Biology 4 (1997W)

Biology 4: Dealing With Genes

1997 Winter Term

Prof. Robert Gross

---

Welcome to the Bio 4 web site. This site contains lecture notes and links to related sites. You can email Prof. Gross directly from here. Bio 4 notes are also available for 1996.

• Course Description – description of course philosophy, text books, office hours, exams, etc.
• Lecture Schedule – schedule of lectures and links to lecture notes (as they become availalbe)
• Movies - mitosis, meiosis, protein synthesis, lac operon
• about the Term Project
• Exams
  • Bio 4 Grading Policy
  • E X A M # 1

  Exam#1 Answer Key

  Exam#1 grade distribution

  • E X A M # 2

  Exam#2 Answer Key

  Exam#2 grade distribution

  • Final Exam

  Question A (biotechnology):

  Looking Beyond the Bottom Line by David Lynch

  The Place of Morality and Government in Low Value Product Development by Jeremy Stackawitz

  The Problem of Profit: Why Should Companies Research Health Care Products For Use in Developing Nations? by Kate Ryan

  Question B (cloning):

  Animal and Human Cloning: Moral, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues by Anna Piazza

• Term Projects - selected essays
  • Ownership of Human Genes: At What Point is Discovery Rewarded? by Dom Lavalle
  • Muscular Dystrophy: a challenge to both science and ethics in the quest for a better life by Amir Nahai
  • Science and the Law: the Implications of DNA Profiling by Katie Lachter
  • Genetic Testing For Huntington's Disease by Lindsey Sternberg
  • The Biological and Ethical Questions Surrounding the Breast Cancer Genes by Tom Jawetz
  • A Blessing Or A Curse: The Social and Ethical Implications of Assisted Reproductive Technologies. by Katrina Schonheyder

Some hot news of the day from the world of science.

Some interesting questions with student answers from last year's final exam:

• Genetic Testing of Newborns (1996)
• Superwheat and Hunger (1996)

Other Sites of Interest:

• Cell and Molecular Biology Online - includes teaching of Molecular and Cell Biology
• MendelWeb - contains Mendel's original papers and data
• Cell & Genetics Glossary - contains definitions for many common terms
• Primer on Molecular Genetics
• Biosciences Resources at Harvard - many resoruces
• Online Mendelian Inheritance in Human - human genetic disorders
• BioSciences Dictionary - features an ever-growing online bioscience dictionary, staff-written educational articles about various topics in genetics, and annotated links to a wide range of relevant resources around the Internet.
• Biology teaching & Learning - A national educational program sponsored by the biotechnology industry pioneer, Genentech, Inc., that puts high school biology teachers in touch with their colleagues, scientists and critical sources of new scientific information through an online network. It contains interviews, experiments and other kinds of resources and connections.
• Human Genome Project site - contains all kinds of information related to this project.
• Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues involving the Human Genome Project are discussed at this site.
• Human Genome Project Patenting Indigenous People – The authors explore from both an ethical and an anthropological perspective, the role of indigenous people in the Human Genome Project. They argue that because of their historical position as marginalised people and their exploitation by political and corporate interests, the role of indigenous people in the Project is highly problematic. In their reflections on the Human Genome Project, the authors look further into the ethical and political issues, which include \Qinformed prior consent', protection of indigenous resources and knowledge, and cultural and moral attitudes toward the patenting of life forms.