Description
If you could read the three billion base pairs of DNA in your genome what would it say? How does your body know your hair is supposed to be black and not red? If human DNA is 98% identical to chimpanzee DNA, why are we so different? How do scientists at biotechnology companies use DNA and bacteria to produce drugs to treat life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, arthritis and diabetes? This course will focus on the language of DNA and how it is read and interpreted. Students will discover how DNA technologies are changing the way we live and improving human health.
Topics covered include the chemical language of DNA, RNA and proteins; recombinant DNA technology; DNA sequencing and CRISPR. A major theme throughout the course is scientific discovery. Science can be messy and accidental but science can also be collaborative and goal driven. Scientists investigating fundamental properties of life can discover the next generation of molecular tools that further drives innovati