production involved a specially designed fermentation process using microorganisms.  Nowadays, scientists use almost all aspects of biology in their applications, from DNA to protein to cellular organelles.  Living organisms, especially microorganisms, are thought of as biochemical machinery, able to be edited and changed to create new purposes.  We could program them to create insulin for diabetes patients or to produce fuel for our cars.  Biotechnology is nearly limitless in its applications. As biotechnology is a very diverse topic, this course will in…

Zoology is the scientific study of diversity of animal life, classification, physiology, behavior, and evolution. Unicellular organisms have evolved into complex multicellular forms. Organisms, both unicellular and multicellular, in various complex shapes and sizes are found in almost every habitat and environment. The field of zoology includes many subfields of biology as well as a vast diversity of unicellular and multicellular organisms. Animals first appeared in the fossil record an estimated 600 million years ago as multicellular protozoa. Over the next 70 million years, they radiated into an incredible number of different invertebrate phyla (which represent the majority of animal groups and species), and in the next 150 million years, vertebrate and invertebrate species began to colonize the land. Though the history of animals is extensive and the fossil record at times is conflicted and vague, understanding the historical connections between animals is important in order to understand modern-day rela…

As you learned in BIO101 [1], the cell is the fundamental unit of life; in fact, the smallest living organisms are composed of a single cell. We have learned that, despite their small size, cells are far from simple, and we have only recently begun to understand just how complex they are. This course will present you with a detailed overview of a cell’s main components and functions. Most of the units will cover topics familiar to you from BIO101, such as mitosis or the cell nucleus, but will explore them in greater depth. The course is organized roughly into four major areas: the cell membrane, cell nucleus, cell cycle, and cell interior. We will approach most of these topics straightforwardly, from a molecular and structural point of view. [1] http://www.saylor.org/courses/bio101a/…

Human physiology is the study of the body’s processes, also known as functions. You already have experience with this subject, because you are a human and perform numerous functions each day to maintain your body’s balance or homeostasis. For example, gas exchange in your lungs provides the body’s cells with adequate oxygen supply needed to survive and carry out metabolic processes. Digestion of food components in your mouth, stomach, and small intestines breaks larger substances into molecules that can be absorbed in the small intestines and used for energy. White blood cells attack foreign bodies, such as bacteria and cells containing viruses to keep you free from infection. As you might expect, an understanding of physiology is paramount if you wish to pursue studies in health care, development, or even behavior. A doctor needs to understand how to relate a urine sample to kidney function. A nurse needs to know the importance of electrocardiogram results and heart activity. A medical laboratory sci…

One of the best ways to understand the present is to understand the past. Evolutionary Biology is the study of the changes in life forms over time - changes that have occurred over millions of years as well as those that have occurred over just a few decades. In this course, we will look at the various mechanisms of evolution, how these mechanisms work, and how change is measured. The concepts you learn in this course will serve as a foundation for studying fossil records and current classification schemes in biology. We will begin the course by reviewing the evolutionary concepts of selection and speciation. We will then learn to measure evolutionary change through comparisons with the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, to understand the process of change through Game Theory, and to interpret and classify changes by creating phylogenies. The course will wrap up with a look at the history of life according to the fossil record and a discussion of the broad range of life forms as they are currently classified. At the…

Cancer has existed among humans since humans themselves began and has been a subject of urgent interest from very early in our history.  What we call “cancer” consists of a number of different diseases with one fundamental similarity: they are all initiated by the unchecked proliferation and growth of cells in which the pathways and systems that normally control cell division and mortality are absent.  Cancer-cell abnormalities are often due to mutations of the genes that control the cell cycle and cell growth.  To understand cancer cells, then, one must first understand the processes that regulate normal cell cycles. This course will cover the origins of cancer and the genetic and cellular basis for cancer.  It will examine the factors that have been implicated in triggering cancers; the intercellular interactions involved in cancer proliferation; current treatments for cancer and how these are designed; and future research and treatment directions for cancer therapy.

Marine Biology is the study of ocean life.  As you might expect, life in salt water is vastly different from life in a terrestrial or freshwater environment due to factors like salinity, water circulation, and atmospheric pressure.  How, for example, can organisms living in salt water avoid dehydration?  How do organisms living in the depths of the ocean handle the immense pressure?  How do the environmental factors in marine communities affect biodiversity?  How do some animals manage to alternate between the demands of terrestrial life and the demands of marine life?  In this course, you will learn the answers to these questions and more.  This course will touch on a number of different subfields of biological study (including biochemistry, physiology, zoology, botany, and ecology) within the context of the ocean environment. You will start by learning about the ocean itself and its physical properties, as these properties influence the abundance, distribution, diversity, physiology, and behavior o…

Molecular biology studies the molecular mechanisms of life, particularly those responsible for genes and their expression.  In the center of molecular biology are the nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, and how they contribute to the synthesis of proteins. After a historical introduction (Unit 1), this course describes the basic types of DNA and RNA structure and the molecular interactions that shape them (Unit 2).  Unit 3 describes how DNA is packaged within the cellular nucleus as chromosomes; in eukaryotes the DNA coils around histones to form nucleosomes that comprise the chromatin of the chromosomes.  The next three units describe the core processes of molecular biology: replication of DNA (Unit 4), transcription of DNA into messenger RNA (Unit 5), and translation of messenger RNA into a protein (Unit 6).  These are followed by modifications of these basic processes: regulation of gene expression (Unit 7), DNA mutation and repair (Unit 8), and DNA recombination and transposition (Unit 9). The course conclu…

This lab course supplements BIO102: Introduction to Evolutionary Biology and Ecology [1].  Although we cannot virtually replicate a true lab experience, this “lab” will allow you to become familiar with scientific thinking and techniques, and will enable you to explore some key principles of evolutionary biology and ecology. The material in this lab supplement directly relates to the material covered in the lecture and reading portion of the course.  While the lecture and reading portion focuses on big-picture concepts, here we will focus more on visual understanding, application, and practical use of your knowledge.  In each unit, you will work through tutorials related to important scientific concepts and then will be asked to think creatively about how your knowledge can be put to practical or experimental use. [1] http:///courses/bio102/…

Botany is the study of plants.  Because species in the plant kingdom have characteristics that make them distinct from any other form of life, they are particularly interesting subjects for the study of evolution and physiology.  For example, whereas most organisms are dependent on other organisms for energy, plants can capture energy directly from photons of light and convert it into a usable form through the process of photosynthesis.  For this reason, plants are referred to as the “producers” in a habitat.  Unlike the cells of other organisms, plant cells have rigid cell walls constructed from the inside out (rather than the outside in) during mitosis and cytokinesis.  Plants also have a variety of unique reproductive and dispersal mechanisms that allow them to quickly adapt to, occupy, and invade far-flung areas, despite their general immobility. In this course, you will learn the basics of plant biology.  We will begin with plant anatomy, learning the names and functions of all of the parts o…

In this course, you will study microscopic anatomy. The study of the structure of a cell, tissue, organ, or related feature is known as anatomy. Gross anatomy (or macroscopic anatomy) involves examining anatomical structures that can be seen with the naked eye, whereas microscopic anatomy is the examination of minute anatomical structures that cannot be observed without the help of visual enhancement, such as a microscope. The terms microscopic anatomy and histology (the study of microscopic structure of animal and plant tissue) are used interchangeably. Many times it will be necessary to survey gross anatomy so that when you focus in on the microscopic anatomy you will have a geographical idea of the location within the body. This course makes use of microscope slides of anatomical structures to aid in the discussions of anatomy. Unit 1 begins with an overview of basic cell structure. The study of cells is known as cytology. Cells contain numerous structures that can only be seen with the aid of specialize…

Immunology is the study of our immune system, a highly sophisticated system that defends us against all disease-causing invaders by identifying and neutralizing such threats. Even though we might get sick every now and then, the immune system does an incredible job of warding off infection given how many infectious agents (thousands!) we come into contact with every day. This becomes most apparent when a healthy individual compares himself or herself to an individual with little or no immune response who cannot survive in a normal environment and must rely on specialized rooms much cleaner than even a surgery room. Before the discovery of immunity, we used to associate sickness and disease with various superstitions and beliefs. Only with the discovery of bacteria, viruses, and our own cells did scientists slowly piece together the modern theory of our immune system. Our overall system can be broken down into two sub-systems, each with its own unique cells, molecules, and functions. Our cells are in turn capa…

A thorough understanding of the systems of the body and the ways in which they fit together is imperative for study in many fields of biological inquiry, including medicine, physiology, developmental studies, and biological anthropology.  This course will provide you with an overview of the body from a systemic perspective.  Each unit will focus on one system, or network of organs that work together to perform a particular function.  At the end of this course, we will review the body from an integrative perspective, creating a more realistic vision of the ways in which the systems overlap.  We will also discuss current body imaging techniques and learn how to correctly interpret the images in order to put our newly-gained anatomical knowledge to practical use. This is a terminology-heavy course.  We will identify tissues and organ systems according to their functional and regional contexts, but information concerning the processes by which the tissues and organ systems actually function will be covered…