BIO 191 - Intro to Biotechnology w/Lab

1. Apply the fundamental safety procedures in a laboratory environment.
   1. Identify where the emergency safety features are and how to operate them.
   2. Demonstrate how to dress appropriately for laboratory work.
   3. Demonstrate ability to properly store, handle and dispose of hazardous wastes.
   4. Demonstrate how to access information regarding the health and safety risks for chemicals used in the laboratory.
   5. Explain the importance of documentation in the laboratory.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of scientific research, including experimental design, data collection, and reports of findings.
   1. Explain the steps involved in scientific research.
   2. Explain the difference between a hypothesis and a theory.
   3. Support important considerations for experimental design.
   4. Explain the purpose of a control within an experiment.
   5. Describe important considerations in collecting and analyzing experimental data.
3. Describe the types of careers available in biotechnology.
   1. List careers available in research and development within a biotechnology industry.
   2. List careers available in manufacturing/production within a biotechnology industry.
   3. List biotechnology-related careers available in academia and the government.
   4. Describe the educational preparation necessary for various careers involving biotechnology.
4. Examine the fundamental components of living systems.
   1. Explain the structures and components of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.
   2. Describe the fundamental organic building blocks.
   3. Explain the types of cell division found in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.
   4. Explain the genetic basis of cancer
5. Demonstrate a general understanding of DNA structure and function.
   1. Describe the structure of DNA.
   2. Explain fundamental differences in gene expression for eukaryotes and prokaryotes.
   3. Describe the general process of DNA replication.
   4. Describe the Polymerase Chain Reaction and give examples of how it can be used.
6. Demonstrate a general understanding of protein structure and function.
   1. Describe the basic structure of amino acids
   2. Describe the 4 levels of protein structure.
   3. Define an enzyme and give examples.
7. Demonstrate an understanding of the process of cloning and discuss its use in biotechnology.
   1. Define cloning and give examples of cloning.
   2. Explain the significant events that led to the possibility of cloning foreign DNA segments.
   3. Describe what a cloning vector is and explain the general features of a plasmid as a cloning vector.
   4. Describe the major steps involved in cloning a gene into a plasmid vector.
8. Describe the use of biotechnology in agriculture and medicine.
   1. Explain the differences between selective breeding and genetic engineering.
   2. Explain how plants naturally propagate by cloning and methods of cloning plants used in the lab.
   3. List some of the plants that have been genetically engineered for use in agriculture.
   4. Describe the use of biotechnology in human medicine.
   5. Briefly describe how vaccines are produced.
   6. Describe stem cell ethics
   7. Explain the use of Bioinformatics
9. Demonstrate an ability to utilize the tools and provide documentation required for scientific research in biotechnology.
   1. Demonstrate ability to accurately measure volumes with a micropipette, pipette, and flask.
   2. Demonstrate ability to operate an analytical balance, centrifuge, and thermometer.
   3. Demonstrate ability to properly document in a laboratory notebook.
   4. Demonstrate ability to use aseptic technique.
   5. Demonstrate ability to prepare media and properly handle live organisms.
10. Demonstrate a general understanding of DNA laboratory methods.
    1. Demonstrate ability to perform a Polymerase Chain Reaction and give examples of how it can be used.
    2. Demonstrate ability to digest DNA with restriction enzymes and visualize DNA with gel electrophoresis.
    3. Demonstrate ability to analyze DNA sequence data using NCBI.
11. Demonstrate a general understanding of protein laboratory methods.
    1. Demonstrate ability to use quantitative analysis of proteins using the Bradford Method.
    2. Describe various methods for visualizing proteins.
12. Demonstrate an understanding of the process of bacterial transformation and discuss its use in biotechnology.
    1. Define transformation and give examples.
    2. Demonstrate ability to transform bacterial cells using plasmids.