Module overview
In this module students will be exposed to methods and thinking for applying knowledge of biological diversity to find solutions to current and future problems. They will see a broad range of solutions taking advantage of knowledge from gene editing (sub-cellular), interactions between bacteria and virus (cellular scale), tissue engineering (cells and their extracellular matrix), seeds and their microbiomes (organismal-environment interactions), and evolution and diversity (macro-scale).
The module is broken down into three blocks which begin with reductionist strategies based around the quaternary code of DNA, moves to integrate gene and environment interactions at the level of the tissue, and ends with organismal level science that can only be understood through external interactions. Specifically, the three blocks cover: molecular systematics for identifying natural products; tissue engineering and the role of non-cellular and genetic material in life’s diversity (within an organism and among organisms); and technology inspired by life’s organismal diversity, including plants, microbes, and animals.