Biosci 54/55

Biosci 54/55: Advanced Independent
Research Laboratory

Is Biosci 54/55 right for you?

Are you planning to pursue a career as a research scientist?
Do you want to learn how to design and implement your own experiments?
Do you want to do real experiments that generate novel results?
Are you interested in genomics, genetics and modern molecular biology?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you should consider applying for Bio 54/55. These courses substitute for the Bio44X/44Y lab requirement for Biological Sciences majors, but enrollment is not restricted to Biology majors, and we encourage students from other scientific disciplines to apply.

The deadline for applications for the 2005-2006 school year is November 1.

Apply here!

What will you do in Biosci 54/55?

pinning In Biosci 54/55 you will use the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae (also known as budding yeast, or baker's yeast) to study the effects of environmental toxins, pollutants, and food additives on eukaryotic cells. Many important genes are conserved between yeast and humans, making yeast a useful model to study how these compounds might affect human cells.

To study these compounds you will use the most modern tools of genetics and genomics to identify yeast mutants that are hypersensitive to a particular compound. In the image on the left a student is copying mutants in a yeast genomic deletion collection from master plates to plates containing drug, and to control plates. Identification the genes required for growth on a particular compound by this and other methods will allow you to formulate a hypothesis about the cellular processes affected by that compound.

You will use these data to design and execute a project to test your hypotheses. Some of the compounds we have studied in previous years, and what we have learned about their effects on cellular physiology are listed below:

Compound	Common use	Bio54/55 Result
NaF (sodium fluoride)	protects tooth enamel, added to drinking water in many U.S. cities over-exposure leads to skeletal or dental fluorosis, characterized by a weakening of skeletal structure or tooth decay, respectively	inhibits activity of essential pyrophosphatase Ipp1 and leads to an increase in intracellular pyrophosphate; this may explain mechanism of skeletal fluorosis caused by exposure to high levels of fluoride in drinking water
SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate)	detergent, added to some cosmetic products	leads to a decrease in delivery of Tat2p, high affinity tryptophan permease, to the plasma membrane
MIT: (2-Methyl-4-isothiazolin- 3-one hydrochloride)	preservative, added to cosmetic products including shampoo	seems to affect vesicular transport
Curcumin	also known as turmeric, yellow spice in mustard and curries	disrupts copper and iron homeostasis

poster presentatin Biosci 54/55 is a serious time commitment, but worth the effort!. We asked former students what they would tell students considering taking Biosci 54/55. Some responses are below:

" If you're even slightly considering a future in research, this is the course to take."
" That it is amazing and they should take it. Be prepared to make a big time commitment spring quarter."
" I'd tell them its a great opportunity but requires a lot of work."
" Take it! It's definitely worth the time and effort."
" if you're interested in pursuing a career in research, this is the best way you can possibly spend spring quarter. don't pass up the opportunity to be able to pursue a project of your own...."

For more information about the course email Anna Ballew, Martha Cyert or Tim Stearns

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