Chemistry for Biologists and Others

Catalog description

Chemical transformations are central to biology and function, and chemical methods provide some of the most powerful tools for everyday experimental biology. Yet, most practitioners of biology have learned chemistry through memorization and do not use chemical principles or intuition in their research, even though chemistry underlies most processes and experiments carried out in biology and by biologists. Fortunately, a basic understanding and working knowledge can be gained in a short time, through a small set of simple concepts and limited number of memorized facts. These concepts and facts will be introduced and then mastered through use in highly interactive, in-class problems and evaluation of selected literature. At the end of the three-week course students will have an ability to understand the chemistry underlying cellular processes and to better discuss and evaluate chemical tools and approaches. Prerequisites: High school or college introductory chemistry recommended but not required.