Genetics 372, Winter 1999


Course Organization

Prerequisites Textbooks and Other Reading
Course Approach Talk, Talk, Talk!
Course Books Questions to the Teachers
Lectures Student Group E-mail
Study Questions Lecture Videos
Assigned Readings Disabilities
Quiz Sections Contacting the Teachers
Exams & Grading Office Hours
Re-grading Exams


Prerequisites
You should have taken BIOL 201 or GENET 371, and done reasonably well in them. You should have a good college introductory level understanding of Mendelian genetics (independent assortment) and of meiotic recombination as a way to map genes. You should have a good college introductory level understanding of DNA structure, the transcription of DNA into RNA, the translation of messenger RNA into protein, and the nature of the genetic code.

Course Approach
This course will examine a limited number of topics in molecular genetics. But, we will do so in some depth. The goal is to help you see how experimentation leads to understanding. Another way to say it -- the course emphasizes science as a way of knowing: asking questions, designing experiments, and deducing "pictures" of how things work based on the observations.

The major themes are - -

(1) Formal analysis and physical analysis of genetic material: especially, using this information to clone specific genes.

(2) Information storage and retrieval: the genetic code, gene structure, and gene transcription.

(3) Use of mutations and novel gene constructs to study biological mechanisms.

In this course you will need to integrate information from three sources: Lectures, Study Questions, and Reading assignments. Doing well will require you to spend about 15 hours per week outside of class, reading and studying.

If you do not feel challenged by the course material, please let us know. We can guide you to sources of stimulation.

Course Books
Two compilations, put together by me, Genetics 372--Book 1 and Genetics 372--Book 2 should be purchased at Professional Copy 'N' Print , 4200 University Way NE. Copies of these books will also be put on reserve in the Undergraduate Library. Book 1 contains (a) Organizational information for the course and (b) Lecture overhead copies. Book 2 contains (a) Study Questions, (b) Reading assignments, and (c) Last year's exams.

Lectures
Genetics 372--Book 1 contains paper copies of overhead transparencies that will be used at each class. You will need to take notes but, with an outline and drawings in front of you, you should have time to think through the material with me.

For two weeks, the class overhead transparencies will be posted--with annotations--at this web site (go to LECTURE NOTES). Note: (1). It is unlikely that this annotated Lecture material will adequately substitute for attending class to participate in thinking through the material. (2). Annotated notes will be provided only for the first two weeks; that period will allow you to adjust to the course's approach.

Study Questions
Study Questions sets are included in Genetics 372--Book 2 (available at Professional Copy 'N' Print , 4200 University Way NE). The goal of these Questions is to stimulate you to think through concepts and experimental manipulations related to class material. Some concepts and technical appoaches not given in Lectures are presented in the Study Questions.

Assigned Readings
The Assigned Readings are included in Genetics 372--Book 2. Copies of additional assigned readings may be handed out. The readings are an important source of learning in the course. They are designed to reinforce concepts and experimental approaches presented in Lecture and in the Study Questions. The first two readings are chapters from textbooks; most of the others are research articles that have been adapted by me for the use by undergraduates. (see
Assigned Readings, list). See also: Background / Supplemental Reading.

Questions or Exercises accompany most of the reading assignments, or are inserted within them. These are designed to help you to work through the reading and to focus on key points in it. The exams will contain a question, or questions, to test whether the assigned readings have been read.

Quiz Sections
Section AA - Tuesday 1:30-2:20 HSC J-Wing, J280

Section AB - Wednesday 1:30-2:20 HSC J-Wing, J280

Section AC - Tuesday 1:30-2:20 HITCHCOCK 324

Section AD - Wednesday 1:30-2:20 HITCHCOCK 324

Attendance at quiz sections is expected. You will receive help in integrating the different sources of information in the course and with some of the more difficult concepts. For topics that will be emphasized each week see: Quiz Section Topics / Due Dates. There will also be demonstrations of materials used in molecular genetics research.

Exams & Grading
First exam: Friday, January 22, 11:30 - 1:20...100 points

Second exam: Friday, February 12, 11:30 - 1:20...100 points

Final exam: Wednesday, March 17, 2:30 - 4:20....200 points

All three exams will be about 2 hours long. However, the final exam will cover about twice as much new material as the others, and it has twice the point credit. If staying until 1:20 for the First and Second exams will be a hardship, let me know right away.

There will be no "extra credits."

Missed Exams: If you must miss an exam for a (non-emergency) reason that you feel meets the University Handbook guidelines, it must be discussed and approved by me at least one week ahead of the exam.

This course is not graded on a curve. I will set grade equivalents for exam scores after each exam. Classes differ in their abilities. The average grades in my Genetics 372 class for the past three years were 2.9, 2.6, and 2.9, and the percentages of 4.0 grades were 13%, 3% and 6%. Last year about 20% of the students dropped the class.

Exams will emphasize material since the previous exam. However, they will necessarily be somewhat cumulative because later material builds on earlier material in the course. Exam questions will cover Lecture material, the Reading assignments and the Study Questions. The exams questions will be similar to those in the Study Questions (but shorter because of the time constraint) or they will ask for a brief discussion of concepts or experimental approaches. Questions to determine whether the assigned readings have been read wil also be included. Last year's exams (two "midterms" and a final) are included in the Genetics 372--Book 2. The exams will be closed book/closed notes.

Re-grading Exams
Exams will be graded carefully and consistently. If you feel that an error was made in grading an exam, state your case in writing and submit it along with your unaltered exam to the Department of Genetics office, J-205 Health Sciences Center, no later than one week after the graded exams are made available to you. I will do all of the regrading. Afterwards, if you wish to discuss your case, you can always make an appointment with me. I reserve the right to reassess the grading on the entire exam.

Textbooks and Other Reading
The course reading is in Genetics 372--Book 2 which can be purchased at Professional Copy 'N' Print , 4200 University Way NE. There is no other required textbook. General reviews and overviews on topics covered in lectures can be found in most contemporary general genetics text books.

If you would like a good general genetics text you might consider buying An Introduction to Genetic Analysis by A.J. F. Griffiths, J.H. Miller, D.T. Suzuki, R.C. Lewontin & W.M. Gelbart, Sixth Edition,W.H. Freeman & Co., which is carried by the University Bookstore as the "not required" text for this course. Used copies should be available. Genetics 372--Book 1 contains a list of sections in this text which are relevant to topics covered in the course, as well as a few other readings in other sources which provide background or additional information on different topics.

ON RESERVE IN UNDERGRADUATE LIBRARY:

Genetics 372--Books 1 and 2.

An Introduction to Genetic Analysis (above).

Molecular Medicine. R. J. Trent, Churchill Livingstone (Publishers), 1993. An excellent book on human molecular genetics--from diseases to forensics.

Genes VI. Benjamin Lewin, Sixth Edition, Oxford University Press, 1997. A very detailed accounting of molecular processes.

The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease, [Chapter 6, "The Human genome project and its impact on the study of human disease"], 7th ed., McGraw-Hill, 1995, pages 401-436. A summary of human genome mapping and cloning.

See also: Background / Supplemental Reading.

Talk, Talk, Talk!
The best way to learn is to talk with other people. Ask me questions. Ask the TAs questions. We will help you understand while pushing you to think on your own. Discuss the Lecture notes, the Readings, and the Study Questions with other students. Form a discussion group that meets regularly. Explaining things to someone else is the best way to learn.

Questions to the Teachers
Questions about course material are best discussed in person with me or the TAs after class, at office hours, or at Quiz Sections. Otherwise, the best way to reach me and the TAs is by email (addresses in the
Contacting the Teachers section). We will answer e-mail queries as quickly as we can. Questions that seem of general interest to the class will be emailed to all students in the class (see Student Group Email -- next section).

Student Group E-mail
A Student Group E-mail address has been set up for students in Genetics 372, Winter Quarter, 1999.. The e-mail addresses on the list are taken from the University of Washington Class List. To send a message to everyone on this email list, just send the message as a normal e-mail to:
genet372@u.washington.edu (or just: genet372@u).

This Student Group E-mail address is meant to be used in three ways: First, it provides an easy way to discuss material from the class -- Lectures, Study Questions and Reading. You can ask questions or present ideas, and receive responses and feedback from other students. I or one of the TAs will be checking the messages sent to the Student Group E-mail list but will refrain from posting there unless, after some time, everyone seems stumped by a question. Even then, to push you to think, we're more likely to give hints rather than answers.

The second purpose of this group e-mail is to allow me to make announcements about the class. That way everyone in the class with an e-mail address will have immediate notice about any corrections or last minute news -- assuming that you read your email often. These announcements also will be made in class and on the class web site.

Third, you could use the Student Group E-mail to set up discussion groups to meet _physically_ at specific times and places.

Questions addressed directly to me or to the TAs at our individual email addresses that seem of general interest, and not of a personal nature, will be forwarded to the group email address.

If you have a new or non-university address, and would like to be on the group email list, let me know. If you do not wish to receive these class emailings, tell me and I will have your name removed from the recipient list.

Lecture Videos
Classes are being videotaped. The tape for a lecture will be available at the Media Center in the Undergraduate Library, probably the next day. The videotapes are meant to assist you if you must miss a class or if you feel you would benifit from hearing and seeing a topic a second time. The videos will not be a good subtitute for attending lectures and participating in the class discussions directly.

Disabilities
To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disabled Student Services, 448 Schmitz, (206) 543-8924 (V/TTY). If you have a letter from Disabled Student Services indicating that you have a disability which requires accommodations, please present the letter to me so we can discuss the accommodations you might need in class.

Contacting the Teachers
Message Phonee-Mail address
Professor:
Walt Fangman

543-0334

fangman@genetics.washington.edu
Teaching Assistants:
Karen James
(Sections AA & AB)


685-3319


karenj@u.washington.edu
Michael McMurray
(Sections AC & AD)

685-6660

mmcmurra@fhcrc.org

Office Hours
MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursday Friday
Karen James10:00-11:00
J-112 HSC*
4:30-5:30
J-112 HSC
Michael McMurray2:30-3:30
J-112 HSC
10:20-11:20
J-112 HSC
Walt Fangman12:30-1:30
J-182 HSC
12:30-1:30
J118-HSC
*HSC = Health Sciences Center; J-wing is adjacent to Hitchcock Hall

Any student can come to any of the office hours.

If you are unable to come to any of the office hours because of your employment or class schedules, you can make an appointment with a TA or me. Please let us know why the regualr times cannot work for you.