Office: 1150 LFSA
Email: bdknotts@eiu.edu
Phone: (217) 581-7285
Section 3: M, W, F
Office
hours: Tues.
Wed.
Thurs.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: (3-0-3) A
course for non-science majors that addresses the ethical, political, and social
implications of heredity and modern genetic technology. Basic genetic
principles as well as contemporary issues in biotechnology will be
studied. This course does not count toward the Biological Sciences major
or minor. Credit for BIO 2003G will not be granted if the student already
has credit for or registration in BIO 2093G or BIO 3200.
TEXTBOOK: Cummings, Michael (2009) Human Heredity: Principles and Issues, 8th
Edition, Cengage Learning.
ACCOMPANYING WEBSITE: http://academic.cengage.com/biology/cummings
From here, you
can access useful study aides including quizzes, electronic flashcards,
internet activities, etc. Some homework
may be assigned from this site as well.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: If you have a documented disability and wish to
discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible, or call
Disability Services at 581-6583.
ACADEMIC
DISHONESTY: Students will be expected
to complete assignments and tests on their own unless otherwise
stated. In addition, plagiarism will not be tolerated. Copying
sections of a book or article without proper referencing of the source is a
form of plagiarism. Paraphrasing ideas
or statements is also plagiarism unless the source is referenced to indicate
that it is not your own idea or interpretation.
Any instances of plagiarism or copying from another student or from any
outside source will be reported to
Judicial Affairs and the student may
receive an “F” for the course.
ABSENCES: Absentees who do not meet the requirements for
waivers laid out in the undergraduate catalog (illness, emergency, accident, or
participation in an official university activity) will be given zeros for exams
and in-class assignments; however, those with acceptable excuses will be given
make-up exams. Notify me in advance of the absence, if possible.
GRADE
DISPUTES: You will have one week to dispute the grade
received on a test or assignment. After this period, all grades become final.
You are advised to keep all tests and assignments to make sure that I
have entered your grades correctly, to keep track of your cumulative grade, and
to study them for tests and the final exam.
EXAMS
There will be four 50-minute exams and a
two-hour final exam. The fifty-minute exams will be worth 100 points
each and the final will be worth 150 points. The final will be
approximately 50% new material and 50% comprehensive. As some material builds upon information
learned earlier in the course, each exam will be comprehensive to some extent.
Each test will include multiple choice, matching, and short essay or
diagramming questions.
As stated in the undergraduate catalog,
students with three final exams on the same day may change the date of
one of the final exams with approval of the instructor. You must request a
change of date at least 5 working days prior to the first final exam period.
TEST Schedule:
TEST I (9/15), TEST 2 (10/6), TEST 3 (11/3), TEST 4 (12/1)
Final Exam: Wed. 12/17,
|
Exams: |
550 points |
75% of grade |
|
Journal: |
80 points |
11% of grade |
|
Assignments: |
100 points |
14% of grade |
|
TOTAL: |
730 points |
100% of grade |
GRADE ASSIGNMENTS:
A = 89.5-100
%, B = 79.5-89.4%, C = 69.5-79.4%, D = 60-69.4%, F = less
than 60%
NOTE:
THERE WILL NOT BE
ANY EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS OR CURVED
TESTS!
JOURNAL
You will need a three-ring
binder to keep a journal in. You
will also need loose-leaf notebook paper. The journal will be worth 11% of your
course grade.
PART 1
First, you will be
asked to collect 6 genetics-related articles from approved sources
- newspapers, magazines (National
Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Scientific American, Discover), or TV network
news sites (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, BBC).
You may use the internet versions of printed newspapers or
magazines. Scientific journals are not
allowed! Do not use unapproved
websites!
Cut out or print each article, and type a
double-spaced page containing the following:
1.
A summary of the main points in the article
2.
How the article relates to genetics
3.
How you, your community, the environment, the world, etc. might be
affected by this topic
4.
If there is an issue involved, state your position.
5.
Include the proper references to identify the source of your article
For the print version of an article:
Author 1 (Last name, First name), and Author 2 (First
name Last name). “Title of the
Article”. Title of the
magazine or newspaper, date:pages.
Splat, Jack, and Joe Schmoe. “What a Crock This Is!” Give Me a
Break Magazine,
For the on-line version of an article:
Author
1 (Last name, First name), and Author 2 (First name Last name). Date of article:pages.
“Title of the Article”. Title of the magazine, date viewed, <website address>.
Splat, Jack, and Joe Schmoe. Aug. 2008:17-21. “What a Crock This
Is!” Give Me a Break Magazine,
Due dates:
Articles 1, 2 and accompanying typed
statements (9/24)
Articles 3, 4 and accompanying typed
statements (10/22)
Articles 5, 6 and accompanying typed
statements (11/12)
PART 2
In addition to
the newspaper/magazine articles, your journal will also contain lecture
comments. After each lecture,
you should write a few sentences about that day’s lecture. Write down any questions that you had about
the material. You can also write down
any connections you could make between the day’s lecture and your
personal experiences, an article that you read, or a show that you watched, etc. These lecture comments will be turned in
at the end of that class or the beginning of the next one.
HOMEWORK and IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS
Fourteen percent of your overall course grade will come from homework assignments or in-class
exercises. Some of these assignments may require you to access my web site
at http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~bdknotts
or the web site maintained by the publishers of your textbook http://academic.cengage.com/biology/cummings
.
|
DATE |
TOPICS |
CHAPTER |
|
8/25 (M) |
Intro, syllabus, study skills, book, what is “heredity” and why should I care? |
|
|
8/27 (W) |
Issues in genetic testing |
|
|
8/29 (F) |
Issues in genetic testing,
cont., eugenics |
|
|
9/1 (M) |
Labor Day - |
|
|
9/3
(W) |
Types
of cells, cellular structures and their functions, endosymbiotic
theory, mitochondrial inheritance |
p. 18-24, Fig. 4.25 (p.90), p. 477-478 |
|
9/5 (F) |
Continuation of 9/3. |
See above
|
|
9/8 (M) |
Central Dogma: DNA →mRNA→polypeptide Protein structure/function |
Sections
9.7-9.8 (p.220-225) |
|
9/10 (W) |
How was DNA identified as the
molecule of inheritance? DNA, chromosomes, genes |
|
|
9/12 (F) |
DNA replication |
(end
of Test 1 material) |
|
9/15 (M) |
TEST 1 |
parts of |
|
9/17 (W) |
From genes to proteins
– transcription (DNA →mRNA) translation (mRNA→polypeptide) |
|
|
9/19 (F) |
Mutations: the Source of
Genetic Variation Types, sources, and
consequences of mutations |
|
|
9/22
(M) |
Continued |
|
|
9/24 (W) |
From proteins (gene
products) to phenotypes |
|
|
9/26 (F) |
Continued
|
|
|
9/29 (M) |
Cell Cycle, Mitosis, Meiosis, and Cytokinesis
|
|
|
10/1 (W) |
Human Sexual Reproduction Sperm/egg formation |
CH.
2 (p.24-39) |
|
10/3 (F) |
Fertilization and development, teratogens
|
|
|
10/6 (M) |
TEST
2
|
|
|
10/8 (W) |
Sex-determination – sex chromosomes,
genes, mutations
|
|
|
10/10 (F) |
FALL
BREAK -
|
|
|
10/13 (M) |
Continuation of sex-determination
|
|
|
10/15 (W) |
Fetal Genetic Testing , karyotypes, chromosome aberrations |
|
|
10/17 (F) |
Birth control, reproductive
technology |
|
|
10/20 (M) |
Continuation |
|
|
10/22 (W) |
Stem cells |
|
|
10/24 (F) |
Gene therapy |
|
|
10/27 (M) |
Cancer – cell cycle,
mutations, DNA repair and tumor suppressor genes, proto-oncogenes |
|
|
10/28 (W) |
Cancer, continued |
|
|
10/31 (F) |
Cancer, continued
|
|
|
11/3 (M) |
TEST
3
|
|
|
11/5 (W) |
Mendel – the father of genetics Mendel’s peas – inheritance of
single gene traits, linking genetic inheritance with chromosomal segregation
and independent assortment, Punnett Squares –
monohybrid and dihybrid crosses, dominant v.
recessive alleles
|
|
|
11/7
(F) |
Continuation |
|
|
11/10
(M) |
Other inheritance patterns
– incomplete dominance, codominance, multiple
allele inheritance, epistasis |
|
|
11/12
(W) |
Autosomal v.sex-linked
inheritance, pedigree analysis, variations in gene expression (penetrance and expressivity)
|
|
|
11/14
(F) |
Interactions of genes and
environmental factors |
|
|
11/17
(M) |
DNA Technology (recombinant
DNA, PCR, DNA sequencing, genetic profiles) |
|
|
11/19
(W) |
Continuation |
|
|
11/21
(F) |
Paternity testing –
blood typing v. DNA fingerprinting |
(end of Test 4 material)
|
|
11/24-11/28 |
THANKSGIVING BREAK |
|
|
12/1 (M) |
TEST 4 |
CH. 3, 4, 5, and parts of 13 and 14
|
|
12/3
(W) |
Cloning organisms |
|
|
12/5
(F) |
GMOs (agriculture, medicine, research) |
|
|
12/8
(M) |
Human Genome Project |
|
|
12/10
(W) |
Genetics and evolution |
|
|
12/12
(F) |
Continuation |
|
|
12/17 (Wed.) |
FINAL EXAM: |
about 50% new, 50% comprehensive
|