Biology of Aging explores the molecular mechanisms regulating human aging. Topics include general biology of aging, genetics of longevity, cellular aging, human longevity, and potential interventions to modulate human aging. Emphasis will be placed on age-related diseases as well, including cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. In the laboratory component, we will examine genetic and pharmacological ways to regulate lifespan of the model organism, c. elegans.

This course explores how home and school learning environments influence the development of language and literacy skills of children ages 3-8. It examines situations in which families and schools, although utilizing different languages, dialects, and ways of communicating, can work together to enhance children's language learning. Particular attention is given to children's development of academic language -- the written and spoken language needed to understand and create texts required for success in school.

Includes theory and operation of the scanning electron microscope and preparation of biological and geological materials for observation. The versatile use of the microscope will be emphasized and will include low magnification, high resolution, and back scattered (reflected) electron modes of operation as well as operation at different pressures. Energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis will be introduced.

In the role of a participant-observer, each student studies intensively the social and personality development of the children in one classroom at the Gorse Children's Center at Stonybrook. Students learn how to articulate developmental changes and individual differences by analyzing detailed observations. Topics include social cognition, peer relationships, social skills, concepts of friendship, emotional development, identity formation, self-esteem, and the social and cultural context of development.

Students will work in teams to code videotaped observations of romantic partners discussing their relationships. Students will learn to code emotion expressions and behavior, relationship idealization, and couple synchrony at the dyadic and individual levels. Students will address issues of coding bias, construct validity, and intercoder reliability. The final project will report original quantitative analyses based on data generated during the course.

In this course, students learn to view and understand animal behavior within an evolutionary context. The mechanistic side of behavior is investigated and students explore how behavioral traits originate and evolve over time. Students will integrate their knowledge of how organisms work with an appreciation of why they work the way they do. At the end of the course, students will understand basic concepts in behavioral biology and know many of the experiments that have facilitated our understanding of this field.

This course examines the emerging field of Positive Psychology which uses science to understand and enhance positive aspects of the human experience (i.e., "the good life"). Positive Psychology stands in contrast to more traditional psychological approaches that focus on pathology. We will critically examine theory and research in Positive Psychology, including strengths and virtues, meaning in life, positive coping, authenticity, happiness, gratitude, flow, religion/spirituality, and optimism.