In the laboratory, students examine monerans, protists, fungi, plants, and animals, both living and preserved. This is an introductory course in modern biology. Fundamental biological principles are studied and applied to an appreciation of the organization and operation of human beings. Laboratory exercises include dissection of specimens such as the frog and fetal pig and examination of prepared slides of many vertebrate organs and tissues. Laboratories include the microscopic and the macroscopic study of systems through examination of histological preparations and dissection of shark and cat.
Emphasis is placed on the application of genetic principles to human health and disease.
The laboratory consists of genetic breeding analyses using fruit flies, corn, and bacteria and includes exercises in human heredity. This course examines the interaction of organisms with the environment. It includes the principles of classification, evolution, and genetics, which are used as a basis for population studies. In the laboratory, students examine the morphology, behavior, and physiology of representatives of the five kingdoms of organisms and formulate and test hypotheses about the organisms' interrelationships. Assigned scientific articles are discussed and analyzed in recitation.