Description: Lecture, two and one half hours; laboratory, eight hours. Requisites: Life Sciences 3, 4, 23L. Recommended requisite or corequisite: course 101. Course 103AL is enforced requisite to 103BL. Limited to Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics and Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology majors. Research-oriented laboratory experience designed to promote discovery of novel bacterial viruses (phages). Working in teams, students conduct research projects that incorporate techniques in microbiology, virology, and molecular biology and involve use of bioinformatics tools and computational analysis software. Emphasis on reading and understanding scientific literature as well as improving critical thinking skills such as ability to evaluate hypotheses or experimentally address scientific questions. Critical aspects of research process, including record keeping, ethics, laboratory safety and citizenry, mechanics of scientific writing, and project responsibilities and ownership. Letter grading.

Units: 5.0