Biology of Reproduction

All living things make more living things. Explore how the drive to reproduce impacts the genetics, physiology, behavior, and evolution of species.

Have you ever wondered about the big Why questions in Biology: Why do organisms reproduce sexually? Why do we have two sexes? Why do males and females look so different? Why do male spiders sacrifice themselves to their mates? One underlying principle unites these questions: “One general law, leading to the advancement of all organic beings – namely, multiply, vary, let the strongest live and the weakest die” (Charles Darwin, Origin of Species, 1859).

Reproduction is a fundamental and essential attribute of living organisms. This course will explore various aspects of this compelling biological phenomenon. We will begin by learning about the genetic basis of what determines whether an individual organism is male or female. Next, we will dive into the molecular and cellular details on how sexual differentiation and reproduction is accomplished. Finally, we will zoom back out to ask how having differentiated sexes and the drive to reproduce affect the behavior, ecology, and evolution of species. Along the way, we will discover how scientists approach and solve the whole variety of biological problems described above, and learn about important scientific figures and periods of scientific history.

While material will be introduced through lectures, you will benefit most from participation in class discussions, demonstrations, and activities. There will be occasional homework reading and short research assignments, a couple of very brief presentations, and a final in-depth presentation on a topic you are most excited to independently explore.

For the application...

Prerequisites

Knowledge of biology equivalent to minimum 1 year-long high school course, Honors, AP or IB preferred.

Relevant experience

List any activities related to biology, including courses, clubs, independent research, watching documentaries, reading magazines, or books.

Application Question (Core-specific free response)

(A, part 1) You find a new species of mouse! As a budding biologist, you capture a colony back to your laboratory to study. You notice that one of your male mice has pink paws, whereas all the other mice have brown paws. Intrigued, you decide the study the genetics of paw color. You decide to mate the pink pawed male with a brown pawed female, and find that all the pups have brown paws. Assuming that only one gene is responsible for paw color, what does this experiment tell you about how the gene determines pink or brown paws?

(A, part 2) Puzzled as to why none of the pups inherited pink paws, you went back to the wild and tried to find more pink pawed mice. You manage to find a pink pawed female, which you decided to mate with a brown pawed male. Now, you find that all the male pups have pink paws, but all female pups still have brown paws. Give a possible explanation that would explain the results of this experiment, and the one above.

(B) Write down a list of attributes of what you might call a “living thing”, as many as you like. Choose three attributes you think are the most important, and rank them in order of importance. In one paragraph, defend why *you* think these three are the most important, and why they should be ranked in this order.