Courses

• CAS BI 410: Cellular Aspects of Development and Differentiation (CM)
  Contemporary aspects of embryonic development, drawing from current literature. Emphasis on the use of experimental approaches to address topics such as polarity in the egg, body axis specification, embryonic patterning, and organogenesis. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 414: Ornithology (EBE)
  Examines the behavior, ecology and morphology, physiology, classification, and evolution of birds. Flight, navigation, migration, territorial courtship, nesting, and parental behavior. Field trips. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion and demonstrations. (Offered alternate years.)
• CAS BI 415: Biology of Mammals (EBE)
  Examines the behavior, ecology, morphology, distribution, physiology, systematics, conservation, and evolution of mammals. Research paper and one weekend field trip required. Three hours lecture, three hours lab.
• CAS BI 421: Biochemistry I
  Introductory biochemistry. Protein structure and folding enzyme mechanisms, kinetics, and allostery; nucleic acid structure; lipids and membrane structure; bioenergetics; vitamins and coenzymes; introduction to intermediary metabolism. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion, four hours lab.
• CAS BI 422: Biochemistry II
  Cell metabolism, with special emphasis on the uptake of food materials, the integration and regulation of catabolic, anabolic, and anaplerotic routes, and the generation and utilization of energy. Lectures include consideration of events in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Three hours lecture, four hours lab, one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 423: Marine Biogeochemistry (EBE)
  Oceanic nutrient and biogeochemical cycling in the context of the marine response to global change. Links between local and global scales are emphasized. Topics include oceanic productivity, iron limitation, oceanic glacial carbon dioxide budget, biogenic particle fluxes, oceanic glacial-interglacial biogeochemistry.
• CAS BI 425: General Endocrinology (PER/Neuro)
  Chemical and physiological principles of hormonal integration in animals, emphasizing chemistry, biosynthesis, mechanisms of action, and homeostatic function of vertebrate hormones. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 442: Physiology and Biochemistry of Reproduction (PER/Neuro)
  Physiology and biochemistry of oogenesis, the ovarian cycle, and ovulation; spermatogenesis; and fertilization. Hormonal control of gametogenesis and gestation. Biochemistry of accessory sex glands; fertility and sterility; parturition and lactation; population and birth control. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion. (Offered alternate years.)
• CAS BI 443: Terrestrial Biogeochemistry
  The patterns and processes controlling carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Links between local and global scales are emphasized. Topics include net primary production, nutrient use efficiency, and biogeochemical transformation. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 444: Neuroethology (NEU)
  Cellular and molecular basis of behavior, with emphasis on functional physiology of neurons, interactions among neurons, and the organization of sensory-motor systems. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 445: Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology (PER/Neuro)
  Cellular and molecular basis of neural excitability and synaptic transmission. The molecular understanding of ion channels is extrapolated to higher brain functions such as learning, memory, and sleep. Three hours lecture, three hours lab.
• CAS BI 446: Biology of the Cell Cycle (CM)
  Temporal organization and regulation of cellular function. Includes theory and analysis of methodologies applicable to cell proliferation, cell synchrony, molecular genetics, biochemistry, and physiology of cell cycle phases. Emphasis on the molecular regulation of growth and differentiation in eukaryotic organisms, from yeast to humans. Readings in original research literature; term paper. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 448: Biodiversity and Conservation Biology (EBE)
  The study of biological diversity and modern methods to protect endangered plant and animal species. The environment, population, and genetic and human factors that affect the survival of species are examined for temperate and tropical communities, as well as terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 454: Cell Motility and Cytoskeleton (CM)
  Investigation of the structures, molecules, and forces responsible for muscle contraction, cell locomotion, chromosome movement and cell division, ciliary and flagellar motion, bacterial chemotaxis, and other types of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell motility. Three hours lecture, with discussions.
• CAS BI 455: Developmental Neurobiology (PER/Neuro or CM)
  Fundamental principles of developmental neurobiology, stressing molecular mechanisms that underlie early neural development, differentiation, process outgrowth, and behavior. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 471: Readings in Biology
  Intensive library research on a well-defined subject, followed by individual conferences and discussion with a faculty member. May be taken as preparation for CAS BI 401, 402, 491, and 492. Does not carry major or minor credit in biology.
• CAS BI 472: Readings in Biology
  Intensive library research on a well-defined subject, followed by individual conferences and discussion with a faculty member. May be taken as preparation for CAS BI 401, 402, 491, and 492. Does not carry major or minor credit in biology.
• CAS BI 481: Molecular Biology of the Neuron
  Topics include electrical properties of neurons, a survey of neurotransmitters, molecular structure and function of receptors, synaptic transmission, intracellular signaling, and the molecular biology of sensory transduction. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 486: Biological Design for Sustainable Development (EBE)
  Study of biological constraints on the problem of human society's relationship with the ecosystems, terrestrial and marine, that sustain it. Case studies combining natural history, ecological theory, dynamical modeling, and experimental design in the search for workable solutions.
• CAS BI 491: Undergraduate Research in Biology IV
  Research in biological science for students at the senior level. Students design and implement a research project with a faculty member. A minimum of 12 hours per week in lab or field work, not including preparation or evaluation time. Research topic must be defined at the time of registration. Course grade is determined by laboratory performance and written report.

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