Biology 102 Elements of Biology II - Spring 2008

Instructor: John S. Peters, Ph.D.
Office: 207 Science Center Bldg.
Office Hours : Tues 11-noon; Thurs 2-3 PM; Friday 11-12:30 or by appointment
Office Phone: 953-1422
Email - petersj@cofc.edu

Course Information	Course Announcements Final Course Grades - I will post final grades on Cougar Trail on Monday morning.  Check over your grades and let me know via email if there are any discrepancies between what I have and what you think you should have for assignment grades.  Lowest RAT scores were dropped.  Class participation scores were based on clicker response accuracy, attendance, and my subjective view of your participation during class discussions and improvement on writing assignments during the course of the semester.  Please note that will not "haggle" over points if you are close to a higher grade!  Because of the many opportunities for bonus points this semester, the grade cutoffs will be strictly adhered to!
Problems/Case Studies
Lecture Notes and Activities
Assignments
Study Guides
Research & Writing Resources
Group Work Forms
Cool Links!

Research & Writing Skills Resources The Text Book! - Always your first source for basic biological knowledge!	Top 11 Things to Consider When Writing - Everyone should read this before you begin a writing assignment for this class!
	InfoTrac Directions - This link is a PowerPoint presentation that you can view, which will give you directions for accessing a library search database called InfoTrac.  As part of the purchase of your textbook, you have access to over 5000 journal articles, whose full text is available over the web.   The access code for  a 4 month subscription to this is in the card  inserted into your textbook.  This is a GREAT resource for you to quickly and easily  do some background research on issues we address in the class!
	Grading Feedback Symbols
	Citation Style Guides
	Citation Style Guides from Duke University Library
	CofC Library - Help with doing research
	CofC Library Databases for doing biological research
	CofC Writing Lab
	Hamilton University's Writing Center - Tips for effective writing and other writing resources

• Nature Science Updates
  This site from Nature has current and archived articles from one of the premier international scientific magazines.  This site will provide you with excellent sources for class projects.
• Scientific American - Past issues, explorations, exhibits, feature articles and much more!
• UC Berkeley - Museum of Paleontology - A wonderful interactive page exploring the history of life on earth.  You MUST visit this page!
• CNN.com  Health - Current news on important health related issues!
• Access Excellence Science Updates - Current and past biological (mostly genetic) news.

• Darwin Day Celebration - An International Recognition of Science and Humanity
• Charles Darwin - essay on the author of "On the Origin of Species" and the theory of adaptive evolution by natural selection
• Charles Darwin - On line publication of "On the Origin of Species", also Darwin's actual logs during the voyage of the Beagle, and an on line publication of "The Decent of Man"....Wow!!!!
• The Talk.Origins Archive - Explore the evolution/creation controversy.
• 5 Major Misconceptions about Evolution
• Embryonic Zoo - Check out the video clips of embryonic development of different vertebrates.
• Science and Creationsim - A view from the National Academy of Science
• Hardy-Weinberg - what are the assumptions, and how to calculate allele frequencies, from University of Virginia's Human Biology course pages
• Genetic drift - detailed discussion from The Talk.Origins archive
• Sexual selection - "How Females Choose Their Mates" a Scientific American article on the complexity of mate choice.
• Punctuated equilibrium - experimental evidence supports periods of rapid evolution followed by periods of stasis.
• The Hawaiian Silversword Alliance - The Hawaiian silversword alliance consists of about 30 species in three genera.
• New fossil find shows link between birds and dinosaurs
• Ice Ages and Glaciation - Learn about the glaciers covering North America during the Pleistocene from Hartwick College Department of Geological and
Environmental Sciences.
• Introduction to Phylogenetic Systematics - cladistic phylogenetics presented by the UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology
• The Tree of Life - Current phylogenetic relationships of life on earth.
• Radiocarbon Dating - The Shroud of Turin  - Click on the Shroud itself to get to the main menu.  Go to the "Late Breaking News" in the menu and look over the papers concerning radiocarbon dating of the Shroud.
• RadioCarbon Web Page - Gives some great applications of radiocarbon dating along with an easy to understand summary of the process.

• Ecology WWW Page - Many links to ecology-related sites.
• Ecological Society of America
• The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)
• Long Term Ecological Research Network

• People and Discoveries - Stanley Miller - an article about Stanley Miller's experiment on the spontaneous origin of organic molecules.
• From the Primordial Soup to the Prebiotic Beach - An interview with Stanley Miller.
• Life in the Abyss - PBS/NOVA On-line - A mile and a half beneath the sea off the Pacific Northwest coast, a volcanic ridge has given birth to towering structures that spew toxic, superheated  water. The structures, known as black smoker chimneys, are home to bizarre life forms that thrive far beyond the reach of the sun's light.
• The Origins of Life - when did life originate on Earth, and was there only a single event, or has life originated multiple times?

• Microbe Zoo - The Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University has set up this great digital zoo to introduce you to microbes and their habitats.  You'll likely be surprised!
• Microbes Deep Inside the Earth - A Scientific American article on the discovery of prokaryotes living more than 1.5 miles deep in the Earth's crust
• Extremophiles - A Scientific American article on prokaryotes that live in conditions that would be fatal to other organisms
• The Challenge of Antibiotic Resistance - A Scientific American article which discusses microbial ecology, "good" vs. "bad" bacteria, and the problem society faces with bacteria resistant to drugs.
  

• Endosymbiotic Theory - A nice paper summarizing Lynn Margulis' endosymbiotic theory and current supporting evidence.
• Algae - Bowling Green State Center for Algal Microscopy
• Dinoflagellates -
• Diatoms -
• An Introduction to Slime Molds - oooooh!!!
• Electron Micrographs of Diatoms - pretty cool pictures!
• World Health Organization - Division of Tropical Diseases - Wow!...some great information on various diseases caused by protozoans (Shistosomiasis, African Trypanosomiasis, Malaria etc...)
• Slime Molds - the mysterious and fascinating world of the slime mold
• The Harmful Algae Page - "Red tides" and other poisonous marine algae
• Protist Image Data - lots of images and information on protozoans and algae
• Algae and its uses\

• Introduction to the Plantae - Life history, systematics and morphology
• Visit the Plant Doctor - info on plant diseases
• Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawai`i - describes the cultural and medicinal uses of plants Polynesians brought to Hawaii in their canoes
• Air Pollution and Plants - plants keep the air clean, and future NASA space missions will bring plants along to keep pollutant levels down.  Find out what plants are best for your house.
• The Hawaiian Silversword Alliance - learn all about the amazing state plant of Hawaii and its ancestors.
• Poinsonous Plants Home Page - includes plant images, pictures of affected animals and presentations concerning the botany, chemistry, toxicology, diagnosis and prevention of poisoning of animals by plants and other natural flora (fungi, etc.). From Cornell University.

• The Cephalopod Page - focuses on squid, cuttlefish, octopus, nautiloids.  Lots of information and terrific photos.
• The VitaReef Program - some pictures of corals, and methods of characterizing the condition of coral reefs.
• Nudibranch Page - Check ou the cool pictures of nudibranch (sea slugs).  These are gastropods related to snails etc...
• The Cnidarian Home Page - Images, links etc...
• From the UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology, introductions to various invertebrate phyla, including excellent photos:
• Phylum Porifera - Sponges
• Phylum Ctenophora - comb jellies
• Phylum Platyhelminthes - Flatworms, parasitic flukes and tapeworms
• Phylum Nemertea - ribbon worms
• Phylum Nematoda - this page actually covers various "worm-like" phyla, including nematodes and rotifers, grouped together as the "Aschelminthes"
• Phylum Annelida - segmented worms: earthworms, leetches, fan worms and other polychaetes
• Phylum Arthropoda - insects, lobsters, shrimp, crabs, barnacles, copepods, etc.
• Phylum Bryozoa - moss animals
• Phylum Brachiopoda - lamp shells
• Phylum Phoronida - phoronid worms
• Phylum Echinodermata - sea stars, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sand dollars
• Phylum Hemichordata - acorn worms
• Phylum Chordata - this phylum includes the Vertebrata, but also two invertebrate groups:
• Urochordata - sea squirts, tunicates, larvaceans, salps
• Cephalochordata - lancelets
• Phylum Mollusca - snails, clams, oysters, slugs, octopus, squid, etc.
• Forensic entomology - using insects and their larvae in criminal cases
• Dust mites - they are living right under your nose!  This page, from Cells Alive!, also includes a link to a page describing the immune reaction that is responsible for the itchy allergic reaction to dust mite droppings.
• B_EYE page - ever wonder what a bee sees through its eyes?  This is the site for you!
• Australian Spiders - includes lots of interesting information on myths attached to spiders
• Class Insecta - includes insect lore, photographs, and the Bug of the Month

• Vertebrata - from the UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology
• Ancient feathered animal challenges dinosaur-bird link

• Plant Anatomy - photos and descriptions of flowering plant parts from a Botany lab course at Texas A&M University.

• Fact on Farts - The title says it all!

• Human cardiovascular system
• The Heart: An Online Exploration

• The Development of the Polio Vaccine
• Vaccines - How and Why

• DinoBuzz - Were dinosaurs "warm-blooded" or cold-blooded"?

• Embryonic Zoo

• Seeing , Hearing and Smelling - A publication by the Howard Huges Medical Institute on sensory systems research...awesome!

  Comments, suggestions, or requests to petersj@cofc.edu. Last updated 9 March, 2007,  College of Charleston.