The course syllabus is available here (PDF).
STUDY GUIDES, READINGS, AND HANDOUTS
Readings listed in the course syllabus are required and will be covered on exams. Because the chapters are fairly long, study guides are designed to help you navigate through the readings for this course. Although these are not graded, students who complete them consistently earn higher- than-average scores on course exams. Some may be turned in for optional points; we'll discuss that in class. Otherwise, you can give them to us on the day the readings are due (at the start of class only) and we will check them for you. Contact me, please, with any questions.
Course materials for EXAM 3
The updated course schedule is available here.
Lecture notes
Lecture notes for Mar. 9 are here.
Lecture notes for Mar. 11 are here.
Lecture notes for Mar. 23 are here.
Lecture notes for Mar. 25 are here.
Lecture notes for Mar. 30 are here.
Lecture notes for Apr. 1 are here.
Lecture notes for Apr. 6 are here.
Readings
Reading for Mar. 2: BR12, part 5 through the end -- and the study guide is here.
Reading for Mar. 23: BR18, and the study guide is here.
Reading for Mar. 25: excerpts from BR11, and the study guide is here.
Reading for Mar. 30: Doolittle (no study guide; can be used for reading summary)
Reading for Apr. 1: BR14, and the study guide is here.
Extra prep time for the exam: Apr. 1-8 (no additional reading assignments). Exam 3 is scheduled for April 8.
Exam 3 will cover lecture notes from Mar. 9, 11, 23, 25, 30, and Apr. 1 and 6 -- and readings/study guides for BR12, V-VX; BR18; excerpts from BR11, Doolittle; BR14. Course handouts also will be considered (to be announced as this section of the course progresses).
READING SUMMARIES
Information on how to craft your reading summaries is here. One summary corresponds to one chapter: if two readings are assigned for a given day, you need only write about one of them.
Remember, reading summaries are required as follows: one summary before exam 1, one before exam 2, one before exam 3, and the remainder before the last day of classes. You can do all five at the start of the term, or space them out as you wish -- so long as one is turned in before exam 1, etc.
SEMESTER PROJECTS
Information on how to craft your semester projects can be found here.
OPTIONAL POINTS
Optional points will be added to your point total at the end of the term. You can earn up to 10 optional points by engaging in a diverse array of activities on campus, online, and elsewhere. Guidelines and suggestions are here.
Here are some articles that you may wish to read and review for optional points.
Optional reading assignment 1 (Unintelligent design, Discover) can be found here.
Optional paper 2 (Prions, Nature) can be found here.
Optional paper 3 (Friendly flora, Science) can be found here.
Optional paper 4 (Emerging infectious diseases, Nature) can be found here.
Optional paper 5 (Plant-pathogenic viruses) can be found here.
Optional paper 6 (viroids) can be found here.
Optional paper 7 (clean-room Archaea) can be found here.
Optional paper 8 (Nanoarchaeum) can be found here.
Optional papers 9 (prions and long-term memory; please read both) are here and here.
Optional papers 10 (evolution of prions; please read both) are here and here.
Optional paper 11 (MRSA) can be found here.
Optional paper 12 (MRSA 2) can be found here.
Optional paper 13 (MRSA 3) can be found here.
Optional paper 14 (horizontal gene transfer) can be found here.
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Material from earlier parts of the course
Course materials for EXAM 1
Lecture notes for Jan. 14 are here, for Jan. 19 are here, for Jan. 21 are here -- and notes for Jan. 26 are included in notes for Jan. 21. Lecture notes for Jan. 28 are here, and for Feb. 2 are here.
Readings for Jan. 19: BR2 and TL4/study guide; for Jan. 21: TL1 and TL2/study guide; for Jan. 26: TL8 and BR9/study guide. The missing page in Brock is here.
Course materials for EXAM 2
Lecture notes for Feb. 9 are here, for Feb. 11 are here, for Feb. 16 are here, for Feb. 18 are here, for Feb. 23 are here, for Feb. 25 are here, and for March 2 are here. The handout on Archaea is here. Readings and study guides are available as follows: BR13 -- and the study guide is here; BR12, parts 1-2 -- and the study guide is here; BR12, part 3 -- and the study guide is here; BR12, part 4 -- and the study guide is here.
TREE OF LIFE ASSIGNMENT
The Tree of Life assignment is due at the start of class on 1/26.
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This page will be updated throughout the course.
Please feel free to contact me with questions! The best way to reach me is by email: arnold@ag.arizona.edu.