BIO Course Descriptions

BIO1004 Human Biology (3)
Prerequisite: High School Biology
Three hours lecture. Covers the basic structure and function of the human body. Surveys structure of cells, anatomy and physiology of several organ systems (e.g. reproductive, circulatory, nervous, muscular, immune), human genetics, nutrition, and our relationship with the environment. Scientific method and principles of biology are emphasized. May include laboratory demonstrations and activities.

BIO1009 Introduction to Biology (3)
Three hours lecture, one and one-half hours laboratory. Provides a general introductory study of plants and animals. Required for liberal studies majors.

BIO1009L Introduction to Biology Lab (0.5)
Lab component of BIO1009 Introduction to Biology.

BIO1101 General Biology I (3)
Prerequisite: High School Biology
Three hours lecture, three hours laboratory. General Biology is a foundation course dealing with cellular and molecular biology, with emphasis on structure and function of cells as the basic unit of life, including cellular metabolism, enzyme energetics, molecular genetics, Mendelian genetics, and concepts of speciation and evolution. Laboratory introduces basic laboratory techniques, light microscopy, enzyme kinetics, calorimetry, and population genetics.

BIO1101L General Biology I Lab (1)
Lab component of BIO1101 General Biology I.

BIO1103 General Biology II (3)
Prerequisite: High School Biology
Three hours lecture, three hours laboratory. Focuses on the study of microorganisms, fungi, higher plants and animals, their diversity and unity, structure, development, physiology, and classification. Laboratory develops observational skills using prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

BIO1103L General Biology II Lab (1)
Lab component of BIO1103 General Biology II.

BIO1465 Natural Science Seminar (1)
Offers presentations and discussions of selected topics in natural sciences. Speakers are scientists from other institutions and from the NDNU faculty and student body. May be repeated for credit.

BIO2007 Geographical Information Systems and Public Health (4)

IIntroduces the essentials of GIS and the fundamentals of epidemiotology.  Lectures and laboratories use GIS software to develop skills in database management, graphical display, and mapping, incorporating epidemiological methods to develop maps exemplifying a range of public health issues including infectious and vector-borne disease patterns, epidemic iinvestigation, environmental hazards, and health serices access.

BIO2108 Contemporary Environmental Issues (3)
Prerequisites: Math Placement Level 2 and permission of instructor
Three hours lecture, one hour laboratory. Surveys Earth's biomes and gives an overview of where humans live, with a concentration on how human activities affect biomes. Major themes are population growth and concomitant demands on energy and resources. Addresses pollution and consumer society links with the crisis of biodiversity loss. Optional laboratory exemplifies the dominant issues in the course topics by means of field studies and selected site visits.

BIO2108L Contemporary Environmental Issues (1)

Lab component of BIO2108 Contemporary Environmental Issues.

BIO2114 An Introduction to the Diverse World of Plants (3)

Prerequisite: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L

This course is an introduction to plant systematics including vascular plant classification, diversity and evolutionary relationships.  Discussion entails the structural components of vascular plants and how plant structure relates to function, development, environment, evolution, and human use of plants.  The course briefly encompasses the major physiological and metabolic processes of plants with a survey of photosynthesis and plant metabolism, mineral nutrition and ion uptake, water relations, transport processes, and regulation of plant growth and development.

BIO2114L An Introduction to the Diverse World of Plants (1)

Lab component of BIO2114 An Introduction to the Diverse World of Plants.

BIO2124 Forensic Science (4)
Three hours lecture; three hours laboratory. Focuses on the mysterious and exciting world of forensic science and forensic psychology, with an emphasis on the techniques, skills, tools, and procedures used in the discovery process and their limitations. The nature of physical evidence is studied, along with the limitations that technology, knowledge, and human behavior impose. Class discussions cover DNA analyses, fingerprint, hair, fiber, and bullet comparisons, footwear impressions, crime-scene search and investigation as well as discussion of the psychological domains of eyewitness testimony, the malleability of memory, the fallibility of judgments, and decision-making.

BIO2132 General Ecology (3)
Prerequisites: BIO1103, BIO1103L or BIO1009, BIO1009L, Mathematics Placement Level 2 and either PHY1205, PHY1205L or PHY1109, PHY1109L or CHE1202, CHE1202L or CHE1101 or permission of instructor. Lecture and laboratory
Investigates Earth's physical structure and place in the solar system, global climate patterns, evolution of biomes, energy flow, and biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems. Also investigates cycling of chemical elements in ecosystems and trophic relationships within ecosystems. Presents selected ecosystems exemplify unifying concepts of ecology. Discusses the impact of human activity on ecosystems. Laboratory concentrates on field study of concepts.

BIO2132L General Ecology Lab (1)
Lab component of BIO2132 General Ecology.

BIO2138 Environmental Toxicology (3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L, CHE1202, CHE1202L and BIO2132, BIO2132L or permission of instructor
Three hours lecture, three hours laboratory. Examines toxins in the environment due to natural causes and human effects. Covers sampling and survey techniques, risk assessment, and legal regulations.

BIO2138L Environmental Toxicology (1)

Lab component of BIO2138L Environmental Toxicology.

BIO2143 Invertebrate Zoology (3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L
Three hours lecture and three hours laboratory, and field trips. This course emphasizes the evolution and diversity of invertebrates. Topics will include the phylogeny of Parazoa and Eumetazoa and the phyla within the derived clades of the Eumetazoa, as well as their life-histories, and functional morphology.

BIO2143L Invertebrate Zoology Lab (1)

Lab component of BIO2143 Invertebrate Zoology

BIO2148 Vertebrate Zoology (3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L recommended
Three hours lecture, three hours laboratory. Emphasizes the unique structural and functional adaptations of vertebrates. Focuses on the anatomy and physiology of representative vertebrates including Agatha, cartilaginous and bony fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Laboratory includes dissection of lamprey, dogfish shark, and cat as representative vertebrates provides for study of functional anatomy.

BIO2148L Vertebrate Zoology Lab (1)

Lab component of BIO2148 Vertebrate Zoology.

BIO2200 Developmental Biology (3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L
Three hours lecture, three hours laboratory. Covers development of living organisms from the fertilized egg to establishment of organ systems. Topics include fertilization, gastrulation, neurulation, regulation of development, cell commitment, morphogenesis, induction, and laying down of organ systems. Laboratory includes morphological observations and individual experimental projects.

BIO2200L Developmental Biolog Lab (1)

Lab component of BIO2200 Developmental Biology.

BIO2205 Human Anatomy (3)
Prerequisite: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L
This is the study of the structure of the human body, including muscles, bones, heart, brain, ear, eye, and other systems, as well as a short look at development of the fetus. Lab work entails dissection of the cat and study of the human skeleton.

BIO2205L Human Anatomy Lab (1)

Lab component of BIO2205 Human Anatomy.

BIO2210 Human Physiology (3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L, CHE1202, CHE1202L
Three hours lecture, three hours laboratory, one hour seminar. Focuses on functional aspects of the human organism at the subcellular, cellular, and tissue levels and on causes and effects at organ level. Topics include nerve impulse transmission, muscle contraction, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, immune, and endocrine systems. Laboratory includes use of oscilloscope, computerized measurements of cardiac, muscle, and respiratory function, biochemical assays, and basic histology. Results are discussed in seminar.

BIO2210L Human Physiology Lab (2)

Lab component of BIO2210 Human Physiology.

BIO2215 Genetics (3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L and CHE1202, CHE1202L
Three hours lecture, three hours laboratory. Focuses on the physical and chemical basis of heredity. Topics include: Mendelian genetics; mapping; structure, organization, and replication of DNA; mutation; transcription, translation, and regulation; and extrachromosomal inheritance and population genetics. Laboratory may include Mendelian and population genetics, cytogenetics, DNA analysis, electrophoresis, PCR, and mapping techniques.

BIO2215L Genetics Lab (1)

Lab component of BIO2215 Genetics.

BIO2252 Cellular and Molecular Biology (3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L and CHE2203, CHE2203L, CHE2205, CHE2205L and CHE2370, CHE2370L or BIO2215, BIO2215L or permission of instructor
Three-hours lecture, three hours laboratory. Focuses on the structural and biochemical basis of cellular function. Emphasizes cell substructure, cell membranes, cell-surface phenomena, and the storage and transfer of biological information at the biochemical level. Laboratory presents methods of biotechnology.

BIO2252L Cellular and Molecular Biology Lab (1)

Lab component of BIO2252 Cellular and Molecular Biology.

BIO2275 General Microbiology (3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L, CHE1202, CHE1202L
Three hours lecture, six hours laboratory. Comprises the study of microorganisms and viruses, including the structure, physiology, genetics, systematics, and evolution of bacteria, fungi, protista, and parasitic metazoans. Emphasizes medical, veterinary, and agricultural microbiology, along with microbial ecology and industrial microbiology.

BIO2275L General Microbiology Lab (2)
Lab component of General Microbiology.

BIO2277 Immunology (3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L, CHE1202, CHE1202L
Three hours lecture, three hours laboratory. Covers cellular immune response, biochemical mechanisms of immunity, immune disorders, hypersensitivities, and genetics of immunity. Laboratory introduces techniques including electrophoresis, immunoelectrophoresis, in vitro systems, ELISA, and plaque assay.

BIO2277L: Immunology Lab (1)
Lab component of Immunology

BIO2354 Molecular Biology for Computer Scientists (3)

Prerequisite: A college level biology course or permission of the instructor

The field of bioinformatics is interdisciplinary, requiring knowledge of biology and computer science.  This applied course for computer science majors is intended to fill the conceptual gaps that may exist in the areas of protein structure and function, protein synthesis, the genetic code, gene expression, gene sequencing, genetic engineering, and evolutionary biology.  Successful completion of this course will allow a computer science major to understand and use gene sequence databases in bioinformatics application.

BIO2465 Natural Science Seminar (1)

Offers presentations and discussions of selected topics in natural sciences.  Speakers are scientists from other institutions and from the NDNU faculty and student body.  May be repeated for credit.

BIO2884 Research (1-3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L, BIO1103, BIO1103L
Provides practical experience with biological research carried out under close supervision of a faculty member. Includes experimental design, library research, laboratory work, and presentation of results. May be repeated for credit.

BIO2994 Laboratory Assistant (1-3)
Prerequisites: BIO1101, BIO1101L and permission of instructor
Provides an opportunity for Natural Science majors to earn credit assisting instructors. Three units may be used as upper-division units in the major.

BIO2997 Honors Thesis Research (2-4)
Provides a research opportunity for undergraduates who have completed all requirements for the biology major and have demonstrated outstanding promise.

BIO2999 Independent Study in Biology (1-3)
Provides an opportunity for individual study or research under the direction of an instructor. See Undergraduate Policies and Procedures section on Independent Study.