In this class we will learn about how the process of DNA replication is regulated throughout the cell cycle and what happens when DNA replication goes awry. How does the cell know when and where to begin replicating its DNA? How does a cell prevent its DNA from being replicated more than once? How does damaged DNA cause the cell to arrest DNA replication until that damage has been repaired? And how is the duplication of the genome coordinated with other essential processes? We will examine both classical and current papers from the scientific literature to provide answers to these questions and to gain insights into how biologists have approached such problems. This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.

The goal of this course is to teach both the fundamentals of nuclear cell biology as well as the methodological and experimental approaches upon which they are based. Lectures and class discussions will cover the background and fundamental findings in a particular area of nuclear cell biology. The assigned readings will provide concrete examples of the experimental approaches and logic used to establish these findings. Some examples of topics include genome and systems biology, transcription, and gene expression.

This interactive feature provides a microscopic view of the 24 Human chromosomes. Each chromosome is labeled with the names of some of the genetic conditions and traits associated with particular regions on that chromosome.

In this guide, the information has been broken down into six sections: DNA Timeline, Code, Manipulation, Genome, Applications, Chronicle. Each section includes teacher pages, alignment with the national science education standards, student worksheets, answer sheets and templates.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, geneticists assumed that a stable genome was a prerequisite for faithfully transmitting genes from one generation to the next.  Working at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the post-WWII era, Barbara McClintock found quite a different story in maize (corn).  She observed numerous “dissociations” – broken and ring-shaped chromosomes – and traced the source of these mutations to the short arm of chromosome 9.  There she identified two related loci,   “dissociator” (Ds) and “activator” (Ac).

" During development, the genetic content of each cell remains, with a few exceptions, identical to that of the zygote. Most differentiated cells therefore retain all of the genetic information necessary to generate an entire organism. It was through pioneering technology of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) that this concept was experimentally proven. Only 10 years ago the sheep Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult organism, demonstrating that the differentiated state of a mammalian cell can be fully reversible to a pluripotent embryonic state. A key conclusion from these experiments was that the difference between pluripotent cells such as embryonic stem (ES) cells and unipotent differentiated cells is solely a consequence of reversible changes. These changes, which have proved to involve reversible alterations to both DNA and to proteins that bind DNA, are known as epigenetic, to distinguish them from genetic alterations to DNA sequence. In this course we will explore such epigenetic changes and study different approaches that can return a differentiated cell to an embryonic state in a process referred to as epigenetic reprogramming, which will ultimately allow generation of patient-specific stem cells and application to regenerative therapy. This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching."

For more than two decades J. Craig Venter and his research teams have been pioneers in genomic research. Regarded as one of the leading scientist of the 21st century, Venter discusses how he is applying tools and techniques developed to sequence the human genomes to discover new genes of microbes from around the world. (57 minutes)

This is a debate style study about the pros and cons of genetic mapping

The principles of genetics with application to the study of biological function at the level of molecules, cells, and multicellular organisms, including humans. Structure and function of genes, chromosomes and genomes. Biological variation resulting from recombination, mutation, and selection. Population genetics. Use of genetic methods to analyze protein function, gene regulation and inherited disease.

This list from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site provides some of the basic, yet impressive, facts and figures about the Human Genome Project.

This course explores recent historical and anthropological approaches to the study of medicine and biology. Topics include histories of bodies and embodiment in medicine; institutional and social genealogies and futures for genes and genomes; the role of science and medicine in racial formation; epidemics and emergent diseases; new reproductive technologies and socialities; the laboratory and field lives of animals, plants, microbes, molecules, and environments.

" This course explores recent historical and anthropological approaches to the study of life, in both medicine and biology. After grounding our conversation in accounts of natural history and medicine that predate the rise of biology as a discipline, we explore modes of theorizing historical and contemporary bioscience. Drawing on the work of historian William Coleman, we examine the forms, functions, and transformations of biological and medical objects of study. Along the way we treat the history of heredity, molecular biology, race, medicine in the colonies and the metropole, and bioeconomic exchange. We read anthropological literature on old and new forms of biopower, at scales from the molecular to the organismic to the global. The course includes readings from the HASTS Common Exam List. The aim of this seminar is to train students to be participants in scholarly debates in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences about the nature of life, the body, and biomedicine."

This curriculum supplement offers activities exploring how genes and the environment influence human diversity, what role DNA sequences play in genetic differences, and more. Students are invited to assume the role of employees at a pharmaceutical company developing new drugs. A game helps show the links between genetic variation, environmental factors, and disease prevention. A family's case study on genetic variation testing exemplifies difficult moral and social questions for society.

This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" looks at the meaning and significance of the effort to decode the human genome.

This HIBB presentation provides background information on bases, amino acids, proteins, nucleotides and DNA. The presentation then explains what bioinformatics is, lists some examples, and demonstrates some tools. It demonstrates tools which compare parts of human and chimp genes, and illustrate drug resistance analysis and HIV subtype analysis. It then discusses some ethical and clinical aspects to bioinformatics.

This HIBB presentation provides background information on bases, amino acids, proteins, nucleotides and DNA. The presentation then explains what bioinformatics is, lists some examples, and demonstrates some tools. It demonstrates tools which compare parts of human and chimp genes, and illustrate drug resistance analysis and HIV subtype analysis. It then discusses some ethical and clinical aspects to bioinformatics.

This HIBB presentation provides background information on bases, amino acids, proteins, nucleotides and DNA. The presentation then explains what bioinformatics is, lists some examples, and demonstrates some tools. It demonstrates tools which compare parts of human and chimp genes, and illustrate drug resistance analysis and HIV subtype analysis. It then discusses some ethical and clinical aspects to bioinformatics.

This HIBB presentation provides background information on bases, amino acids, proteins, nucleotides and DNA. The presentation then explains what bioinformatics is, lists some examples, and demonstrates some tools. It demonstrates tools which compare parts of human and chimp genes, and illustrate drug resistance analysis and HIV subtype analysis. It then discusses some ethical and clinical aspects to bioinformatics.

The advantages of using Caenorhabditis elegans in introductory genetics courses will be demonstrated in this exercise in which an "unknown" visible mutation will be assigned to a linkage group and mapped relative to known markers. The nematode can be cultured easily, has a short generation time, reproduces either as self-fertilizing hermaphrodites or in outcrosses yields large numbers of progeny, and has a simple genome.