Dynamics of Biological Systems: A Quantitative Introduction to Biology

Catalog description

This course will introduce students to dynamic biological phenomena, from the molecular to the population level, and models of these dynamical phenomena. It will describe a biological system, discuss how to model its dynamics, and experimentally evaluate the resulting models. Topics will include molecular dynamics of biological molecules, kinetics of cell metabolism and the cell cycle, biophysics of excitability, scaling laws for biological systems, biomechanics, and population dynamics. Mathematical tools for the analysis of dynamic biological processes will also be presented. Students will manipulate and analyze simulations of biological processes, and learn to formulate and analyze their own models. This course satisfies a laboratory requirement for the biology major. Offered as BIOL 300 and EBME 300 .