BME5: Introduction to Biotechnology

Wendy Rothwell, Ph.D. (Rothwell-Lopez)                                                 Winter 2009

rothwell@soe.ucsc.edu                                                                                   MWF 8:00 am-9:10 am

Office Hours: 9:30-10:30am MWF in 405A PSB                                          Oaks Acad 105

Office Phone: (831) 459-1623

Course Description

Lecture course providing an introduction to the tools and applications of biotechnology in the fields of medicine, agriculture, the environment and industry.

TA and Discussion Sections (attendance is not mandatory)

TA office hours, contact info TBA

Section            Class #            Day                 Time                           Location

1A                   45276              M                     3:30-4:40pm                Engineering 2 room 194

1B                   45277              T                      8:00-9:10am                Engineering 2 room 194

Text and other sources

Text: Introduction to Biotechnology second edition, Thieman and Palladino (2009) (available on reserve in the Science and Engineering library)

Companion website (Bookmark this!): http://wps.aw.com/bc_palladino_biotech_2/

WebCT account: see WebCT Instructions at the end of the syllabus.

National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Grading

Grades will be based on performance on 8 homework assignments (lowest score of 9 dropped), 2 exams and one research paper describing a newly developed biotechnology approach or tool. Weighting of each component in the grade is shown below.

assignment      number            points each      total points      % of grade

Homework      8                      10                    80                    40%

Exams             2                      50                    100                  50%

Paper*             1                      20                    20                    10%

                                                                        200

* Please refer to the Paper Handout (available on WebCT) for details regarding format, etc.

Note*** add 5 points extra credit if all homework assignments are turned in.

Homework assignments are due every Monday at the start of class.

The final exam is not comprehensive and will be given on Tuesday, March 17 from 4-7pm in Oaks Acad 105.

I don’t expect to grade on a curve. I’ll wait until I see the final scores to make that assessment, though. I will not, however, pass anyone who earns fewer than 60% of the total points.

Course Organization

As I give the lectures I will be filling in lecture outlines that have been previously prepared.

Copies of each of these outlines will be made available on the WebCT course Website prior to each lecture and will be formatted such that students can fill them in with the information as I lecture. Therefore, it will be important for students to have these printed out and ready to fill in at the start of each lecture.

Whenever possible I will use figures from your text in my lectures. However, on many occasions I will be using other sources from the Web and I may also utilize handouts. Links to the Web sources will be provided within the text in each lecture outline. Handouts, if I use them, will be made available on the WebCT course Website.

Exams

The format of the exams will include short answer, matching, true-false and multiple choice questions. No scantrons or bluebooks will be needed. Also, no electronic devices (calculators, etc) will be needed or allowed. Bring 2 sharp pencils with erasers.

No make-up exams will be provided. Therefore, you may want to give yourself extra time to get to school on exam days (in case something happens on the way to school).

Disability Resource Center (DRC) Accommodations

Anyone needing DRC accommodations needs to let me know, and submit an Accommodation Authorization as early in the quarter as possible in order to ensure enough time to set up the accommodations. Contact DRC at 459-2089 (voice), 459-4806 (TTY).

Academic Integrity

Behaviors considered to constitute academic misconduct (cheating, plagiarism, or aiding others in cheating) will be taken very seriously and will result in anything from a zero score on the assignment to failing the class. The “Official University Policy on Academic Integrity” can be found at http://www.ucsc.edu/academics/academic_integrity/undergraduate_students/

Note that plagiarism means the act of presenting someone else’s words/ideas as your own. This involves not only taking text, word-for-word from another source but also includes moving words around to make a “new” set of sentences based on someone else’s text = paraphrasing. Failing to reference the source of findings described within a publication is another form of plagiarism.

Excellent information regarding plagiarism, what it is and how it can be avoided can be found at: Indiana University Writing Tutorial Services. I urge you all to visit this site.

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml#plagiarized

Lecture Schedule (subject to change with fair notice)

W (1/7)            The History, Promise and Challenges of Biotechnology (Lecture 1)

F (1/9)             Lecture 1 continued

M (1/12)          Genes, Genomes, Chromosomes and Cells (Lecture 2)

W (1/14)          Lecture 2 continued

F (1/16)           Lecture 2 continued

M (1/19)          Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday (Holiday)

W (1/21)          Recombinant DNA Technology and PCR (Lecture 3)

F (1/23)           Lecture 3 continued

M (1/26)          Lecture 3 continued

W (1/28)          Producing and Isolating Proteins (Lecture 4)

F (1/30)           Lecture 4 continued

M (2/2)            Microbial Biotechnology (Lecture 5)

W (2/4)            Lecture 5 continued

F (2/6)             Lecture 5 continued

M (2/9)            Exam 1 (covers information through 2/4 lecture)

W (2/11)          Engineering Plants and Animals (Lecture 6)

F (2/13)           Lecture 6 continued

M (2/16)          Presidents’ Day (Holiday)

W (2/18)          Lecture 6 continued

F (2/20)           Biotechnology and the Environment (Lecture 7)

M (2/23)          Aquatic Biotechnology (Lecture 8)

W (2/25)          Medical Biotechnology I: Diagnosis and Treatment of Disease (Lecture 9)

F (2/27)           Lecture 9 continued

M (3/2)            Lecture 9 continued Research Paper Due

W (3/4)            Medical Biotechnology II: Regenerative Medicine and Bioethics (Lecture 10)

F (3/6)             Lecture 10 continued

M (3/9)            Lecture 10 continued

W (3/11)          Lecture 10 continued

F (3/13)           Biotechnology Regulation (Lecture 11)

T (3/17)           Final Exam from 4-7pm in Oaks Acad 105

WebCT Login Instructions

Go to http://ic.ucsc.edu/services/learning_management_system/

Login to WebCT using the same user ID and password as the ones used for your campus email account. Note that you will not have access to the WebCT account if you are not registered for the class.

Further instructions and help, if needed, can be obtained from the login guide (http://ic.ucsc.edu/services/learning_management_system/student_info.php) or by contacting me at rothwell@soe.ucsc.edu.