The Human Genome: BME80H/Biology80H
Instructor: Wendy Rothwell, Ph.D. (Rothwell-Lopez) Time: TR 2:00-3:45pm
Office: 405A Physical Sciences Building (PSB) Location: Classroom Unit 2
Office Hours: 12:15-1:15pm T Th
Phone: (831) 459-1623
email: rothwell@soe.ucsc.edu
Course Description
BME/Biology 80H is a course in human genetics designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the inheritance of human traits and the biological processes involved. This course also addresses the areas of molecular genetics, genetic engineering, and cloning while considering the ethical, legal and social implications of each.
Text/Other Sources
Required Text: Michael R. Cummings, Human Heredity: Principles and Issues, 7th edition
WebCT Course Website: see WebCT Instructions at the end of the syllabus.
Electronic Reserves (Eres): http://eres.ucsc.edu/ (password = humano)
Human Genome Project Information: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/
Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim/
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
There will also be lists of links associated with the lectures for further information on specific topics.
Grading
The final grade will be based on performance on 3 exams, 4 homework assignments and a short research paper. The weighting of each component in the grade is shown below.
# points each total points % of grade
Exams 3 50 150 50
Homeworks 4 25 100 33
*Paper 1 50 50 17
total 300 100
Each exam will cover ~1/3 of the course material. The final exam will not be comprehensive and will be given on Tuesday, 6/10 from 12:00-3:00pm in Classroom Unit 2
* see paper handout, available on WebCT and Eres, for further information.
Course Organization
As I give the lectures I will be filling in lecture outlines that have been previously prepared.
Copies of each of these outlines will be made available on the WebCT course Website (and Eres)
prior to each lecture and will be formatted such that students can fill them in with the information as I lecture. Therefore, it will be important for students to have these printed out and ready to fill in at the start of each lecture.
Whenever possible I will use figures from your text in my lectures. However, on many occasions I will be using other sources from the Web and from handouts I have prepared. Web sources will be provided on the WebCT course Website (and Eres) included in a list of links for each lecture. Handouts will also be made available on the WebCT course Website and through Eres. Students should be sure to print out the appropriate handouts and bring them to the lectures.
Exams
The format of the exams will include short answer, matching, true-false and multiple choice questions. No scantrons or bluebooks will be needed. Also, no electronic devices (calculators, etc) will be needed or allowed. Bring 2 sharp pencils with erasers.
No make-ups will be provided. If an exam is missed, its score will be replaced by the lowest of the other two exam scores minus 10%.
Disability Resource Center (DRC) Accommodations
Anyone needing DRC accommodations needs to let me know, and submit an Accommodation Authorization as early in the quarter as possible in order to ensure enough time to set up the accommodations. Contact DRC at 459-2089 (voice), 459-4806 (TTY).
Academic Integrity
Behaviors considered to constitute academic misconduct (cheating, plagiarism, or aiding others in cheating) will be taken very seriously and will result in anything from a zero score on the assignment to failing the class. The “Official University Policy on Academic Integrity” can be found at http://www.ucsc.edu/academics/academic_integrity/undergraduate_students/
Note that plagiarism means the act of presenting someone else’s words/ideas as your own. This involves not only taking text, word-for-word from another source but also includes moving words around to make a “new” set of sentences based on someone else’s text = paraphrasing. Failing to reference the source of findings described within a publication is another form of plagiarism.
Excellent information regarding plagiarism, what it is and how it can be avoided can be found at: Indiana University Writing Tutorial Services. I urge you all to visit this site.
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml#plagiarized
Lecture Schedule (subject to change)
4/01 (Tues) : L1 Course Introduction, History of Human Genetics, Future Perspectives (ch. 1, p 7-14; links)
4/03 (Thurs) : L1 continued
4/08 (Tues) : L2 and L3 Mendelian Genetics (ch. 3, p. 42-52)
4/10 (Thurs): L4 Introduction to Genomes, Chromosomes, and Genes; Biology explains what Mendel saw (ch. 1, p. 3-4; ch. 2, p. 24-36; ch. 3, p. 52-53; ch. 6, p. 121-123)
4/15 (Tues): L5 Exceptions to the Rules (ch. 3, p. 52-53; ch. 17, p. 394-396; ch2 p. 23; ch 4, p. 78-79, 84-85; ch. 15, p. 344-346)
4/17 (Thurs): L5 continued
Homework #1 due
Research Paper Topic due
4/22 (Tues): L6 Pedigree Analysis, Following Traits in Humans (ch. 3 p. 57-59, ch. 4 p. 66- 88; ch. 5 p. 110)
4/24 (Thurs): L7 Polygenes and Multifactorial Inheritance (ch 5, p 94-115; ch. 18, p 427-428)
4/29 (Tues): 1st Midterm Exam (covers information through Tues, 4/22 lecture)
5/01 (Thurs): L8 Cytogenetics, Chromosomal Aberrations and Human Disease (ch 7 p. 156-157; ch 6 p.120-145)
5/06 (Tues): L8 continued
Homework #2 due
5/08 (Thurs): L9 Development and Sex Determination (ch 7 p. 164-174, ch 11 p. 262)
5/13 (Tues): L10 The Structure of DNA and Chromosomes (ch 8 p. 178-193)
5/15 (Thurs): L11 DNA Replication and Gene Expression (ch 8 p. 192-193, ch 9 p. 198-213, ch 10 p. 221-225)
Homework #3 due
5/20 (Tues): L12 Recombinant DNA Technology and Molecular Techniques (ch. 13 p. 294-311)
5/22 (Thurs): 2nd Midterm Exam (covers information from 4/24-5/15 lectures)
5/27 (Tues): L12 continued
5/29 (Thurs): L13 Gene Therapy, Genetic Engineering and Cloning (ch 13 p. 291-294, ch 14 p. 314-324, ch 18 p. 413-414, ch 16 p. 372-376)
Homework #4 due
6/03 (Tues): L13 continued
Research Paper due
6/05 (Thurs): L14 Understanding the Human Genome (ch. 14 p. 326-327, 331-333; ch. 15. p. 345-359)
6/10 (Tues): Final Exam (covers information from 5/20 on) from 12:00-3:00pm in Classroom Unit 2
WebCT Login Instructions
Go to http://ic.ucsc.edu/services/learning_management_system/login.php (instructions/information about WebCT)
Click on the Check Browser button and make sure that your system will support WebCT. If not, make the necessary alterations (contact me if you have difficulty with this)
Login to WebCT using the same user ID and password as the ones used for your campus email account. Note that you will not have access to the WebCT account if you are not registered for the class.
Further instructions and help, if needed, can be obtained from the login guide (http://ic.ucsc.edu/services/learning_management_system/student_info.php) or by contacting me at rothwell@soe.ucsc.edu.
Note that an Electronic Reserves (Eres) page is also set up for this course and should have all of the materials presented on WebCT.