Foundation Course in Biology - Edited Final

1. What is life? How did life begin and evolve on Earth?
The earth is in its primitive years was a very different planet than its current form. Its
journey began from inhospitable planet that lacked atmosphere or conditions
conducive for the appearance of any life forms. If the initial conditions were
extremely inhospitable then how did lifecame into being? Did life originate as an
extra-terrestrial form?
Through this question students will be introduced to
 The evolution of life on earth.
 The basic cellular compartments such as the plasma membrane and the
cytosol.
 We shall also focus on classical experiments of Urey Miller that were used for
demonstrating origin of life on earth.
 Prokaryotes will be used as paradigm to explain the earlier forms of life.
Prokaryotic life exists in regions of earth that mimic conditions similar to
primitive earth. Through this we shall explain the diversity of life in general.
2. Are all cells alike?

Diversity of life on earth is immense. Cells form the fundamental constituents all
organism. Each organism is made up of different cells with dedicated functions. This
question will be utilized in providing an introduction to
 The different kinds of cells in multicellular organism bot plant and animal..
 The cellular organization.
3. Is it possible to reverse tissue type?
If our journey starts with a single cell that differentiates into all different types of the
cells that constitute us. The question can be utilized for answering the following
questions?
 The concept of pluripotency and stem cells.
 The concept of death of cells and and cancer cells.
4. What are the building blocks of cells?

At macroscopic level we all look very different from each other. All life forms are
distinct from other life forms such as animals, plants, insects, unicellular forms such
as bacteria etc. The question shall address the following components of
 Structure and function of the building blocks of cells i.e. carbohydrate,
proteins, lipids and nucleic acid.
 Daily life has many relevant examples such as the setting of curd, which can
be used to familiarize the properties of proteins.
 Metabolic pathways will be introduced.
 Methods of separation and detection of proteins and nucleic will be introduced
 Introduction to the existence of life at extreme of temperatures and some
adaptations.
. .
5. What is genetic material?
We inherit our characteristics from our parents. What determines our phenotype and
genotype? We share 99% of our genes with our primate ancestors still we are very
different why? This will aim to address
 The structure, composition and functions of nucleic acids, central dogma of
molecular biology and exception to central dogma.
 Hereditary principle will be explained using real life example of blood
grouping, hair and eye color.
6. What are micro-organisms? How does our body fight against the disease causing
bacteria?
This question will address the marvels of the world that we can’t see.
 Will briefly introduce the concept of harmful and beneficial micro-organisms
 Will introduce to viruses
 Introduction to fundamentals in Immunology
 Basis of Antigen- antibody reaction and its application.
 History and concept of vaccination.
 How microorganism are used in industry?
 Can microorganisms help us in cleaning environment
7. Can we create life in the lab?

Having laid the foundation in the fundamentals of biology, this unit will introduce to
the advance understanding of biology.
 Fundamentals of genetic Engineering: Sequencing of nucleic acid and
protein, isolation of gene sequence both in-vitro and in-silico, Multiplication
of the sequences in-vitro.
 Concept of genetically modified organisms.
 Introduction to CRISPR- cas systems
8. Can human organs and organ systems inspire new technologies?

Biological systems offer elegant examples of well –co-ordinated operations such as
the rhythmic beating of heart, movement of our hand and feet in response to the
different stimuli, conduction of nerve impulses to precisely operate in response to
different stimuli. Life around us has inspired several advancements in technologies
such as travel by sea and air. Both the mode of transport derives a lot of inspiration of
life around us.
Several organs and several biological phenomenon have inspired man-made devices
to augment the function of specific organs. Through this the students will be
introduced to
 Bio-mimetic examples that have inspired some machines such as the
relationship between the Kingfisher and the sonic boom, honey bee comb and
environment- friendly cooling options, Drones and humming birds.
 Use of specific enzyme catalyzed reactions in daily life as the use of proteases
in detergents, amylases in digestive aids, development of biosensor.
9. Physics tools in biology
 Working of specific organs such as heart (pace makers and valves), ear
(hearing aid), eyes (working and correction of eye diseases)
 ECG, EEG, CT Scan, MRI, X Ray, respirometer, ventilators etc.

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1. What is life? How did life begin and evolve on Earth?

2. Are all cells alike?

4. What are the building blocks of cells?

7. Can we create life in the lab?

8. Can human organs and organ systems inspire new technologies?

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