An exploration of assorted topics in human biology as they intersect with bioethical and sustainability issues of current interest in society. Topics include human physiology, health, reproduction, genetics, cell biology/biochemistry, evolution and ecology. Course examines the underlying scientific basis of specific examples and how they relate to everyday life. Course approach emphasizes the process of science, critical thinking, active learning, social relevancy, and building connections between case studies and general concepts of biology.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 1001.

A systematic overview of major topics in global ecology as experienced by people in the developing world, both the problems they face and the successful actions of communities to solve those problems. Introduces creation care and sustainable development as key concepts needed to overcome the challenges and build hope for the future. Includes such topics as population growth, food and agriculture, land degradation, urbanization, sanitation, health care, biodiversity, climate change, consumerism, and the implications for wise resource management, green economics, and governmental policy. Course approach emphasizes the process of science, critical thinking, active learning, social relevancy, and building connections between case studies and general concepts. Students engage in weekly readings, film discussions, and a term paper project.

Designed to meet the requirements for the California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential for teaching grades K-8 (but open to all students). The subject areas include zoology, botany, physiology, cell structure, ecology, genetics, and evolution. Course explores major themes in these subject areas as they relate to everyday life, ethical concerns, conservation issues, and common misunderstandings. Course approach emphasizes the process of science, critical thinking, active learning, social relevancy, and building connections between case studies and general concepts of biology.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 1003.

An examination of current topics in biotechnology as they impact society, bioethics, and sustainable living. Course addresses the questions "What is biotechnology?", "How does it work?", and "How does it affect our lives?" Topics may include genetic engineering, gene amplification, genome projects, gene therapy, DNA fingerprinting, cloning, assisted reproductive technology, genetic screening, recombinant DNA, knock-outs, AIDS research, and GM foods. Course approach emphasizes the process of science, critical thinking, active learning, social relevancy, and building connections between case studies and general concepts of biology.

A wide-ranging exploration of major topics in ecological science relating to current issues in conservation biology. Drawing from academic and applied fields, the course examines major concepts in conservation biology and their impact on society, public policy, wise management of natural resources, consumerism and ethical choices encountered in everyday life. Focus topics include biodiversity, habitat destruction, exotic species introductions, human harvesting, protected areas, and climate change. Course approach emphasizes the process of science, critical thinking, active learning, social relevancy, and building connections between case studies and general concepts.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 1005.

An examination of current topics in global health as they impact society, bioethics, and creation care. The course addresses the topics of the major pathogens that threaten global health, the basic immune response to a pathogen, how vaccines work, and challenges to fighting pathogens on a global level. The course approach emphasizes critical thinking, active learning, social relevancy, and building connections between case studies and general concepts of biology.

The first course of a two-semester sequence which examines the human body from an integrated perspective. Topics include an introduction to chemistry and cell function, tissue types, skeletal system, muscular system, and nervous system.

An anatomy and physiology laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 1030.

The second semester of a sequence which examines the human body from an integrated perspective emphasizing the interrelationship of structure and function. Topics include sensory and autonomic nervous system, endocrine system and reproduction, cardiovascular system, immune system, respiratory system, digestive system, and urinary system.

An anatomy and physiology laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 1040.

An introduction to the principles of cell biology, molecular biology, and biochemistry. Topics include the chemical basis of life, basic membrane functions and membrane transport, basic metabolic pathways including cellular respiration and photosynthesis, cell division, and expression of the genetic material.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 2010.

An introduction to the principles of ecology, evolutionary biology and sustainability.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 2011.

Principles of animal and plant structure, function, and diversity.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 2012.

A study of microbial physiology, the diseases associated with infections by certain pathogenic microbes and the vertebrate response to microbial infections.

A laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 2020.

A study of plant structure, function and phytochemistry through an examination of economically and culturally important plants, including plants for medicine, food, energy, fiber and building materials. Topics include environmental plant physiology, biotechnology, plant propagation, medicinal botany, and sustainable land use.

An in-depth exploration of the world of microscopic organisms, including their diversity, physiology, biochemistry and ecology. Emphasis is on prokaryotes, but also some discussion of microscopic eukaryotes and viruses.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 3015.

An introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the oceans, including survey of geological, chemical, physical and biological oceanography. Includes consideration of current research methods and exploration of marine systems.

A field work-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 3023.

The study of life in the oceans, including the ecology, structure, function and adaptations of marine organisms to their environment.

A field work-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 3033.

A field-oriented course that introduces students to the ecology and conservation biology of the New World Tropics. The course begins during Quad II of the spring semester, and continues with a 10-day field immersion trip to Costa Rica in early May. We visit some of the most intense biodiversity hotspots in Central America. Through readings, lectures, student presentations, and field trips, we explore the plants and animals of the tropics and investigate the ecological and cultural complexities of conserving them. Relevant issues of culture, language, public policy, and stewardship are also covered. Students complete a project paper or presentation based on their independent research.

The study of the inheritance, organization, expression and variability of genes.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 3045.

An in-depth study of the structure and function of eukaryotic cells. Topics include various aspects of subcellular structure, cytoskeleton dynamics and regulation, the mechanism of cell motility and intracellular transport cell adhesion, cellular signal transduction mechanisms, regulation of cell division and cancer. The laboratory provides exposure to important current methodologies.

A laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 3050.

This course builds upon the basis of the scientific method that students are exposed to as freshmen. It focuses on teaching students how to develop biological questions, search databases to obtain background information, design scientific experiments, and analyze data. The course will focus more specifically on how research data is obtained, how experimental knowledge and data are dispersed amongst the scientific community, and how these data are used as a base for correlating new data and upon which new experimentation is based.

An examination of the key concepts and issues at the intersection of conservation biology and ecology, starting with environmental ethics and the valuation of nature and moving to sustainable development and creation care. Students read journal articles and discuss the medical value of biodiversity, zoonotic disease and public health, trophic cascades, toxicology, endocrine disruption, conservation genetics and extinction vortices, de-extinction and species resurrection, shifting baselines, physiological ecology, road ecology, conservation behavior, and community-based conservation. We also explore innovative technology driving advances in conservation such as biologgers, camera traps, and fecal genetic and hormonal analysis. Students complete a team field research project on (or near) the Point Loma campus to apply the concepts of conservation ecology to the local environment.

A field work-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 3063.

A study of the regulatory mechanisms that govern gene expression in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells and their viruses. Alterations of normal eukaryotic genetic regulatory mechanisms resulting from the transformed (cancerous) state also are discussed. Laboratory includes practical experience with the methodologies of modern genetic engineering.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 3080.

Introduction to the immune system with an emphasis on mammalian models. The course focuses on the cellular and molecular regulation of the immune system in health and disease. Topics include recognition of antigen, development of lymphocyte repertories, and innate and adaptive immune responses. Also included are discussions of the immune system's responses to cancer cells, tissue transplants, and allergenic substances.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 3090.

An analysis of mechanisms of early development of invertebrates and vertebrates. Includes a study of the cellular, molecular, and genetic factors that influence cell differentiation and the determination of the body plan, as well as a study of the morphogenesis of selected organ systems. The implications of development on our understanding of the mechanisms of evolution (evo-devo) are discussed.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 4000 and uses a variety of model organisms to study normal and abnormal development.

An exploration of the evolution of morphology, physiology, and behavior of the vertebrate lineage from hagfish to humans. Appropriate emphasis is given to the major evolutionary approaches of form and function, phylogenetic systematics, taxonomy, natural selection, evo-devo, and the study of fossils and molecular genetics. The course works its way from fish to tetrapods, surveying the distinguishing morphology, physiology, ecology, and lifestyle adaptations of each group. Conservation status and current threats from human impacts are covered. Students learn through readings, group activities and discussions, films, and a research project tracing the evolution of a currently threatened vertebrate species or group.

A laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 4010. Lab activities provide hands-on learning through exploration and dissection of specimen vertebrates and field trips to the zoo and aquarium.

This course examines how different organ systems work and interact with each other to maintain homeostasis in the human body. The course specifically examines metabolism, the digestion, the nervous system, endocrinology, the muscular system, respiration, the cardiovascular system, and the urinary system.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 4023.

An exploration of the behavioral biology of animals, building on the foundation of Tinbergen's Four Problems and incorporating the insights of ethology, psychology, behavioral ecology, and cognitive ethology. Topics include proximate and ultimate mechanisms, behavioral genetics, developmental ethology, neurophysiology, learning, communication, reproduction, sexual selection, parasite and predator defense, mating systems, parental behavior, and sociality. The evolutionary basis of behavior is emphasized, including natural selection, developmental genetics, and domestication. Guest lectures and films expand on the reading and lecture content, and conservation issues are explored.

A laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 4030 in which students complete a semester-long team research project at the San Diego Zoo.

Detailed analysis of protein and membrane structure. Includes quantitative approaches to the study of enzymes, catalytic mechanisms of enzymes, and a survey of the major metabolic pathways of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and nucleic acids.

An inquiry-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 4050.

Students study learning theories within the context of science. Students engage in meaningful reflections of their own learning experiences, while considering future opportunities they may have in helping others learn. While dimensions of effective science teaching practices are studied, the course is designed to appeal to all students of science, regardless of their specific career interests. Instruction is aligned to the state-adopted Science Common Core Standards (7-12) and the Next Generation English Language Development Standards, and relevance to college course teaching is incorporated. Research on modifications for diverse learners and learners with exceptionalities is included. [AC1] Equivalent to EDU 4034 (undergraduate level) or EDU 6024 (graduate level). PLNU students who complete BIO 4063 are exempt from taking EDU 4034 or EDU 6024 for their preliminary single subject credential.

Neuroscience is a study of the nervous system at the molecular, cellular, intercellular, and gross anatomy levels. Topics include neuroanatomy, nervous system development, neurons and glia, physiology of neurons, neural networks, and learning and memory. Diseases and conditions corresponding to the topics covered will also be discussed. Additional topics include intelligence, language, and ethics.

A field-oriented course that explores aspects of marine ecology within the context of coastal communities, including ecological relationships within the marine environment, factors influencing community structure, and biogeography. A central component of the course will be an independent project with experimental design.

A field work-based laboratory that is a co-requisite for BIO 4073.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) involves the analysis and management of geographic information. This course is designed to introduce the basic principles and techniques of GIS (including spatial data sources, data structures, projections and coordinate systems), the essential skills of operating a functional GIS (including data creation, data editing and geospatial analysis), and the different applications of GIS technology.

Authentic work experience in jobs that are oriented to the field of biology and that include responsibility for decision making, problem solving, and the use of techniques, skills, and knowledge acquired in the classroom.

Individual study in depth of a selected biology topic under the direct supervision of a member of the faculty.

Examination and discussion of selected biological issues with an emphasis on the relationship between Christian faith and scientific study.

Independent investigation, under the supervision of a member of the biology faculty.