BIO 1: Human Evolution and Environment
Human genetic and cultural evolution and how people interact with their environments, from the ancestors of Australopithecus to current events. Issues include race, gender, and intelligence; pesticide and antibiotic resistance; abortion and contraception; ecosystem services; environmental economics and ethics; the evolution of religion; climate change; population growth and overconsumption; origins and spread of ideas and technologies; and the distribution of political and economic power.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
Instructors:
Ehrlich, P. (PI)
BIO 2: Current Research Topics in Biology
Primarily for sophomores interested in majoring in Biology. Weekly seminars by faculty: molecular biology and genetics; theory and mathematics in biology; ecology, physiology, and the environment; molecular and cellular aspects of neurobiology, immunology, and developmental biology; biological chemistry; behavioral biology; and evolution. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors:
Lee, A. (PI)
BIO 10SC: Natural History, Marine Biology, and Research
The biology of Monterey Bay and the coastal mountains and redwood forests of Big Sur. Literary, artistic, and political history. Topics: conservation, sanctuary, and stewardship of the oceans and coastal lands. Meetings with conservationists, authors, environmentalists, politicians, land-use planners, lawyers, scientists, and educators.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Thompson, S. (PI)
BIO 11N: Biotechnology in Everyday Life
Preference to freshmen. The science that makes transgenic plants and animals possible. Current and future applications of biotechnology and the ethical issues raised.
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
BIO 13N: Environmental Problems and Solutions
Preference to freshmen. Students do independent investigations of current environmental problems, analyzing differing views of them and discussing possible solutions. Each student gives two seminar presentations and leads two seminar discussions. Short, documented position papers are written for policy makers.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
Instructors:
Ehrlich, P. (PI)
BIO 14N: Plants and Civilization
Preference to freshmen. The role of plants in the development of civilization. Topics: the use of forests, woodlands, and grazing lands; centers of origins and spread of crops; viticulture, and wine and beer making; the spice route and the age of exploration; the use of plants as medicine; the global spread of weeds; engineering plants for the future; the importance of tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar, potatoes, natural dyes, and rubber in societal affairs and change.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
Instructors:
Mooney, H. (PI)
BIO 15N: Environmental Literacy
Preference to freshmen. Lack of public understanding of the details of most environmental problems is cited as a cause of environmental deterioration. Good citizenship requires literacy about the elements of the scientific and decision making processes that accompany most environmental issues: what can happen, what are the odds, how can the credibility of sources of expertise be assessed, which components of environmental debates deal with factual and theoretical issues, and which are political value judgments?
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA, Writing 2
Instructors:
Schneider, S. (PI)
BIO 16N: Island Ecology
Preference to freshmen. How ecologists think about the world. Focus is on the Hawaiian Islands: origin, geology, climate, evolution and ecology of flora and fauna, and ecosystems. The reasons for the concentration of threatened and endangered species in Hawaii, the scientific basis for their protection and recovery. How knowledge of island ecosystems can contribute to ecology and conservation biology on continents.
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
BIO 20: Introduction to Brain and Behavior (HUMBIO 21)
Evolutionary principles to understand how the brain regulates behavior, described in physiological terms, and is influenced by behavioral interactions. Topics include neuron structure and function, transmission of neural information, anatomy and physiology of sensory and motor systems, regulation of body states, the biological basis of learning and memory, and behavioral abnormalities.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
Instructors:
Fernald, R. (PI)
BIO 23N: Microbes, Mysteries, and Metagenomics
Preference to freshmen. Microbes, the unseen majority in the world, but only in the last decades have methods been developed to investigate their diversity. How are these new technologies shaping appreciation of microbial diversity? Discoveries in genomics and metagenomics, and the interfaces among bioinformatics, evolutionary biology, and synthetic biology. Emphasis is on microbes in the environment and current ability to dissect the interactions of ubiquitous and complex microbial communities.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
Instructors:
Bhaya, D. (PI)
Filter Results: