BIOL 200 - Cell Biology

Cells are the foundational organizing units of all life on our planet. In this course, we study the ways in which these nanomachines use the shapes and interactions of molecules to store and convert information, energy, and mass, and to communicate with their environments. The workings of single-celled bacteria to multicellular organisms, and the complex behaviors of multi-species ecosystems all depend on the working of these miniscule molecular gears packed inside cells. This course covers the structures and behavior of biological molecules, the metabolic reactions that power life, the properties of the fluid, complex membranes that organize biological molecules in space and time, the ways in which information is sent and received within and between cells, and molecular-scale understandings of health and disease processes. Three lecture hours each week. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 190; and CHEM 112 or CHEM 115 Offered every semester. (4 Credits)