Class meetings:

Tuesday evenings, 18:00-21:00. Room SC1117

About the course:

The class meetings will be a mixture of lecture and discussion. This course is based on weekly reading assignments taken from the literature, and student assignments turned in "on line" in advance of the class session. Assignments will become available at 4:00 Tuesday and be due the following Sunday at 10:00 PM. Most or all of the reading assignments will be available on line, and make use of the electronic periodicals to which California State University Northridge subscribes. Off-campus access to the electronic periodicals requires entry of a library bar code number.

Week	Date and topic	Assignment guide
1	8/28/01 - Inheritance
2	9/4/01 - Epigenetics & imprinting
3	9/11/01 - No Class Meeting	No assignment this week
4	9/18/01 - DNA replication
5	9/25/01 - Chromatin
6	10/2/01 - Transcription
7	10/9/01 -Nuclear compartment
8	10/16/01 - RNA processing & stability	Review for exam this week
9	10/23/01 - Midterm examination	No worksheet this week - just a reading assignment.
10	10/30/01 - Protein synthesis, compartments & targeting.
11	11/6/01 - Mating type and sex determination
12	11/13/01 - Meiosis & fertilization
13	11/20/01 -Cell cycle	No worksheet this week - just a reading assignment.
14	11/27/01 - Determination & differentiation	No worksheet this week - just a reading assignment.
15	12/4/01 - Patterning	No assignment
	NOTES ON THE FINAL EXAM FORMAT: 1. The final exam will be entirely "essay" - no multiple choice. The exam will be cumulative. 2. You will be provided with three questions, and will choose one upon which to write. You may only write on that one question. 3. You may bring the papers to class, and your notes, and you may use them while taking the exam. You may not bring books. Your answer must be written in your own words. Copying of text from the papers is strictly forbidden. 4. The exam will start at 20:00 and end at 22:00, and while you may leave early, you may not stay late.
	Final examination	date: 12/11/01 time: 20:00-22:00 room: SC1117

Instructor:

Dr. Stan Metzenberg Office hours: Wednesdays 10-11 AM, in Science 4100, 4103, or 4109. Email stan.metzenberg@csun.edu Phone 818-677-3335

Course objectives: Students will understand key issues in eukaryotic molecular genetics, and be able to read papers from the primary literature with minimal support.

Broad description of topics covered: Physiology of eukaryotic cells and plastids; molecular biology of chromosomes, genes, RNA and protein; regulation of gene expression; evolution of eukaryotic cells; developmental biology of eukaryotic organisms; epigenetics.

Course requirements and methods of evaluation: Course requirements include maintaining good class attendance, completing reading and writing assignments in a timely fashion, answering questions when called upon, and completing all quizzes or examinations. The student's increase in knowledge of the subject and effort applied in the course will be the primary and secondary methods of evaluation. The assignment guide on this web page is timed and self-updating. It is not possible to submit assignments after the time they are due.

Grading criteria: Letter grades A-F, with plus/minus system. 50% of grade will be determined from writing assignments, which must be scholarly, comprehensive, and delivered on time. 25% of grade will be determined from examinations and "pop quizzes". 25% of grade will be determined from class attendance and participation. That is to say, students are expected to be actively engaged in discussions, and to be knowledgeable about the reading assignments when they come to class.

Biology Department Withdrawal Policy: Unrestricted withdrawals are permitted only until the end of the third week. Thereafter, requests to drop a class will be honored only when a verifiable serious and compelling reason exists and when there is no viable alternative to withdrawal. Poor performance is not an acceptable reason for withdrawal. During the last three weeks of the semester withdrawals will not be approved except when a student is withdrawing from all classes for verifiable medical reasons.

Cheating and plagiarism: All forms of cheating and plagiarism (the claiming of the work of others as your own) are expressly forbidden by University rules and will not be tolerated. Any student observed cheating or participating in any act of academic dishonesty will have his or her case referred to the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs for possible University disciplinary action. In addition, the student may receive a failing grade in the course.

California State University Northridge

18111 Nordhoff St.

Northridge CA 91330-8303

website: S. Metzenberg

credits: red rock, chimp