COURSE OVERVIEW

Instructor: Erik Herzog

Teaching assistant: Seol Hee Im

Lecture: Tues., Thurs. 8:30 -10:00 a.m. Life Sciences 118

Office hours: TBA

Online Syllabus or pdf file

Readings: Available through the course website.

Assignments: Written assignments follow most lectures to prepare you for the exams.

Experiment: You will document your biological rhythms in a short scientific paper.

Final paper: You will critique a recent paper in a minireview of a hot topic in chronobiology.

Class attendance: Much of the material will be covered only in lecture.

Homeworks 1-16 are graded on a 6 point scale (0=0% correct to 6=100% correct), except HW 11 (Experiment data entry and analysis) which is worth 10 points.  The median grade is ~ B.

Objectives
Students in Biological Clocks should have 3 major objectives: 1) to learn about the molecules, cells, and systems of biological timing systems, 2) to master reading scientific literature with a critical eye and 3) to execute and interpret an experiment on human biological rhythms.  BIO 4031 students will work additionally on scientific writing skills.

Overview
Biological clocks are the endogenous oscillators that coordinate physiological and behavioral rhythms in nearly all organisms.  This course examines how these rhythms are generated and regulated at the molecular, cellular and systems levels.  We will cover the relevance of biological timing to the ecology and health of everything from protozoans to plants to people.