BIOL 297 - Topics in Biology

Credits: 3 or 4 in fall or winter; 4 in spring Prerequisites vary with topic. Topics vary with instructor and term. Repeatable for credit if topics are different.

Spring 2020, BIOL 297-01: Topics in Biology: Urban Ecology (3).  Bleicher.

Winter 2021, BIOL 297A-01: Topics in Biology: Evolutionary Medicine (3). Prerequisites: BIOL 220. Analyzing human health through the lens of evolutionary biology can lead to a better understanding of disease and improved patient outcomes. Humans and the pathogens that infect us share a long coevolutionary history, and the results of treatment often depend critically upon the trajectories of within-host pathogen evolution. Modern genomic sequencing has begun to impact us all by probing the communities of microbes that dwell within us and moving medicine toward treatments tailored to our individual genomic makeups. Through case studies and the scientific literature, we will explore topics in evolutionary medicine including: the evolution of the human microbiome; human-pathogen coevolution; the evolution of drug resistance and evolutionary strategies for avoiding resistance; recent human evolution; aging; cancer; and human genomics and personalized medicine. Sackman.

Winter 2021, BIOL 297B-01: Topics in Biology: Zoology (3). Prerequisites: BIOL 111 and BIOL 113. Form and function of animals with emphasis on evolution and ecology of major invertebrate and vertebrate groups. Hurd.