Molecular Evolution

Catalog description

This course is designed to introduce the concepts of evolution from a molecular point of view and the basic techniques of analysis of molecular sequence data. The class will include a mixture of lecture-based and student activity-based instruction that addresses various topics in molecular evolution, as well as in-class and extracurricular work on the computer to learn how to use online bioinformatics tools for sequence analysis. As a result of this course, students will be able to analyze DNA and protein data with a purpose of addressing specific scientific questions of interest. The course embraces applications of computing and statistics to the life sciences.)