The Department of Biology and Microbiology is incorporating the methods of modern Molecular Biology and Biotechnology into the undergraduate Microbiology laboratory curriculum. The improvements are providing a strong background in classical Microbiology, as well as giving students hands-on experience with the techniques that have revolutionized Microbiology and other Biological Sciences in the last decade. Centrifuges, spectrophotometers, electrophoresis equipment, and microcomputers are being used to implement major improvements in Bacterial Genetics and Bacterial Physiology laboratories. These changes ensure that the students receive modern instruction in the methods, principles and applications of DNA isolation, electrophoretic separation of DNA molecules and proteins, gene cloning techniques, DNA sequencing, and the use of computers to evaluate DNA molecules. Tissue culturing equipment is being used to instruct Immunology students in the fundamentals of cellular and humoral immunity and to provide them with experience in tissue culturing.
