HGEN-461-DL
Course Overview
This course provides a general survey of the fundamental principles of genetics, a branch of biology that studies genes, variation, and the expression of inherited traits. All organisms utilize the same genetic systems; therefore, studying genetics is vital to understanding life. This course will explore genetics at the molecular, cellular, organismal, and population level. The first part of the course emphasizes the basics of molecular and cellular genetics and covers topics such as DNA structure/function, gene expression, and mutation. The second part of the course focuses on classical genetics and includes topics such as the history of theories of inheritance and Mendelian genetics. The last part of the course highlights population genetics, the study of the genetic composition of biological populations, and how/why it changes over time. Attention to genetic diseases and/or testing and/or medical advances in the field will be explored in each phase of the course.