WELCOME: This course is designed to introduce you to the essential principles, processes and mechanisms of molecular and cell biology. Course objectives: to develop a basic understanding of the mechanisms of life on a cell level; to gain an understanding how cells and organisms interrelate. Corequisite: BIOL 1106 – Biology for Science Majors I(Lab); Lecture + Lab = 4 credit hours (an amount of student work per credit hour = one hour of class or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work per week)

ATTENDANCE: You are expected to attend all lectures according to the schedule– attendance will be monitored. Sign in with your full first name and last name as listed on the class roster. Users who do not provide their full names will mark as un-attendant. Stay focused: turn off your cellphone and pack it away, respectful behavior is expected. You will be expected to study all prior material available on-line (link is provided below under class web-page @ and on D2L) before attending. Missing an exam will be permitted only by prior arrangement and make-ups will only be allowed in the case of a University approved absence (illness with a doctor's note, a family crisis, or a religious holiday).


PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES: Each of the student learning outcomes address the Biology Department Program Learning Outcomes as follows:
#1: The student will demonstrate a good knowledge base in biological concepts and be able to integrate knowledge with critical thinking skills to become problem solvers. Knowledge base will include levels of complexity (molecular/cellular through population/communities/ecosystems); biological principles and processes.

#2: The student will be able to clearly communicate scientific information; provide clear structure and transitions; demonstrate scientific tone, language, and form.
#3: The student will be able to think scientifically; this includes critical thinking / reasoning and explaining biological principles as well as analyzing and interpreting quantitative data sets.


STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (Course Competencies): Students who successfully complete Principles of Cell and Molecular Biology will demonstrate:
The ability, for animal cells, to recognize and identify the function(s) of the following: centrioles, chromatin, Golgi apparatus, lysosome, microfilaments, microtubules, mitochondrion, nucleus, peroxisome, plasma membrane, rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and ribosomes.
The ability, for plant cells, to recognize and identify the function(s) of the following: cell wall, chloroplast, and central vacuole. An understanding of the ability of enzymes to facilitate chemical reactions. Explain how catalysts, including enzymes, affect and are affected by the chemical reactions in which they participate.
An understanding of the biochemical processes of photosynthesis, glycolysis, citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. Define cellular respiration and identify the cellular locations of the various stages of cellular respiration. Distinguish between the light reactions and the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis.
An understanding of how cells grow and divide. Describe the major events of each of the stages of the cell cycle (Interphase, G1, G2, S, Mitosis, Prophase, Prometaphase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase, Mitotic Phase and Cytokinesis).
Explain how information flows from gene to protein. Describe the major events including transcription, translation and protein sorting. Explain the function of mRNA and tRNA. Describe how gene expression can be affected at various levels: DNA packing/unpacking and chemical modification.

MATERIALS: PowerPoint presentations for each lecture will be online along with the lecture videos, according to the provided schedule of the course, so that notes can be made and used during the exam. REMEMBER: draw it to know it! I recommend to use GOOGLE CHROME to browse this page. Textbook is optional for this course: Campbell Biology, 11th edition. Urry LA, Cain ML, Wasserman SA, Minorsky PV, and Reece JB; Pearson, 2017.

Lecture Exams (all together) - 75 pts
BIOL1106 grade – 25
Bonus points – up to 2 points to the Final grade will be assigned to each student according to attendance, participation in Livestream meetings, course evaluation completion, SI meetings, office hour visits.

SI is Julia Hobson, email.
SI meetings are TR 6-7pm, @ Wyatt Room (Library), starts on the second week of classes.
You're invited to Julia’s group “Van Kley 1306 SI” on GroupMe. Click to join
A GroupMe link is a chat to remind when tests, SI meetings etc.

MW 10:00-11:30am & T 11am-1pm, or by appointment @S236

over an e-mail avankley@sfasu.edu (please do not email through D2L if you would like to get a quick reply). When emailing please indicate BOTH class & section # and your CID. When attaching a file, filename should be “First_LastName.ext”, it must also include your name in the document itself. Emails lacking any of the information listed above WILL BE IGNORED. Note: NO emails will be answered after 5 p.m. and/or during weekends. NO GRADE DISCUSSION over an e-mail, only by one on one meetings.

MENTAL HEALTH: SFASU values students’ mental health and the role it plays in academic and overall student success. SFA provides a variety of resources to support students mental health and wellness. Many of these resources are free, and all of them are confidential.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Academic integrity (4.1) is a responsibility of all university faculty and students. Faculty members promote academic integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the components of academic honesty, as well as abiding by university policy on penalties for cheating and plagiarism. Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or attempting to use unauthorized materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned exercise; and/or (3) helping or attempting to help another in an act of cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own. Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as if it were one's own work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2) submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from an Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an author into one's paper without giving the author due credit. Please read the complete policy at http://www.sfasu.edu/policies/student-academic-dishonesty-4.1.pdf.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: To obtain disability related accommodations, alternate formats and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), Human Services Building, and Room 325, 468-3004 / 468-1004 (TDD) as early as possible in the semester. Once verified, ODS will notify the course instructor and outline the accommodation and/or auxiliary aids to be provided. Failure to request services in a timely manner may delay your accommodations. For additional information, go to http://www.sfasu.edu/disabilityservices/.

WITHHELD GRADES SEMESTER GRADES POLICY (5.5): Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor of record and with the approval of the academic chair/director, a grade of WH will be assigned only if the student cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances. Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the semester in which they receive a WH, or the grade automatically becomes an F. If students register for the same course in future terms the WH will automatically become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of computing the grade point average.

COVID-19 mask policy: As you know, according to the recent message from the Office of the President, we are encouraged to wear masks in public indoor settings.
On-campus Resources:
SFA Counseling Services www.sfasu.edu/counselingservices

Rusk Building, 3rd Floor 936.468.2401
SFA Human Services Counseling Clinic
www.sfasu.edu/humanservices/139.asp
Human Services, Room 202 936.468.1041
Crisis Resources: Burke 24-hour crisis line: 1.800.392.8343
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1.800.273.TALK (8255) Crisis Text Line: Text HELLO to 741-741