Module: 2
Sponsoring Program: Tetrad
Administrator: Danny Dam

STUDY LIST INFORMATION
Course Number: Biochem 210
Course Name: Modern Approaches to Evolution
Units: 3
Grading Option: S/U
Course Director: Sandy Johnson, David Booth

MORE COURSE INFORMATION
Dates: April 22-May 3
Campus: MB
Location: GH S202
Schedule: M-F, 2:00pm-4:00pm
Minimum Class Size: 3
Maximum Class Size: 12
Prerequisite:  A working knowledge of molecular biology.

Note:  This course is open to 1st Year Students only.  
With the recent 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species," it seems an especially appropriate time to consider how cells evolve. We will begin with selections from Darwin but will focus on a series of recent papers examining molecular mechanisms of evolution. We will discuss the contention that "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" by considering specific examples where evolutionary studies have provided insight into the workings of modern cells. Topics will include how gene duplication and divergence work, how changes in gene regulation can provide evolutionary novelty ('evo-devo'), how the re creation and study of extinct molecules in the lab can be used to test specific hypotheses, and how genome-wide studies have deepened our understanding of evolution.