From DNA to Human Complexity

This lecture and lab course will acquaint non-biology majors with modern molecular biology focusing on topics of current interest to society. The course covers fundamental topics such as information storage and readout by DNA, RNA and proteins. The course addresses how recent scientific advances influence issues relevant to humanity including stem cells and CRISPR; the human microbiome and bacterial pathogens; vaccines and the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; how a single cell contains all the necessary instructions to build a complex multicellular organism; and how the human genome can be used to understand the evolution of modern humans.