On completion of the course students should:
- understand the basic chemical foundation of life, know the structure and function of the main molecular building blocks and be conversant with how, when and where biological molecules interact with each other
- comprehend the organization of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and the role that different sub-cellular organelles play in biological processes
- exhibit knowledge of energy transformation, enzymatic reactions, metabolism, catabolism and photosynthesis and how these processes are organized with reference to cellular structure
- know the mechanistic fundamentals of how cells communicate with each other
- have a basic understanding of how cells progress through the cell cycle and divide
- be able to explain both sexual and asexual life cycles and the process of meiosis
- understand the chromosomal and molecular bases of genetic inheritance, the means by which information is transduced from genes to RNAs and proteins and how the expression of genes is regulated
- gain perspectives on how genomes and organisms evolve and on the evolutionary history of biodiversity
- obtain a basic understanding of the mechanisms through which cells differentiate and animals develop.
- understand the fundamentals of experimental design, exhibit competence in the laboratory environment and be able to analyze and interpret experimental data
- obtain experience in the concise and rigorous presentation of scientific information to a scientifically literate audience