PLBIO 1130 - Light and Life: The Relationship between Light and Life in the Natural World

(BIONLS-AG, OPHLS-AG)

Spring. 3 credits. Student option grading.

R. Wayne.

By most accounts, whether theological or scientific, light is fundamental for life. Throughout the living world, there are vital processes, such as photosynthesis and vision that are associated with light. Living organisms use the daily and seasonal changes in illumination to regulate their rhythms. However, too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing as too much light can result in photodamage. The extraordinary relationship between “light and life” provides an important unifying framework for understanding the luminescence of living organisms, the striking and flamboyant coloration of plants and animals as well as the inconspicuous nature of their camouflage in terms of physics, chemistry and biology. This course will enhance your understanding of the natural world through studying the relationships between light and life.

Outcome 1: Explain the relationship between light and the basic structures and fundamental processes of life over a range of levels of organization within the full scope of biology from molecules to ecosystems, integrated with the basic principles of inheritance and evolution.

Outcome 2: Apply quantitative reasoning and basic principles from the physical sciences to thinking about biology.

Outcome 3: Explain principles by which hypotheses can be evaluated scientifically using examples of observations and experiments that have shaped biological thought.