Biology Course Structure

MOLECULAR and CELLULAR BIOLOGY—33%

This branch of biology studies how molecules control all processes and growth of the cell, the basic unit of life.

Chemical composition of organisms:

• Simple chemical reactions and bonds
• Properties of water
• Chemical structure of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids
• Origin of life

Cells:

• Structure and function of cell organelles
• Properties of cell membranes
• Comparison of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells (bacteria, plant and animal)

Enzymes:

• Enzyme-substrate complex
• Roles of coenzymes
• Inorganic cofactors
• Inhibition and regulation of enzymes

Energy transformations: 

• Glycolysis, cellular respiration, anaerobic pathways
• Photosynthesis

Cell division:

• Structure of chromosomes
• Mitosis, meiosis, and cytokinesis in plants and animals

Chemical nature of the gene:

• Watson-Crick model of nucleic acids
• DNA replication
• Mutations
• Control of protein synthesis: transcription, translation, posttranscriptional processing
• Structural and regulatory genes
• Transformation
• Viruses

ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY—34%

The study of the structure, function, ecology, and evolution at the level of the organism; an individual form of life such as a bacterium, plant, or animal.

Structure and function in plants with emphasis on Angiosperms:

• Root, stem, leaf, flower, seed, fruit
• Water and mineral absorption and transport
• Food translocation and storage

Plant reproduction and development:

• Alternation of generation cycles in ferns, conifers, and Angiosperms
• Gamete formation and fertilization
• Growth and development: hormonal control
• Tropisms and photoperiodicity

Structure and function in animals with emphasis on vertebrates:

• Major systems ( digestive, gas exchange, skeletal, nervous, circulatory, excretory, immune)
• Homeostatic mechanisms
• Hormonal control in homeostasis and reproduction

Animal reproduction and development:

• Gamete formation, fertilization
• Cleavage, gastrulation, germ layer formation, differentiation of organ systems
• Experimental analysis of vertebrate development
• Extraembryonic membranes of vertebrates
• Formation and function of the mammalian placenta
• Blood circulation in the human embryo

Principles of heredity:

• Mendelian inheritance patterns (dominance, segregation, independent assortment)
• Chromosomal basis of inheritance
• Linkage, including sex-linked traits (hemophilia, colorblindness)
• Polygenic inheritance (height, weight, skin color)

POPULATION BIOLOGY—33%

The study of a group of individuals of the same species that have a high probability of interacting with each other; especially the growth and regulation of the population size, genetics, demography, and life history evolution of the population.

Principles of ecology:

• Energy flow and productivity in ecosystems
• Biogeochemical cycles (water, nitrogen, carbon)
• Population growth and regulation (natality, mortality, competition, migration, density, r- and K-selection)
• Community structure, growth, regulation (major biomes and succession)
• Habitat (biotic and abiotic factors)
• Concept of niche
• Island biogeography
• Evolutionary ecology (life-history strategies, altruism, kin selection)

Principles of evolution:

• History of evolutionary concepts
• Concepts of natural selection (differential reproduction, mutation, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, speciation, punctuated equilibrium)
• Adaptive radiation
• Major features of plant and animal evolution
• Concepts of homology and analogy
• Convergence, extinction, balanced polymorphism, genetic drift
• Classification of living organisms (taxonomy)
• The evolutionary history of humans

Principles of behavior:

• Stereotyped, learned social behavior
• Societies (emphasis on insects, birds, primates)

Social biology:

• Human population growth (age composition, birth and fertility rates, the theory of demographic transition)
• Human intervention in the natural world (management of resources, environmental pollution)
• Biomedical progress (control of human reproduction, genetic engineering)