Class Syllabus
       
Class Date Topic Pages
 
Modern cell biology from an evolutionary point of view.
1 9/6 Wed I: Introduction 1-10
2 9/11 Mon II: Natural selection 10-18, 559-566
       
Resources: A molecule viewer (very basic)
The Pictorial Periodic Table
Periodic Table of the Elements
Chemical Models
The Virtual Cell 		 
     
The origin of molecules.
3 9/13 Wed I: atoms, molecules, bonds, water 19-36
4 9/18 Mon II: biological molecules; lipids and polysaccharides 37-51
5 9/20 Mon III: proteins and nucleic acids 48-60
       
The origin of cells.
6 9/25 Mon I: prokaryotes, endosymbiosis and eukaryotes 61-78,566-574
7 9/27 Wed II: the structures of cells today 79-104
8 10/2 Mon III: the membranes of cells today 105-119
9 10/4 Wed IV: trans-membrane proteins, cell-cell interaction 120-144
       
***** 10/9 Mon No Class
       
The origin of Energy transfer systems
10 10/11 Wed I: Energy in bonds vs. energy in movement 145-160
11 10/16 Mon II: glycolysis 161-171
***** In Recitation-Exam I, covering classes 1-8
12 10/18 Wed III: chemiosmosis and oxidative phosphorylation 172-182
13 10/23 Mon IV: chemiosmosis and photosynthesis; summary 183-204
       
The origin of Information transfer systems.
14 10/25 Wed I: The cell cycle: mitosis 205-226, S. of L., 1,2
15 10/30 Mon II: Sexual reproduction: meiosis 227-240, S. of L., 1,2
16 11/1 Mon III: Patterns of inheritance: genes, recombination, linkage, maps 241-263, S. of L., 1,2
**** 11/6 no class
17 11/8 Wed IV: human phenotypes; differences, disabilities and disease; pedigrees and prenatal diagnosis 264-276, S. of L., 5
       
The molecules of information transfer.
18 11/13 Mon I: DNA: the genetic molecule; replication 277-290, S. of L., 2,3
19 11/15 Wed II: DNA replication, RNA transcription 291-303 S. of L., 3,4
In Recitation Exam II , covering classes 9-17
20 11/20 Mon III: RNA translation 304-314, S. of L., 3-5
21 11/22 Wed IV: gene regulation 315-332, S. of L., 3-5
       
Evolution from a molecular point of view
22 11/27 Mon I: origins of genetic variation mutation, non-reciprocal recombination, gene families.: 333-338, 352-362, S. of L., 5-6
23 11/29 Wed II: microevolution by loss of HW equilibrium due to selection 389-404
24 12/4 Mon III: macroevolution from microevolution: speciation 405-422
25 12/6 Wed IV: ecology 423-441
26 12/11 Mon V: symbiosis and competitive exclusion as the motors of natural selection 463-496 S. of L., conc.
       

Textbook: The Fifth edition of Raven and Johnson's "Biology," Published by WCBrown-McGraw-Hill, is required for this course and will also be used in the second course of the sequence, ENVB 2002. Earlier editions will not be satisfactory, as classes will be closely linked to the order and built on the content of chapters in this edition.

Recommended books: You will find additional material for parts of the course in R. Pollack, 1994. "Signs of Life," Houghton Mifflin. Pages in R&J5 and chapters of Pollack are given below for each class. Other books on reserve in the Biology library, 6th floor Fairchild, include L. Margulis, "Early Life;" J. Wiener, "The Beak of the Finch," and R. Pollack, "The Missing Moment."


Exams and grades: Exams and recitations will be based on class lectures rather than textbook content, so regular attendance in class and recitation is strongly encouraged. Grade for the course is determined by class rank on two exams and a final, modified by recitation and classroom participation; the latter may count for as much as half a letter in either direction.

Further information: Answers to students' questions and other useful items are posted on this webpage.