Course Description

Explores the growing field of biotechnology ranging from basic cellular and molecular biology concepts to both basic and advanced laboratory techniques. Emphasizes the application of biotechnology to medicine, agriculture, environmental science, and forensics. Includes discussion of the business, regulatory/legal, ethical, and societal issues of this topic as well as the growing field of bioinformatics. Lecture 3 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

The purpose of this course is to provide the student with an opportunity to apply basic biological concepts to the applied field of biotechnology, preparing them to pursue entry-level, technical-level, or professional-level careers in bioscience. Students will review the fundamentals of cell and molecular biology and then use this knowledge to understand the science involved in the many biotechnology techniques and applications. In addition, this course is designed to be interdisciplinary, integrating the science with the business of biotechnology (i.e. bringing biotech products to market), the laws and policies regulating this industry, and the ethics of performing bioscience research. This course will be an introduction to the biotechnology field and serve as the prerequisite to other biotechnology courses in Protein Applications in Biotechnology (BIO 251) and DNA methods (BIO 252).

Course Prerequisites/Co-requisites

Prerequisites: BIO 101 or BIO 173 with a “C” or better or program placed

Upon completing the course, the student will be able to:

1. Define biotechnology and provide numerous examples of how biotechnology is being applied in different sectors including the medical field, agriculture, environmental science, and forensics
2. Describe key concepts in cell biology, biochemistry, and genetics and their significance in biotechnology research and product development
3. Understand the structure of DNA, sources of DNA, and how DNA is manipulated in biotechnology applications
4. Define genetic engineering and identify products created with this technology
5. Describe the structure and function of proteins and how proteins are studied
6. Detail the process of biomanufacturing, from research and development to scale-up to sales and marketing
7. Discuss the importance of plant biotechnology in creating new and novel crops and plant-products
8. Explain the importance of medical biotechnology, including in pharmacogenomics and immunology.
9. Understand the regulations governing the biotech industry
10. Discuss the bioethical issues involved in different biotechnology applications.
11. Give examples of careers and job responsibilities associated with this field

Other materials:

• Word processing program (Microsoft Word, Open Office Writer for PC or Mac, Pages for Mac, or other word processing program that will allow you to save documents in .doc or .docx  formats)
• Presentation program (Microsoft PowerPoints, Open Office Impress for PC or Mac, Keynote for Mac, or other presentation program that will allow you to save your files in a .ppt or .pptx format)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for reading and filling out the .pdf forms. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is free. You can download it from the Adobe website. Select your operating system and follow the steps on the screen to download the program. 

NOTE: You can use any Word processing program or Presentation program that is available to you to complete the assignments as long as you save your assignments in the required formats. 

Possible Assignments Include: (Subject to change each semester. The actual assignments are available in the Syllabus in the Blackboard course site on the first day of classes.)

Your final grade may be based on the following scale. Please note that you must also pass at least several exams in order to pass the course, regardless of your scores on the other assignments.

There are 4 exams in this course. The exams are online and must be taken at a campus testing center.