This project incorporates modern instrumentation in cellular and molecular biology in order to upgrade the laboratory components of courses in introductory biology, research methods in the natural sciences, genetics, cell biology, and microbiology, and thereby introduce undergraduate students to current research technologies in molecular biology. This project directly supports a new research-driven curriculum implemented in the biology department in 1994, which focuses on hands-on and collaborative problem solving as a way of leaming. Modernization in the laboratory instruction of the rapidly expanding area of molecular/cell biology complements and balances recent advances in the experimentally based study of animal systems (physiology and developmental biology) attained by the recent implementation of new, modern equipment and laboratory experiences in these areas. To achieve the interrelated goals of improvement in the way students leam about molecular biology and their understanding of concepts and proficiency in the technologies and techniques required to conduct modern investigative projects addressing questions of gene expression and regulation and cellular differentiation and metabolism, the college is implementing new laboratory sessions utilizing DNA techniques designed specifically for undergraduate laboratory instruction. The inclusion of basic methodologies such as DNA isolation, restriction enzyme analysis, and gel electrophoresis of DNA and protein into biology laboratory exercises beginning with the introductory biology course, a general education requirement for all students, significantly influences students' education and appreciation of modern molecular technologies and their impact on society. Biology majors, through the laboratory component of a series of advanced courses, graduate with technical proficiency and improved conceptual understanding of recent advances in the cellular/molecular basis of living systems. *
