5281881f____The_Evergreen_State_College__Start_Quarters
[Title] Proteins, Plastics, and Pandemics Carolyn Prouty and James Hutcheon agriculture biochemistry biology health physiology [Offering] Program [Standing] JR–SRJunior–Senior [Credits] 16 [Credits_5] 16 [When] Day [S] S 15Spring [Description] Xenobiotic compounds—chemicals not normally produced by the body—include natural products, drugs, pesticides, and other chemicals associated with human activity. How do xenobiotic compounds exert their biological effects? What evidence do we have for their beneficial and sometimes toxic effects, and how can we measure these effects at the subcellular, organismal, and population levels? This upper-division biology program will explore three biological/biomedical phenomena involving xenobiotic compounds: GMOs, vaccinations, and endocrine disruptors (substances mimicking hormones), as vehicles for learning skills, knowledge, and habits of inquiry in molecular cell biology, physiology, epidemiology, and public health. For each of these phenomena, we will examine in detail the molecular mechanisms by which they act on cellular or physiological processes. What are the molecular targets of GMO technology, and how does they alter protein production and metabolism? How are the pathogens used in vaccinations altered to specifically and safely provoke an immunologic response? Can we use molecular structures to understand the physiological effects of xenobiotic molecules such as plastics that provoke responses from the endocrine system? We will explore how these technologies alter physiologic processes, and may—or may not—cause pathological changes in the human body. Each of these phenomena is also a focus of fervent public controversy, and each elicits strong opinion, political debate, and regulatory response. Using tools from public health and epidemiology, we will examine the scientific evidence as well as the rhetorical arguments that are employed to sway individual behaviors and legislative actions.We will emphasize data analysis and interpretation obtained from primary literature reports or agency databases. Quantitative reasoning will be a major component of class examples, workshop and homework assignments. Embedded in these activities are principles of cell biology and biochemistry, organic chemistry, physiology and epidemiology. [Faculty] Carolyn Prouty James Hutcheon [Multiple Standings] Junior JR Senior SR [Open Quarters] Spring [Start Quarters] 
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