Biotechnology (H)

This course focuses on molecular biology laboratory techniques and provide an overview of the current theory and practice of biotechnology. Topics will include the scope and ethical considerations of biotechnology, laboratory research skills, microbiology, cell culture, DNA structure and analysis, bacterial transformation, plasmid purification, polymerase chain reaction, protein structure, protein production and protein analysis. In partnership with Coastal Marine Biolabs, students work with DNA and protein material in experiments culminating in the Barcode of Life’s Matrix (BLM) project, generating DNA sequences for the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD). Past cohorts have also participated in field research and ecological restoration at Santa Rosa Island. This is a capstone course, and students receive college transferable units through Moorpark College.

"Bioscience is the reason I discovered my love of research and lab work...Bioscience also gave me the basic lab skills that helped me secure a research position this semester...I already knew a lot of the techniques (spin columns, PCR, running gels, etc), so when I went to my professors about working in their research lab they already knew I had the necessary skills. This has also given me a lot more independence while working in my professor's lab, since he doesn’t have to show me how to do everything."

~ Grace Carey, Sophomore at Hamilton College, majoring in biochemistry/molecular biology.