Humans and genes 3700-KON86-AL
The course aims to present major trends in contemporary human biology in an approach that is compatible with scientific method, in a way ensuring comprehensibility to anyone without a specialist background in biology. The course covers the following topics:
1. Basic concepts of biology – information, structure and general features of living organisms. History of knowledge about inheritance – from antiquity to the 21st century.
2. Scientific method in natural sciences, in human biology and in medicine. Standards of scientific research – control, blind sample, statistics, meta-analyses.
3. Mendelian and multifactorial inheritance – genetic determinism and human predictability. What knowing the human genome is and what it is not.
4. Genetic tests and consultations, test sensitivity and specificity. Screening tests – biological and ethical issues.
5. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) tests – biological and ethical issues.
6. “Alternative medicine”, homeopathy etc. versus evidence-based medicine.
7. Vaccinations and anti-vaccine movements.
8. Assisted reproduction techniques, pre-implantation and prenatal tests.
9. Stem cells, IPS cells, therapeutic cloning – hopes and doubts.
10. GMO – facts and myths.
11. Communicable diseases and combating them.
12. Cancer.
13. Gene therapy and medical biotechnology.
14. Behavioural genetics and evolutionary psychology.
Type of course
Learning outcomes
- basic knowledge on the place and role of the humanities, the social, exact and natural sciences in early and contemporary culture K_W01
- knowing the relationships between humanities disciplines and the exact and natural sciences in a philosophical and social context K_W06
- basic knowledge on the latest achievements of interdisciplinary research methods in the humanities and the social, exact and natural sciences K_W10
- basic skills in using interdisciplinary research methods and tools to analyse phenomena of contemporary culture K_U05
- understanding the principles, rules and necessity of group work K_K02
- understanding the dynamics of scientific, cultural and social development and keeping up with new research methods and paradigms K_K03
Assessment criteria
Attendance (maximum 2 absences per semester)
Written exam, graded presentation, marks for being active in class.
Bibliography
Ben Goldacre, „Lekarze, naukowcy, szarlatani. Od przerażonego pacjenta do świadomego konsumenta”, wyd. Septem, Helion, 2011.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: