This course addresses issues regarding scientific claims about
health, the environment, and society to develop skills important
for becoming a critical consumer of science information. Students
explore the biological concepts of enzyme function, gene
expression, genetic testing, immune system function, and global
nutrient cycling in the context of socially relevant, real-world
applications. Each unit of the course is focused on a global
health or environmental challenge. Students will use
understanding gained through course content to develop scientific
tools, make medical or investment recommendations, and explore
ethical considerations of scientific policy and practice.
Important threads throughout the course are the evaluation of
scientific data, the use of scientific sources to support or
refute claims, and human-environment interactions that impact
health, economy, and sustainability.

Students will be able to explain enzyme function, human genetic
variation, and current gene technologies in the context of
diseases with genetic risk factors. Students will demonstrate how
gene expression is impacted by environmental influences, such as
how the presence of endocrine disruptors and other environmental
pollutants affect gene expression, leading to cancer and abnormal
tissue development in humans and other animals. Students will be
able to explain the function of the immune system in combating
infectious diseases such as cholera, HIV, and Ebola, and use data
to support the recommendation of vaccines. Finally, students will
be able to explain the rapid and long-term cycling of carbon and
nitrogen through the processes of photosynthesis, cellular
respiration, fossil fuels, nutrient runoff, and eutrophication.
Students will use current, real data to assess the effectiveness
of biofuels and the effects of rising ocean temperatures on coral
reef health.

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Apply the basic scientific principles in cellular and 
molecular biology to real-world situations such as evaluating 
environmental effects of endocrine disruptors, deciding to get 
genetic testing, or how to evaluate the news about global 
climate change.
• Identify and evaluate valid sources of scientific information.
• Discern and analyze that information to make everyday 
decisions.
• Model the process whereby researchers test a scientific claim, 
including composing a valid scientific argument.
• Integrate ideas and communicate understanding about biology 
with others in a format which is adapted to particular 
circumstances and audiences, addresses issues in the context of 
the larger community and environment, and allows you to apply 
societal ethics to scientific inquiry and findings.
• Learn about yourself, learn to work effectively with others in 
a group, and develop and cultivate an interest in current 
science issues.

Energy and food
Macromolecules—Proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids 
Metabolic pathways and enzymes

Sources of genetic variation
DNA structure, transcription and translation
Impact of genetic variation on protein structure and function
Chromosome structure
Gene Expression and regulatory elements
Epigenetic regulation of gene expression—effects of pollutants,
nutrients, and other environmental factors
Endocrine disruptors effects on gene expression in humans and 
animals
Human sources of endocrine disruptors in the environment
Gene Expression and cancer
Sources of genetic variation
Methods for genetic testing of DNA sequence variation
Application of SNP-chip testing to human disease
Bioethics and genetic technology
Patterns of inheritance—Mendelian genetics and pedigree analysis
Environmental vs inheritance causes of genetic disease
Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells, and viruses
Viral evolution in the context of disease (HIV and Ebola)
Innate and adaptive immunity
Vaccination
Microbiomes
Allergic response and engineering hypoallergenic foods
Global cycling of carbon and nitrogen
Carbon and energy transformation: photosynthesis, cellular
respiration
Climate change and Slow Carbon Cycle—carbon pools, flux, human
impacts
Biofuels
Nitrogen cycling, eutrophication, and human impacts
Coral reef health
Carbon footprint calculation