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Preference to sophomores. Focus is on human genetics; also assisted reproduction and neuroscience. Topics include forensic use of DNA, genetic testing, genetic discrimination, eugenics, cloning, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, neuroscientific methods of lie detection, and genetic or neuroscience enhancement. Student presentations on research paper conclusions.

We will use science, from both a historical and modern perspective, as a lens to investigate the ongoing legal decisions and ethical debates surrounding fetal life: Should an embryo in a dish have the same rights as a child? When does life begin or when does a fetus become a person? How does abortion save lives? Is birth control abortion? Should we genetically engineer our children? What is an extrauterine child? In this course you will be tasked with thinking deeply about these, and many other, questions and will gain two critically important skills: 1. A deep understanding of reproductive biology and 2. The ability to use science to guide legal, ethical and moral dilemmas. These two skills are critical toward framing your own perspective of reproductive justice and will allow you to fully engage in the modern discourse.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) is perhaps the cruelest of the neurodegenerative diseases. Relentlessly progressive, the premature degeneration and then loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain result in loss of mobility, dexterity, speech and swallowing. Patients become wheelchair-bound, and later, bedbound. They lose their capacity to communicate, eat, or breathe on their own. But there is hope: new discoveries have emerged and are leading to the development of innovative new therapies to help slow down and hopefully stop ALS. We will explore what causes ALS, how discovering ALS genes are leading to new gene-targeted treatments, how brain-machine interface technology is changing the lives of people living with ALS, how AI is joining the fight for new treatments, and discuss the latest challenges and opportunities. We will meet leading ALS researchers, doctors, biotech leaders, and biotech investors / venture capitalists, including field trips to a local biotech company to learn about ALS translational research and to a neuropathology lab to see first-hand what ALS pathology looks like. We will work together to come up with new project ideas and students will end the Introductory Seminar with a better understanding of the ALS field, how discoveries are being translated into new medicines and companies, and ways they can potentially contribute to research efforts. The lessons we learn about ALS will likely be applicable to other age-related neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. 

What is AI and why is it sometimes biased ? How will AI affect medicine to help us but also what are the conditions in which it may harm us. 95% of single-gene diseases we know of have no effective treatment yet if we change a defective one how might that affect a species in the long term ? Is DNA 'the code of life?' Or is the 'code of life' the whole living organism in its complex, dynamic relationship with its environment? Will Earth one day be populated by beings who are different from us in their cognitive and physical abilities. This course will look at the intersection of AI and Genetics to analyze advances that could be made but also ethical questions that should be asked. The course is designed to be accessible to many disciplines and there are no pre-requisites.

How are healthcare startups financed? Venture funds invest in risky companies but how do they themselves get funded, and how do they evaluate companies? How do company founders prepare for capital raising? How does intellectual property play? We explain both from the investor and founder viewpoints to analyze how to a) start a venture capital fund; b) present a healthcare company to a venture fund. We discuss financial frameworks specifically for the healthcare sector and how it differs to other segments. Additionally, guest lectures from venture capitalists, angel investors, and company founders will explain their respective perspectives.

Longevity covers therapeutics, robotics, and fintech. Yet as an emerging industry how do these get financed when they are so risky? How should venture firms evaluate longevity companies and how should founders attract investors and employees? This course will look at these questions specifically as applied to longevity, uniquely from the investor, scientist, and the founder viewpoint. After providing a foundation to the field we will interact with guest lectures from investors, scientists and company founders who can explain their respective perspectives. The course will cover finance and science aspects of longevity though no pre-requisites are expected.

Is aging another disease that can be ultimately cured? We will look at the biology of aging, transitioning from the molecular level through to the cellular and systems level. What are age-related diseases, can lifespan be extended and are centenarians different? Additionally how can artificial intelligence create robotic and software assistants as we get older and is living forever is possible in any form ? Topics will include: molecular theories of aging, impact of oxidative stress, age-related diseases, artificial intelligence for longevity, and innovations to improve the quality of life as we age.

How are healthcare startups financed? Venture funds invest in risky companies but how do they themselves get funded, and how do they evaluate companies? How do company founders prepare for capital raising? How does intellectual property play? We explain both from the investor and founder viewpoints to analyze how to a) start a venture capital fund; b) present a healthcare company to a venture fund. We discuss financial frameworks specifically for the healthcare sector and how it differs to other segments. Additionally, guest lectures from venture capitalists, angel investors, and company founders will explain their respective perspectives.

Longevity covers therapeutics, robotics, and fintech. Yet as an emerging industry how do these get financed when they are so risky? How should venture firms evaluate longevity companies and how should founders attract investors and employees? This course will look at these questions specifically as applied to longevity, uniquely from the investor, scientist, and the founder viewpoint. After providing a foundation to the field we will interact with guest lectures from investors, scientists and company founders who can explain their respective perspectives. The course will cover finance and science aspects of longevity though no pre-requisites are expected.