Honors First Year Experience: Linked Courses

You and Your Genome and Your Genome on Mathematics

"Earlier in my life, I thought I was in love with the answers. I found out later that I was really in love with the questions . . . " - Roger Dunsmore.


HONR 194M You and Your Genome (Block 3)

If you were born in this century, you need to understand the biological basis of how your genome functions and interacts with the world around you for two reasons: 1) you are the product of that interaction and 2) the rules of the game have changed with the advent of CRISPR gene editing. At this point in time, there is no other field of science that is expanding so rapidly as the field of genomics.


HONR 194N Your Genome on Mathematics (Block 4)

In this course, we will explore the amazing ecology of the genome with its parasites (transposable elements), predators (retroviruses) and a host of exotic creatures (microsatellites, etc..) using a modeling approach based on probability theory. You will learn how to access and explore one of the largest databases ever assembled in the history of science, GENBANK, currently the repository for over 6 trillion base pairs of dna sequence and doubling in size every 18 months. As this database is growing so rapidly, you will probably be the first to analyze and model new findings in the genome of whatever creature you decide to study.



Honors First Year Experience: Linked Courses
The subject matter in these two courses will be interrelated and each course will substitute for general education requirements in each field of study. The purpose of Honors First Year Experience is to foster extended collaboration among students engaged in the study of ideas that transcend specific disciplines. These courses will emphasize active involvement and project completion. First Year Honors Linked Courses are an excellent way to begin your undergraduate explorations of Experience One. Students must register for both classes, one after the other during Blocks 3 and 4.
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Substitutions:
General Education in Science: BIO 160
General Education in Mathematics: STAT 121 Probability

Instructors: Katie Bjornen and Dr. Eric Dyreson

Time: Fall 2020, Blocks 1 & 2,