Science Electives - Biology

Anatomy and physiology is a course that will enable students to develop an understanding of the relationships between the structures and functions of the human body. Topics include: skeletal, muscular, nervous, integumentary, digestive, circulatory, respiratory, endocrine and excretory systems. Related units include the eye and vision, the ear and hearing/equilibrium, food and nutrition, as well as diseases and disorders of the human body. Laboratory experiences will culminate in an opportunity to participate in dissection of mammalian systems.

This course is designed to introduce students to the scientific principles and laboratory techniques of molecular biology, biotechnology, and biotechnology applications in the medical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries. Students should have understanding and strong interest in DNA, gene expression, and genetics. Course topics include the history of biotechnology, DNA sequencing, human health and infectious disease, personal genomics, genetic disorders, genetically modified organisms, agriculture and plant biotechnology, bacterial culturing and transformation, protein purification, drug discovery, forensic applications of biotechnology, and bioethics. Discussions of technical, ethical, and safety concerns presented by medical, agricultural, pharmaceutical industries will also be included.

Students will participate in the Amgen Biotechnology Experience which explores the methods scientists use to create biotechnology medicines by genetically engineering bacteria to produce red fluorescent protein isolated from sea anemones. Upon completion of the course, students will have learned and acquired laboratory skills in molecular biology, including gel electrophoresis, gene cloning, plasmid ligation, bacterial transformation, protein purification and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Students will be exposed to various biotechnology-related careers through guest-speakers and field trips.

The curriculum is centered round the following big ideas:

• Evolution - The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.

• Cellular Processes - Energy and Communication - Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.

• Genetics and Information Transfer - Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.

• Interactions - Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.

This course explores the fascinating world of vertebrates and their behavior. Throughout the course, the behavior, anatomy and physiology of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals will be traced. Within each of these animal classes habitat selection, feeding, predator-avoidance behavior, mating and reproduction, animal communication, social organization, cooperation, and tool use will be studied. By understanding vertebrate behavior, we are better able to understand our own. Experiments that involve behavioral topics may be individually designed based upon topics of high interest. Dissections of fish, reptiles, birds and mammals will allow for analyzing the form and function of anatomy. This topic also introduces contemporary advances in biomimicry; the budding field of technology that emulates nature’s successes and applies it to human innovation.

Field studies, experimentation design, and dissections allow for a hands- on and project based approach. Activities may include observing Terrapin’s hatching in the fall, tracking local mammals in the winter, or designing field experiments to observe amphibians of the Outer Cape in the springtime. This course will deepen students’ understanding of how the animal world intersects with ours.