BIOMI 2100

Genesis

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

This class will explore the current theories about the chemical origins of life on earth, and will then use these insights to discuss the search for life on other planets, inside the Solar system and outside. Topics will include origin of the Sun, the Big Bang, the formation of Earth, the origin of life, from the prebiotic synthesis of amino acids, nucleobases, and other building blocks of life, the evolution of primitive protocells, the earliest RNA-based catalysts, the evolution of protein synthesis machinery, and the origins of eukaryotic cells. We will conclude with strategies and progress in identifying life on other planets in our solar system and on planets orbiting other stars.

Prerequisites BIOG 1140 or BIOG 1500 or BIOMG 1350, or equivalent college level course that addresses DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis.

Distribution Requirements (BIO-AG)

Last 1 Terms Offered 2025FA

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