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ZOOLOGY 370

GENERAL MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

3 credits.

Develop a broad understanding of how life works at the molecular level. Covers structure, chemistry, and functions of macromolecules, focusing primarily on how nucleic acids carry out their central roles in cells, rather than transmission genetics. Other topics include the governing principles by which life evolved, functions, and is organized; the experimental methods used to study these processes; and the historical context for our understanding of them. In other words: soup-to-nuts of nucleic acid biology and chemistry.

Topics

Topics explicitly listed in official catalogue description

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: ( ZOOLOGY/BIOLOGY 101 , ZOOLOGY/BIOLOGY/BOTANY 151 , or BIOCORE 383 ) and ( CHEM 104 , 109 , or 116 ) Course Designation: Core GenEd - Natural Science & Wellness Breadth - Biological Science Level - Intermediate L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Describe the molecular basis of life and the relationship between the structure and function of biological macromolecules Audience: Undergraduate 2. Explain the means by which genetic information is stored and organized in biological cells. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Explain the means by which the genetic information is replicated. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Explain how information is transformed from the genetic code to structural and catalytic molecular forms. Audience: Undergraduate 5. Describe the nature, causes, and consequences of changes in the genetic code. Audience: Undergraduate 6. Define the laboratory techniques of modern biology. Audience: Undergraduate 7. Describe the nature of the genetic material and its roles in inheritance, evolution and cellular function. Audience: Undergraduate 8. Be able to integrate the nature of molecular biology with the cultural and historical factors surrounding the scientific enterprise. Audience: Undergraduate 9. Become equipped to critically assess the primary scientific literature in molecular biology. Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Describe the molecular basis of life and the relationship between the structure and function of biological macromolecules Audience: Undergraduate 2. Explain the means by which genetic information is stored and organized in biological cells. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Explain the means by which the genetic information is replicated. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Explain how information is transformed from the genetic code to structural and catalytic molecular forms. Audience: Undergraduate 5. Describe the nature, causes, and consequences of changes in the genetic code. Audience: Undergraduate 6. Define the laboratory techniques of modern biology. Audience: Undergraduate 7. Describe the nature of the genetic material and its roles in inheritance, evolution and cellular function. Audience: Undergraduate 8. Be able to integrate the nature of molecular biology with the cultural and historical factors surrounding the scientific enterprise. Audience: Undergraduate 9. Become equipped to critically assess the primary scientific literature in molecular biology. Audience: Undergraduate

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