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Courses 2025-2026
Bi 1. The Great Ideas of Biology.
9 units (4-0-5); third term.
Biological processes take place at length scales ranging from that of individual protein molecules all the way to the algal blooms or rainforests that can be seen from space and over a dizzying nearly 30 orders of magnitude in time scales. This course will start by examining the biology of processes such as how plants and animals colonize oceanic islands and the physics of how animals such as wildebeest form giant herds during their year-long migration. With these wonders of the living world revealed, we will then seek to understand biological phenomena by thinking about genes and cells. May be taken pass/fail if taken in a first-year student's first year.
Instructor: Phillips
Bi 1 b. The Biomechanics of Organismal Design.
9 units (3-0-6); second term.
Have you ever wondered how a penguin swims or why a maple seed spins to the ground? Can a flea jump as high as a kangaroo? Is spider silk really stronger than steel? This class will offer answers to these and other questions related to the mechanical design of plants and animals. The course will provide a basic introduction to how engineering principles from the fields of solid and fluid mechanics may be applied to the study of biological systems. The course emphasizes the organismal level of complexity, although topics will also connect phenomenology at the molecular, cellular, and tissue-level scales. Topics include the physical properties of biological materials, viscoelasticity, biological pumps, muscle mechanics, neural control, and animal locomotion. May be taken pass/fail if taken in the first-year student's first year. Limited enrollment.
Instructor: Dickinson
Bi 1 c. Biology Through the Algorithmic Lens.
9 units (3-0-6); second term.
Do biological systems compute? Can we compute with biological systems? Is computer code a meaningful metaphor for genetic code? Do neural networks in biology have much to do with neural networks in computer science? In this class we will investigate these and other questions with a view towards learning about deep connections between biology and computer science that shed light on fundamental questions in biology. May be taken pass/fail if taken in a first-year student's first year.
Instructor: Pachter
Bi 1 e. Evolution of the Biosphere.
9 units (3-0-6); third term.
Evolutionary phenomena have shaped Earth's biosphere, from the structures of molecules to the dynamics of entire ecosystems. This course covers how the biosphere emerged through the actions of evolutionary processes operating over the past 3.7 billion years of Earth history. Evolutionary mechanisms acting at different scales of biological organization will be covered, including gene and protein evolution, gene family and genome evolution, cell type evolution, the evolution of developmental processes controlling morphology, neural circuit evolution and behavior, the molecular mechanisms that physiologically adapt organisms to their environments, and the origins of ecological relationships between species. At each scale, constraints and catalysts on the evolutionary process will be discussed that have led to the spectrum of living systems comprising our planet's tree of life. This course is inclusive of all biodiversity.
Instructors: Parker, J
Bi 1 i. Construction and Guidance of Biological Defense.
9 units (4-0-5); second term.
We are bombarded by biological threats from the outside, ranging from toxic particulates to epidemic viruses, and also by threats from within, like cancer. How do our bodies manage to be victorious against these threats for so many years, in most cases? Many people have some familiarity with aspects of the answers now, due to COVID-19. But how can these defense mechanisms actually work, and how can they coordinate their actions to be effective and safe? Why do they fail? This course will zoom between scales to introduce the cells that the body uses for immune defense and how they execute their roles, both system-wide and at the molecular level. A central theme will be how the system is controlled by cellular "software" reading the genetic code, by ultra-rapid evolutionary mechanisms, and by elegant cell-cell communication networks. Lectures and student presentations will be included. May be taken pass/fail if taken in a first-year student's first year. Limited enrollment.
Given in alternate years; offered 2025-26.
Instructor: Rothenberg
Bi 1 m. Unifying Biology by Revealing the Foundational Principles of Life Systems.
9 units (3-0-6); second term.
Due to the development of new technologies in the 21st century, experimental and computational tools, such as the sequencing of nucleic acids, have become faster and more inexpensive. These new tools have allowed the biological sciences to use genetics and genomics to reveal the functional relationships of life forms across the biosphere as never before. The largest conceptual shift enabled by this new capacity is the discovery of the unexpected complexity of the invisible world of microbes. We have learned that their diversity dwarfs that of animals and plants, and that they underlie the health of all corners of the biosphere and its inhabitants. In addition, genomic analyses of microbes have revealed that they 'invented' almost every fundamental feature of biological systems, and that macroorganisms have primarily added nuances as they build upon these essential foundations. This course aims to provide students with a comprehensive view of the structure and function of the biosphere, from its evolutionary history to its molecular underpinnings and emergent ecological patterns. The integration of micro- and macrobiology in an introductory biology course will allow students to both focus on the fundamental principles driving life and to build a comprehensive conceptual framework for understanding biology, much as chemistry and physics did in the 20th century as they developed a long-lasting framework for their introductory courses.
Instructors: McFall-Ngai, Ruby
Bi 1 x. The Great Ideas of Biology: Exploration through Experimentation.
9 units (0-6-3); first, third terms.
Introduction to concepts and laboratory methods in biology. Molecular biology techniques and advanced microscopy will be combined to explore the great ideas of biology: the cell, the gene, evolution by natural selection, and life as chemistry. This course is intended for nonbiology majors. May be taken pass/fail if taken in a first-year student's first year. Limited enrollment. Offered third term, 2025-26.
Instructor: Bois
IC/Bi 1 abc. Integrated Core: Energy in Biology.
2 units (1-1-0); 4 units (2-1-1); 3 units (1-1-1); first, second, and third terms.
Prerequisites: concurrent enrollment in other integrated core classes and instructor permission.
A classroom- and laboratory-based introduction to fundamental principles in biology with a focus on bioenergetics. Topics include diverse modes of energy conservation, the relationship between catabolism and anabolism, free energy of the processes of life, and how microbial metabolic diversity has shaped the Earth and can be harnessed for energy and sustainability applications.
Instructors: Newman, Bois
Bi 2. Current Research in Biology.
1 unit (1-0-0); first term.
Intended for students considering the biology option; open to first-year students. Current research in biology will be discussed, on the basis of reading assigned in advance of the discussions, with members of the divisional faculty. Graded pass/fail.
Instructor: Elowitz
Bi 8. Foundational Principles of Molecular Biology.
9 units (3-0-6); second term.
This course and its sequel, Bi 9, cover biology at the molecular and cellular levels. Bi 8 emphasizes genomic structure and the mechanisms responsible for the transmission and expression of genetic information. The focus is on the ways that the information content of the genome is translated into distinctive, cell-type specific patterns of gene expression and protein function. Assignments will include critical dissections of papers from classical and current research literature and problem sets.
Instructors: Guttman, Hong
Bi 9. Cell Biology.
9 units (3-0-6); third term.
Prerequisites: Bi 8.
Continues coverage of biology at the cellular level, begun in Bi 8. Topics: cytoplasmic structure, membrane structure and function, cell motility, and cell-cell recognition. Emphasis on both the ultrastructural and biochemical approaches to these topics.
Instructors: Prober, Varshavsky
Bi 10. Introductory Biology Laboratory.
6 units (1-3-2); third term.
Prerequisites: Bi 8; designed to be taken concurrently with Bi 9.
An introduction to molecular, cellular, and biochemical techniques that are commonly used in studies of biological systems at the molecular level.
Instructor: Goentoro
Ch/Bi 11. Biochemistry Laboratory.
9 units (1-5-3); second term.
Prerequisites: Ch/Bi 110 ab, Bi 8, or with permission of instructor.
The course will focus on techniques used in modern biochemistry laboratories. Students will learn how to express recombinant proteins in bacteria and purify them with various chromatography techniques. Purified proteins will be characterized by various in vitro assays.
Instructors: Hoelz, Chong
Bi 21. Undergraduate Research with Presentation.
Minimum 12 units per term (0-11-1); first, second, third terms.
Special problems involving laboratory research in biology; to be arranged with instructors before registration. Must give a public presentation reporting results of work. May be counted as advanced lab credit. May be repeated for credit.
Instructor: Staff
Bi 22. Undergraduate Research.
Units to be arranged; first, second, third terms.
Special problems involving lab
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