This seminar course develops effective analysis, presentation and discussion skills required of science majors by exploring one neuroscience topic in detail.

This seminar course develops effective analysis, presentation and discussion skills required of science majors by exploring one neuroscience topic in detail.

An introduction to the principles of developmental biology, particulary of animals, including genetic and environmental control of development at the molecular, cellular, and physiological levels.

Advanced study on how animals use sensory abilities to communicate, navigate, and detect prey, predators and mates. Focus will be on extreme and unusual sensory systems such as echolocation, electroreception, and magnetoreception, as well as vision, smell, touch, and hearing.

This survey course examines the population dynamics and equlibria of genes in nuclei, chloroplasts and mitochondria. Emphasis will be on biological relevance (in plants, animals, and micro-organisms), but some theoretical derivations will also be introduced.

A survey of theories and mechanisms of immunity including: nature of antigens and antibodies, antigen-antibody reactions, immunocompetent cells, immunogenetics, allergic reactions, tumor immunology and transplantation immunology.

This course will examine the pathogenic mechanisms used by bacteria to cause human disease. Bacterial virulence factors & host susceptibility factors will be discussed, with an emphasis on understanding the techniques that can be used to identify these traits in newly emerging pathogens.

This course provides an introduction to the fields of sleep and circadian rhythms including the underlying neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and the molecular and genetic underpinnings of sleep and circadian behaviors. The medical and societal relevance of these areas will also be emphasized. Considerable time will be spent reading and analyzing the primary literature in these fields, including student presentations of selected articles.

Pollinators have tremendous agricultural and societal value, and to a neuroscientist, they showcase principles of cognition in the real world. Pollinator species present exquisite examples of co-evolution, physiological and dietary specialization, navigation in complex landscapes, collective decision-making processes, and the behavioral consequences of environmental toxins and disease.

An introduction to computer analysis of macromolecular structure information. This course describes how to access, process, and interpret structural information regarding biological macromolecules as a guide to experiments in biology.