How are important conditions or changes in the environment received and
transduced by organisms? We will examine the molecular and cellular bases of
the transduction and encoding of physical phenomena such as light,
sound,forces and chemicals in a variety of organisms. The focus will be on
questions such as: What properties of the physical world are sensed (and which
ones are ignored)? What mechanisms are used to convert physical or chemical
energy into a changed biological state within a cell? What are the consequences
of this changed state? How are differences in the attributes of one modality in the
physical world represented by differences in molecular and cellular processes?
Among the examples we will consider are: a comparison of visual structures and
pigments in bacteria, arthropods, molluscs, and primates, sound transduction
and its musical consequences, and the olfactory system of mammals.
Format: lecture/discussion/laboratory. Evaluation will be based on
examinations, and a paper.
Prerequisites: Biology 212 and permission of instructor, or Biology 205.
Enrollment limit: 24 (expected: 24). Preference given to seniors, then to Biology
majors.