Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Michael Gillings
Contact via michael.gillings@mq.edu.au
E8A271
Mon 1 pm, Thurs 11 am
Other Staff
Sharyon O'Donnell
Contact via sharyon.odonnell@mq.edu.au
9-5
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit deals with human biology and the interactions of humans with the rest of the living world. Topics include: human genetics, anatomy, physiology, reproduction, and evolution. Attention is paid to topics of current interest, such as emerging diseases, DNA technology, genetic engineering, cloning, and the impact of human activities on biodiversity and the biosphere. The unit is designed for students with no background in biology, however students whose area of study is biology are also encouraged to attend. Lectures and unit notes are available via iLecture for students who find it difficult to attend live lectures.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Final Exam | 50% | TBA |
Writing Task | 2% | Friday 8th March |
Online Quizzes | 15% | Weekly |
Reference List | 8% | Friday 5th April |
Essay 1 | 25% | Friday 10th May |
Due: TBA
Weighting: 50%
A 2 hour test on the unit content, containing multiple choice and short answer questions
Due: Friday 8th March
Weighting: 2%
A 200 word statement on human biology
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 15%
Multiple Choice Quizzes covering lectures from the previous week
Due: Friday 5th April
Weighting: 8%
Summary of papers and correctly formatted reference list
Due: Friday 10th May
Weighting: 25%
A 2000 word essay dealing with a contemporary issue in human biology
Unit Structure and Timetable
BIOL 108 is offered in both an internal mode and an external mode. Internal students attend three 1 hour lectures per week. Since some topics in this unit are not dealt with in the textbook, it is important to attend all lectures. Students who do not attend all lectures often find it difficult to pass the Unit.
The external mode is offered to anyone who has difficulty attending live lectures because of timetable clashes, work commitments, or living some distance from the campus. For those students, lectures are recorded and distributed through iLearn and the Centre for Open Education.
There are no practical sessions in this course. For those students who want some experience with experimental biology and laboratory work, the other first year Biology courses (BIOL114, Evolution and Biodiversity & BIOL115, The Thread of Life) are recommended.
BIOL108 has a large enrolment, so large that it is impossible to fit all students into a single lecture theater. Because of this, we run two lecture streams. Students should enroll in either stream 1, or stream 2, not a mixture of both.REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTS AND/OR MATERIALS
Lecture Notes and Textbook:
Lecture notes containing copies of material used in lectures will be available for download as pdf files from iLearn. I strongly recommend that you print out notes before attending lectures.
The textbook for the course is: Mader, Sylvia M. Inquiry into Life McGraw-Hill Publishers.
Any of the recent editions of this text are suitable (2004-2012). There is no textbook that is entirely appropriate for this unit, but Inquiry into Life has a number of useful features that are relevant to the general philosophy behind BIOL108. Almost any recent introductory biology textbook can also provide useful background to this unit. Popular scientific journals such as New Scientist and Scientific American contain articles written in a style that is easy to read and understand. Such journals are a good source for summaries of recent developments in human biology.
I suggest that anyone who wants a good and very readable overview of modern science, including Biology, should read Bill Bryson’s ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ ISBN: 0552997048
The iLearn Website
All lectures in this unit will be recorded and available through the iLearn web site: (https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/)
Your username is your Student ID number (8 digits on your student card). Your password is your Macquarie OneID student password (sent to you when you enrolled). There is a help page available: (http://www.mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/)
If you are having trouble logging on, you should contact Student IT Help on:
On the iLearn site you will find links to each week’s lecture notes as pdf files. You will also find a link to Echo360, where you can download recordings of every lecture. The page also contains important details about assessments and tests, an Announcement Page and a Bulletin Board. We expect you to log on to iLearn several times each week so you can:
ecture Schedule
Week | Topic | Lecture | Interested in Learning More? |
1 | ATOMS TO CELLS |
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Try: BIOL114 Evolution and Biodiversity; BIOL115 DNA the Thread of Life |
2 | CELLS IN ACTION |
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Try: BIOL114 Evolution and Biodiversity; BIOL115 DNA the thread of Life; BIOL208 Animal Structure and Function |
3 | BODY BITS: METABOLISM & HUMAN ORGAN SYSTEMS |
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Try: BIOL208 Animal Structure and Function, BIOL247 Systems Physiology |
4 | GETTING IT TOGETHER: THE HUMAN INDIVIDUAL |
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Try: BIOL208 Animal Structure and Function, BIOL 257 Neurophysiology |
5 | HORMONES, IMMUNITY AND REPRODUCTION |
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Try: BIOL206 Genetics, BIOL208 Animal Structure and Function, BIOL247 Systems Physiology, BIOL367 Immunobiology. |
6 | LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND |
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Try: BIOL260 The Science of Sex; BIOL115 DNA the Thread of Life, BIOL206 Genetics |
7 | THE BASIS OF INHERITANCE |
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Try: BIOL115 DNA the Thread of Life, BIOL206 Genetics |
8 | WHEN IT GOES WRONG |
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Try: BIOL115 DNA the Thread of Life, BIOL206 Genetics, BIOL260 The Science of Sex; BIOL345 Human Genetics Theory |
9 | DNA MANIPULATION, BIOTECHNOLOGY, BIODIVERSITY |
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Try: CBMS223/224 Introductory Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, CBMS352 Molecular Biology; BIOL374 Biodiversity and Conservation |
10 | HUMANS AND MICROORGANISMS |
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Try: CBMS215 Microbiology, BIOL367 Immunobiology |
11 | SHARING THE PLANET: BIODIVERSITY |
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Try: BIOL114 Evolution and Biodiversity, BIOL227 Ecology, BIOL334 Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics; BIOL261 Palaeontology |
12 | WHERE DID WE COME FROM AND WHERE ARE WE GOING? |
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Try: BIOL114 Evolution and Biodiversity, BIOL227 Ecology, BIOL368 Ecology and Evolution. |
13 | REVIEW |
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Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/special_consideration/policy.html
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can be accessed at: http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Details of these services can be accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au/ses/.
If you wish to receive IT help, we would be glad to assist you at http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the university's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students and it outlines what can be done.
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This graduate capability is supported by: