08s-06
SELECTED TOPICS IN MODERN BIOLOGY

Satoshi OGIHARA, et al. (School of Science)

Objective
  Biology has been developing at an enormous speed for these years, and the field of interests has been expanding from basic classics to rather applied subjects that cover biochemical, bioengineering, and biomedical aspects of life. It is not a mere exaggeration to state that the coming century is the century of biology. Biology, under these ever-changing circumstances, has become more categorized and specialized so that it will meet the needs of every aspect of our society. Consequently, it has become a subject full of unfamiliar terminology, concepts, and so on, for most students. In this course, about 15 professors of the department of biological sciences, faculty of science will give lectures to the OUSSEP students every week, so that you will be exposed to a wide spectrum of today's biology. The topics will be selected and arranged in an order that the course will have sufficient coherence when it finishes. Lectures will focus on topics of biology closely related to our everyday life.

Course Schedule
  Week 1-5
    Orientation; Course design, Assignments, Speaker info.
    I. The World of plants
  Week 6
    II. Body design of living organisms
  Week 7-9
    III. Genes and molecules
  Week 10-15
    IV. How do animal bodies function?

Textbooks/Reference books
  No particular textbooks will be assigned. Handouts will be distributed at each lecture.

Grading
  Class participation 40%
  Examination/Term Paper 60%