MWCC College Catalog — Biology

BIO102 INTRODUCTION TO FORESTRY

4 credits
This course provides a general introduction to the practice and profession of forestry. This course will not result in your becoming a forester, but will equip participants with the tools to understand forest ecology and forest management decisions. This course will allow you to communicate with foresters, and understand forests’ complexity, their values, and the factors influencing forest stewardship. Two hours lecture and four hours lab per week. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, MAT092, or placement. Offered either fall or spring.

BIO103 HUMAN HEALTH AND DISEASE

3 credits
This lecture-based course describes the basic structure and function of most organ systems within the context of some common human diseases. Homeostasis, the dynamic equilibrium in which the internal environment of an organism is maintained fairly constant, is the theme of this course that allows the understanding of certain common diseases. Students with little science background will investigate human disease within a personal context. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, or placement. Fall and spring.

BIO104 INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION

4 credits
This is an introductory course in natural resource conservation that will provides comprehensive overview of local, regional, and global resource and environmental issues. Topics will include population growth, soil conservation and agriculture, aquatic environments, air and water pollution, forest and wildlife management, global climate change, and energy usage. Strategic thinking towards sustainability will be a unifying theme in exploring the natural resources we depend upon in our complex, interconnected global environment. Three hours lecture and two hours discussion/lab per week. Prerequisite: ENG100, MAT092, RDG100, or placement. Offered either fall or spring.

BIO109 BIOLOGY I

4 credits
Biology, as a science, represents a way of interacting with the world in a rational manner. The nature of science, cellular structure and function, the molecules of life, the acquisition and use of energy by living organisms, the code of heredity, principles of genetics, and genetic recombination will be considered in this course. Three lecture hours and two lab hours per week. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, MAT092, or placement. Fall and spring.

BIO110 BIOLOGY II

4 credits
This course will use the same philosophy and approach as BIO109 Biology I. Topics to be considered will include the origin and evolution of life, the diversity of life in the plant and animal kingdoms, human evolution, and behavior as an adaptive mechanism. Three hours lecture and two lab hours per week. Prerequisites: BIO109 or placement. Spring.

BIO112 BIOLOGY OF CANCER

3 credits
This introductory level biology course integrates the cellular and molecular basis of biology with up-to-date information in an extensive survey of the nature, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of various forms of cancer. In addition, the course is designed to convey the relationship between the process by which science works in basic biomedical research and the advances made in public/personal health. In studying the biology of cancer, students will use online resources and electronic communication. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, or placement. Offered occasionally.

BIO115 HUMAN BIOLOGY

4 credits
An introductory study of the human body orients students to the normal structures and functions of the human body. This broad perspective of human life addresses the basic principles of cellular biology, tissues, and key organ systems. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, or placement. Fall and spring.

BIO116 ECOLOGY

4 credits
This course is the study of ecosystems: how they function, achieve balance, and continually change. Environmental science is the study of how humans and other species interact with one another and with the non-living environment. This course will combine the study of ecosystems with an exploration of environmental principles. Local and global environmental issues and their possible solutions will be discussed. The lab focuses on forest, field, and aquatic habitats, with field trips to local sites. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, MAT092, or placement. Fall.

BIO117 EMERGING DISEASES: PAST AND PRESENT

3 credits
This course will discuss some of the old diseases, epidemics, plagues, and scourges and apply what we’ve learned from them to some of the new, reactivated, and recurrent diseases we face today. The human immune system will be discussed along with an explanation and discussion of how some of the current agents of disease evade and/or defeat this system. We will discuss the social, financial, political, and religious impacts where appropriate. We will also discuss what the future may hold in our battles with infectious agents. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, or placement. Offered occasionally.

BIO120 HORTICULTURE

4 credits
This course is designed for those interested in understanding the processes by which plants grow and how that understanding can be used to improve the quality of plants grown in the garden, the landscape, and the home. Students will also examine the structure and function of flowering plants. A workshop approach will be used and experiments will be conducted in the lab and greenhouse. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, or placement. Spring.

BIO122 ZOOLOGY: THE BIOLOGY OF ANIMALS

4 credits
Animals are found in every environment and have various roles or niches that they occupy in these environments. Each environment presents different problems that these animals overcome with various structural, functional, and behavioral adaptations. The study of these adaptations is the central theme of this course. Laboratory is an integral part of this course with a focus on living animals with a minimal amount of dissection. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. Prerequisite: ENG100, RDG100, or placement. Spring.

BIO128 PLANTS AND SOCIETY

3 credits
This course is a survey course looking at the origins, historical, and current use of plants in societies including food, spices, clothing, beverages, building material, and medicines. The search for and exploitation of many plant species by humans has directly and indirectly shaped the geopolitical world we now live in. These topics will follow a brief introduction to basic plant structure, function, and life cycle. The increasing role of plants in biotechnology will also be studied, as well as the important uses of algae and fungi as they relate to people, plants, and plant products. Three hours lecture per week. Prerequisite: ENG100, RDG100, or placement. Fall or spring.

BIO130 PLANT SCIENCE

4 credits
This course includes basic plant structure and function. This will include the anatomy and physiology of the plant cell, tissues, roots, stems, and leaf growth and development. Laboratory will include the study of the above with preserved and live specimens and with field study where possible. The effects of various plant pathogens on plant growth will be considered. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. Prerequisites: RDG100, ENG100, MAT092, or placement. Fall or spring.

BIO132 GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

3 credits
This course is a study of environmental issues from both global and local perspectives. Global environmental issues are environmental problems that go beyond regional effect and spread out to an international scale. In this course we will research the major environmental issues taking into account the ecological principles, cultural impact, economic factors, and political controversies that shape each problem. We will compare the environmental impact of these issues in Massachusetts and in a variety of countries, cultures, and ecosystems. Field experiences in this course will focus on local environmental issues. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, or placement. Offered occasionally.

BIO140 INTRODUCTION TO GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT

4 credits
Theory and practice of operation/management of a commercial greenhouse will be the major content of this course. This course will integrate the science of the greenhouse industry with the need to remain competitive. This four-credit lab science will use the MWCC greenhouse to study the science of the greenhouse including root substrate, fertilizer formulations, and the business of greenhouse management. Emphasis will be placed on chemical/non-chemical methods of control of plant pathogens. Two hours lecture and four hours lab per week. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, MAT092, or placement. Spring.

BIO160 PRINCIPLES OF BIOCHEMISTRY

4 credits
This course will introduce students to the major classes of biological molecules: nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates and their chemistry in living systems. Topics such as cell metabolism, glycolysis, and the Kreb’s Cycle; the electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation, as well as the synthesis of the biological molecules will be covered. Students will gain hands-on knowledge during selected laboratory activities. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. Prerequisites: MAT096, CHE203. Spring.

BIO170 CELL BIOLOGY

4 credits
This course introduces the fundamentals of cellular biology, including cell structure and metabolism, cell division, DNA replication, and protein synthesis. Students will also learn about the cells’ ability to move, reproduce, grow, and change as well as cell anatomy, membrane function, and organelles, which perform specific functions within a cell. In the laboratory, students are provided with hands-on experience with the process of science and with course topics. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. Prerequisite: BIO109. Spring.

BIO203 ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY I

4 credits
Topics in this course include the chemical and cellular basis of human body systems. Focus is on an in-depth study of the structure and function of the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems as well as nutrition/metabolism. Theoretical concepts will be modeled in lab through hands-on experiments and computer-assisted exercises, as well as dissection. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, or placement; BIO109 or 115 is strongly encouraged. Fall, spring, summer.

BIO204 ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY II

4 credits
This course is a continuation of BIO203 Anatomy and Physiology I with discussions centering on the digestive, endocrine, reproductive, cardiovascular and respiratory system along with the kidneys, and a detailed review of the acid-base balance. Laboratory exercises will supplement theoretical concepts and will use appropriate animal organs as models on a per system basis. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. Prerequisite: BIO203. Fall, spring, summer.

BIO205 MICROBIOLOGY

4 credits
This is a transferable four-credit laboratory science course. It is a required course for the Nursing curriculum at MWCC. It is recommended for students planning careers in health sciences or animal and plant sciences and will satisfy a lab science requirement here, or for transfer. In addition to a discussion of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and other parasites, this course will discuss practical applications of the techniques of microbiology to the health care and industrial fields. This course is a medically-oriented course that surveys the broad aspects of this field of study. Topics include morphology and nutrition of microbes, pathogenic processes, host-defense mechanisms, allergy, antibiotic therapy, and a review of the common diseases of each system of the body. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Prerequisites: RDG100, ENG100 or placement. Encouraged prerequisite: any of the following: BIO109 or BIO115 or BIO203. Fall, spring, summer.

BIO209 HUMAN SEXUALITY

3 credits
This course is an in-depth study and discussion of all aspects of human sexuality. Emphasis will be on biological aspects and influences on human sexuality. Topics to be considered include structure, function and dysfunction of the reproduction system, prenatal sexual development, achieving gender identity, sexual behavior, sexual signaling, health and control of sexual reproduction, correcting problems of sexual expression, divergent sexual behavior, and sexually transmitted diseases. Various media forms will be used. A primary objective of the course is a better understanding of one’s own sexuality. Prerequisites: ENG100, RDG100, or placement. Offered occasionally.

BIO220 SOIL SCIENCE

4 credits
Soils are the anchors of biological systems. This is a study of the physical, chemical, and biological nature of the soil. This four-credit laboratory course will study the substrate of the ecosystem. Emphasis will be placed on the role of the soil in plant pathology. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week. Prerequisites: ENG100, MAT092, RDG100, or placement; CHE120 (pre or co-requisite): BIO130. Fall or spring.