Bio 5750/7750BIOLOGY OF AGINGDr. Robert Arking
Winter 2000 Course SyllabusMWF 11:45 - 12:40P.M.
Science Hall 1125
DateLecture TopicText Chaps.
What is aging? Arking* R&K**
10-12 JanIntroduction to course; Perspectives on Aging 1 1-2
14-21 JanMeasurement of Aging at the Population Level2
24-28 JanMeasurement of Aging at the Individual Level3
Why do we age?
31 Jan-4 FebEvolutionary & Comparative Aspects of Aging4
How do we age?
7 - 16 FebAging Changes in Humans:5 5
18 FebTest Chapters 1-3 (Note: go to Room BSB1167)
21-25 Febno class
28 FebTest Chapters 4-5 (Note: go to Room BSB1167)
1-8 MarGenetic Determinants of Aging6 6-7-8
10-22 MarEmpirical Methods of Modifying Aging7
(Spring break 13-18 Mar)
What is the mechanistic basis of aging?
reading assignmentConcepts & Theories of Aging8
24-29 Mar Stochastic Theories of Aging9
31 MarTest Chapters 6-7
3-7 AprSystemic Theories of Aging10
7 Apr2-4 PM RmBSB1167: Makeup lecture
A 2nd makeup lecture may be held 14 Apr 2-4pm if needed
10 AprAging as an Intracellular Process11
12-14 AprAging as a Regulatory Breakdown12
What can we do about it?
17-19 AprIs There a Common Mechanism of Aging?13 10-12
21 AprAging-related Research and Societal Goals14
24 AprBiosocial effects on Aging: Class Report Handout
27 AprFinal Exam 8-14
*required: **suggested but not required
Texts:Required- Biology of Aging: Observations and Principles, 2nd edition by Robert Arking, Sinauer Press, 1998.
Suggested: Successful Aging by J. Rowe and R. Kahn, Pantheon, 1998. This is an interesting general text which focuses on lifestyle choices and consequences.
Supplemental readings: will be on desk reserve at the Science Library - ask at the Circulation Desk for Bio 575 materials.
Web Page: The course will have its own Web site where (1) interesting articles and references will be posted for interested parties, and (2) you and I may have (ungraded) conversations regarding aging concepts and their implications. Group conversations and debates will be encouraged. This is all still under construction and so the foregoing might be overly optimistic. Therefore details on access will be made available in the near future.
Office Hours: after class or by appointment. Telephones: office (3103 Biol. Sci. Bldg), 577-2891; lab (3159/67 Bio. Sci. Bldg.) 577-2850.
Grading:
Bio 575. Exams 1, 2 and 3 will count 20% each; the Final will count 40%.
Total = 100%.
Bio 775. Exams 1, 2 and 3 will count 15% each; the Final will count 35%; and the term paper/class report 20%.
Total = 100%. (15 pts of the class report will be based on your own chapter; 5 pts will be based on the quality of the class report as a whole. As a member of the team, you will be responsible for your performance as well as that of the team).
The details of the term paper/class report will be discussed in class, but it will consist of a collaborative report in which all graduate students will cooperatively plan and organize it, and each individual will write by themselves one chapter on a discrete aspect of the overall topic. The goal of the exercise is to mold individual efforts into a multi-authored focused report - and since modern science is often a group effort based on individual thinking, then you may regard this exercise as appropriate professional training.
Fall 2000DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGYBio 5620
Dr. Robert Arking11:45-1:10 TTh
Course Syllabus
DatesTopicChapter Readings
I. Questions: What does development do? What are the basic mechanisms? Why should you care about Developmental Biology? Chaps 1-6
Sept 5Introduction to Developmental Biology1
Adaptive Advantage of Developmenthandouts
Principles of Development
Development, society & you
Sept. 7 Developmental Patterns2
Sept. 12Role of Genes in Development4
Sept. 14Role of Cells in Development 3
(Note: no class today; a make-up lecture will be scheduled if possible)
Sept 19Genes and Cells Acting Together5-6
*Sept. 28Exam 1 1-6 (50 points)*
IIA. Question: What are the different manners by which zygotes transform themselves into multicellular forms?
Sept. 21Fertilization7
Sept. 26 Cleavage8
IIB. Question: What mechanisms organize the fundamental pattern of the early embryo?
Oct. 3-5 Gastrulation(outline due)8
Oct. 5-10Body Axis Specification in Drosophila9
Oct. 12-17Body Axis Specification in Amphibians10
Oct. 19-24Cleavage and Body Axis Specification
in Mammals & Other Vertebrates11
*Oct. 31 Exam II7-11 inclusive (100 points)*
III. What Mechanisms Organize the patterns of the later embryo?
Oct. 26CNS & Epidermis12
Nov. 2 Neural Crest Cells & Axonal Specificity 13
Nov. 7-9Mesoderm 14-15
Nov. 14-16Limb Development16 & 18 (pp. 565-573)
*Nov. 28Exam III12-16 inclusive (100 points)
IV. What Mechanisms Organize theReproductive and Regenerative Abilities of the Organism?
Question: How and when does the embryo choose between two alternative fates?
Nov. 21Sex Determination17
Nov. 30Germ Cell Development19
Question: How does the organism change its shape and function?
Dec. 5Metamorphosis18
Dec. 7Environmental Regulation of Development21
Dec. 12Development & Evolution 22
Dec. 14Review
*Dec. xx FINAL EXAM TBAALL (1-19+21-22)* but with emphasis (50%)on chaps 17-22 and the rest as a review of chaps 1-16 inclusive (plus lecture material, of course).
I assume each of you has a good understanding of basic genetics and genetic procedures, an understanding of which is essential for comprehension of modern developmental biology. I will assume your understanding of this material in the sense that you can use this information to answer questions having to do with developmental mechanisms as posed in all of our other work.
Text:Required:DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY by Scott F. Gilbert
6th edition, Sinauer Associates. 2000
These and other pertinent texts /will be/have been put on desk reserve at the SEL for a 1 day period. Please do not abuse the desk reserve privileges by keeping the books out beyond your limit and thereby depriving your classmates of their turn to use the book. If I receive more than one complaint, I will then ask the library to immediately shift to a 3 hour usage period so that all students might have reasonably equivalent access to the texts. Thank you for your cooperation.
Office Hours: TBA
Phones: Office: Biological Science 3103 (7-2891); Lab:3159/61 (7-2850);
Grading Procedures: Your grade will be based on a course total of 500 pts, as follows:
Exam I 50 points
Exam II100 points
Exam III100 points
Final Exam200 points
Term Paper 50 points
Total500 points
The essay paper must be prepared according to the criteria to be discussed in class and it must be handed in no later than Dec. 7. You may coordinate this paper with the one you have to write for Bio 593/597, if you wish and if you have the permission of your instructors in that course. But you must follow the guidelines laid down here.
Note: There are at least three Web sites relating to developmental biology that we will use. One site has been developed by Gilbert to complement your text ( and you will use this site (and the others linked to it) to write your essay.
The second Web site is that of the Society for Developmental Biology, the major U.S. professional society in this area. Its address is:
The third Web site is a develop. biology tutorial which you should check out. http// tutorial.html.
In addition, the Vade Mecum in the front of your text is a CD which uses QuickTime movies to show you the actual development of various embryos. We are trying to describe reality and it helps to look at it from time to time.
Directions and Guidelines for Term Paper
Too many exams in large classes are multiple choice or objective. There are many complaints about such exams, the most common being that they emphasize memorization at the expense of comprehension. Of course, understanding is the goal of all courses. The term paper is your opportunity to demonstrate your ability to answer a specific question by assembling pertinent data from multiple sources other than the textbook, including the Web, by organizing it into a comprehensive review of the history and importance of the topic you have been assigned, by critically evaluating some of the key experiments involved in the analysis of the question, by summing up the current state of our knowledge of the topic, and by proposing one or two experiments which can critically test that current state of our knowledge. If this sounds as if it is a lot of work, that is because it is. No one ever said that comprehension came cheap. You will understand a topic only if you invest your time and effort in the analysis and in the writing.
How does one approach a term paper? First, one looks over the text/web site/journals and tries to find topics that appear interesting to you and that might represent some area that you might want to know more about. The Purdue web site is particularly good and you should not overlook it. A list of some possible topics is appended so as to provide you with some ideas. Second, read the material in the text that deals with the topic. Do some follow up reading in the original literature using the references to that topic which can be found in the reference list following each chapter. This is very important - your paper should provide an up to date review of the topic. Third, on the basis of these readings, put together an outline of your paper. Each main section of the outline should deal with a major portion: i.e., What is the question being asked in the paper? Why is this topic important? A description of the Process in morphological or molecular terms. What do we know about the control mechanisms involved? What are the contradictions in the data? What conclusions can we draw? What are the implications of this knowledge for the future? Where do we go from here? Etc. etc. etc. Make it a detailed outline. The reason underlying this last statement is simply that a detailed outline will allow you to develop the logic of your paper without getting bogged down in to the details of grammar and words. Fourth, write up the paper and hand it in by the due date. The text must be typed and the paper must include references for all figures, charts, tables, etc. that you have included. You should also include a list of text references, done in the style used in the textbook.
A list of possible topics is printed below. You may wish to explore some specific topic not liste In any event, all students will submit to me by 26 Sept. the following materials:
—a one-page statement of their topic,
—at least 5 recent references to papers dealing with the topic,
—a proposed outline of your paper, and
—a brief statement why this topic is important enough for you to invest your effort and time.
There is no grading of this outline, I just want to be sure that you do not go off into some wrong direction. Your outlines, etc. may be edited by me prior to approval. The final draft of the paper is due in my hands no later than 7 Dec.. No excuses accepted after that date..
1. Regulation of hemoglobin biosynthesis during development.
2. Comparative molecular genetic analysis of sex determination mechanisms.
3. Limb regeneration: morphological and pattern aspects4. Gene action and embryonic segmentation
5. Experimental analysis of the nature of induction6. Control of color patterns in animals
7. Control of color patterns in butterfly wings8. Mechanisms of growth control
9. Molecular mechanisms of steroid hormone/protein hormone action
10.The role of the extracellular matrix in development of the (particular organ)
11. Regulation of segment specific gene action.
12. Transcriptional regulators, gene action and development of the (particular organ)
13. Cell-cell signaling and signal transduction pathways in the (particular organ)
14. How do neurons establish specific connections.
15. Control of cell division in the sculpting of organs and tissues.
16. Control of cell death in the sculpting of organs and tissues.
17. The role of Hox genes in plant development or Evolutionary & Developmental Similarities in plant & animal Hox genes.
18. Evidence for transcription factor control of differentiation of the (specific organ)
19. Dosage compensation and control of sex-specific gene expression
20. Cloning: Technical Differences Between Frogs, Sheep, and Primates.
21. The Role of Environmental Factors on Embryonic and Fetal Development