Biology 159Y - FROM ENVRNMNT TO EMBRYO

This yearlong research-based lecture-laboratory course exposes students to fundamental concepts across the natural and life sciences through interdisciplinary research. Cannot be repeated for credit. Course only open to first-year students. Enrollment limit of 18 students. Fall: 1 credit; spring: 4 credits; 5 credits total. (E) Does hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" pose any environmental danger? In the fall students will read and discuss all aspects of fracking from the politics to the science, and then engage in laboratory research the following spring semester. Students collect samples at actual fracking sites, and analyze the chemical nature of these samples in the Center for Geochemistry. Using molecular and microscopy techniques, students design experiments using the zebrafish model system to investigate whether their collected compounds can cause malformations in a variety of developing systems such as cardiovascular, nervous and muscular tissues. Lastly, students generate video narratives presenting their experimental design and novel results that will be publicly disseminated.

Limited to first-years