C&S BIO M150
Biological Modeling: Mathematical and Computational Approaches
Description: (Same as Ecology and Evolutionary Biology M159.) Lecture, four hours; laboratory, three hours. Requisites: Life Sciences 7A, 7B, 7C, Mathematics 33A and 33B, with grades of C or better. Recommended Requisites: Physics 1A, 1B, and 1C, or 5A, 5B, and 5C, with grades of C or better. Students learn how to translate their biological knowledge and intuition into mathematical equations and computer simulations, and how to interpret and glean biological insights from quantitative results and predictions. Review and integration of core mathematical and computational approaches in novel ways. Students gain experience translating and intuition about systems through many examples across range of biological levels, such as predator-prey, disease transmission, cancer initiation, cell migration, neural systems, vascular networks, sleep, drug interactions, gene expression, and more. Students learn how to manipulate data, basics of coding, and how to instantiate their mathematical models and biological intuition through numerical solutions and simulations. Letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2024 - Honestly struggled weekly in this class to a) pay attention in class and b) do the psets, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Savage knows what he's talking about and seems genuinely very interested in the topic, and although it feels like an extension of the LS30 series, I did enjoy class occasionally. Lectures aren't recorded, but pandemic recordings are available with his board notes -- probably why half the class isn't there most days after the first. The midterm/final questions are quite vague, but each is worth less than a single homework pset individually + it's take-home with groupwork permitted (most people seemed to do well on it). Labs are done in MATLAB, and while I think it's one of the most insufferable languages known to man, they're easy and require very little integration with/knowledge of the lectures beyond the provided lab instructions. The textbook is referenced a few times (which is why I assume it was offered through Inclusive Access) and provides useful reading if you have the time and mental fortitude to read through a chapter on your own, but if you know where to look you can find it online anyway. Grade Breakdown Homework - 60% Labs - 20% Midterm - 10% Final - 10%
Spring 2024 - Honestly struggled weekly in this class to a) pay attention in class and b) do the psets, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Savage knows what he's talking about and seems genuinely very interested in the topic, and although it feels like an extension of the LS30 series, I did enjoy class occasionally. Lectures aren't recorded, but pandemic recordings are available with his board notes -- probably why half the class isn't there most days after the first. The midterm/final questions are quite vague, but each is worth less than a single homework pset individually + it's take-home with groupwork permitted (most people seemed to do well on it). Labs are done in MATLAB, and while I think it's one of the most insufferable languages known to man, they're easy and require very little integration with/knowledge of the lectures beyond the provided lab instructions. The textbook is referenced a few times (which is why I assume it was offered through Inclusive Access) and provides useful reading if you have the time and mental fortitude to read through a chapter on your own, but if you know where to look you can find it online anyway. Grade Breakdown Homework - 60% Labs - 20% Midterm - 10% Final - 10%
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