# BI227L Cell Biology Lab Syllabus Colby College - Spring 2024 --- < ## Instructor Dr. Christina D. Cota cdcota@colby.edu ## Meetings Times Lectures: M-W-F, 11-11:50am Lovejoy 303 Labs: W or TH, 1-4pm, AREY 305 Office Hours*: Tuesday 1-2pm and Friday 1-2pm in Arey 401 **If you are unable to attend office hours, individual appointments are available upon request.* ## Course description A comprehensive overview of fundamentals of eukaryotic cell biology. Topics include cell structure and function, energy production and metabolism, cell division, protein transport and cell communication. Lecture and **laboratory.** ## Lab Learning Objectives: * To reinforce material covered in the lecture portion of BI227 through additional discussion and consideration of topics discussed in class as well as hands on experience. * To understand what model organisms are and how they are used by cell biologists to make new discoveries. * To gain experience using and familiarity with equipment and techniques used by cell biologists. * To develop skills related to scientific inquiry, including hypothesis formation, experimental design, and data analysis and interpretation. * To develop skills related to scientific communication including, including statistical analysis, data presentation, and scientific writing. ### Online resources Moodle ( http://moodle.colby.edu/ ) will be the primary electronic method of contact for this course (including the lab). Announcements and material related to the lab will be posted there frequently, so please check the site on a regular basis. On the site you will also find the lab syllabus and protocols, assignments, and PDF files from any lab lecture slides. *Privacy Statement:* *The course syllabus, handouts, assignments, and lectures are the intellectual property of the professor. You may not record (video or audio), distribute, publish, or post without permission. Class discussions are the intellectual property of the professor and your classmates. You may not record (video or audio), distribute, publish, or post without permission.* Assessment and Grades: ## Attendance **Attendance and participation in all lab meetings is expected and essential.** You will also be responsible for checking the progress of your experiments, this may require visits to the lab outside of your lab section’s regularly scheduled hours. Please attend the laboratory section assigned to you. Labs cannot be made up or rescheduled. Absences from the lab may only be excused in the case of a family or medical emergency, and only with verification from the Dean of Studies office and permission of the instructor. Extracurricular activities that conflict with regularly scheduled academic classes are not considered to be emergencies and will not be accepted as excuses for missing lab sessions. ***Unexcused absences from lab may result in a failing grade for the course.*** ## Lab Notebooks Each student will be supplied with a digital lab notebook (via Google Slides) which is shared with and visible to the instructor to keep records of data generated in the lab,notes on the lab lecture, protocol information, and data analysis. While this notebook will not be graded, it will be an important resource to help you organize all of your notes and results from the laboratory. The only record of the specific details of what you chose to do at different points for your projects will be in your notebook as each students lab projects will be slightly different. In the second half of the course, you will be expected to design, carry out and report on your own experiments. You will need to go back to information from 3 or more weeks prior as you put together the connections between the various parts of the project. Data collected during this portion of the lab will vary from student to student and thus cannot be obtained/verified once it is lost. Lab Notebook Guidelines: * The first page(s) of the notebook should be reserved for a table of contents. * Pages should be numbered. * Date every entry. * Everything you do in the lab should be recorded in your lab notebooks, including notes, drawings, data, ideas and speculations. Everything from your initial strategy through planning, execution and interpretation and should be in your notebook. Notebook entrys pertaining to each lab activity you should include: * The title of the experiment or activity * The objective(s) of the activity: what you are trying to do and why you are trying to do it. * What hypotheses (if any) are being tested? What predictions follow? * A simplified description of the experimental procedure in outline or flow chart format. *This should not be an exact copy of the lab handout!* * Any deviations from the written protocol. * Observations: everything that happens during your experiment that may have a bearing on the outcome or interpretation of the experiment. * Data: Include raw data and then any calculations made from them. Include units. * Discussion: Interpret your results. Refer back to your predictions. Draw conclusions about the experiment. --- ## Your grade in BI227 will be based on lecture (70%) plus laboratory (30%). ### Lab grade components: Graded assignments/activities: 20% Final Poster/Poster Presentation: 10% #### Final Grade: **>90 A (most likely <93 A-, >93 A, A+ for exceptional performance) 80-90 B (most likely <83 B-, 83-87 B, >87 B+) 70-80 C (most likely <73 C-, 73-77 C, >77 C+) 60-70 D (most likely <63 D-, 63-67 D, >67 D+) <60 F** ### Pre-lab Readings and In Class Discussions: Pre-lab readings and in class discussions are intended to help you to better understand the lab and course material and to practice public speaking. Please come to class prepared so you may fully contribute to discussions. ### Lab Writing Assignments & Poster Presentation: The goal of the writing assignments is to help you to develop your skills in analyzing and communicating biology. While these may seem informal, I expect that you will write carefully. All assignments should be proofread and edited, with attention paid to spelling, sentence structure and the organization of your paragraphs and arguments. Please be certain to cite any sources you use appropriately. Avoid using direct quotations from other sources. For more on recognizing and avoiding plagiarism, see the library guide: libguides.colby.edu/avoidingplagiarism. Failure to complete and turn in assignments will lower your grade. Laboratory research teams will have the opportunity to present their experiments from the second half of the semester in a poster session. Details about the poster session and what should be included and a poster template will be provided. ### Lab Schedule (subject to change): Week 1: No Lab Week 2: An Introduction to Mammalian Cell Culture Week 3: An Introduction to Mammalian Cell Culture Week4: Labelling Cell Organelles Week 5: Labelling Cell Organelles Week 6: Image analysis and making Figures Week 7: Mitosis Lab Week 8: Spring Break Week 9: Chromatophore Lab (Week 1, Collecting scales) Week 10: Chromatophore Lab (Week 2: Epinephrine) Week 11: Chromatophore Lab (Week 3: Data Collection) Week 12: Chromatophore Lab (Week 4: Data Collection) Week 13*:Chromatophore Lab (Week 5: Data Collection) Week 14: Chromatophore Lab (Week 6: Posters) *Thursday, May 2nd, Colby College will holding the Colby Liberal Arts Symposium (CLAS). Thursday classes will meet on Friday, May 3rd, and Friday classes are cancelled. ## Academic Support If you experience difficulty in this course for any reason, a wide range of services are available from the College to support you. Please review these resources and reach out as necessary. - First, please speak with your instructor early if you are having trouble in the course. - The [Farnham Writing Center](https://web.colby.edu/writers-center/) offers support for students on basic writing and reading skills. - The [Office of the Dean of Studies](https://life.colby.edu/get-support/) offers services for students with learning differences. If you suspect you have a learning difference that might require accommodations in this course, please inquire with the Dean of Students Office. - [Counseling Services](https://life.colby.edu/your-health/counseling-services/) (x4460) provided from the Health Center offer professional, confidential consultations regarding family problems, stress, depression, cultural adjustments, concerns with sexuality, alcohol and drug use, trauma and other personal issues. - ## Academic honesty Honesty, integrity, and personal responsibility are cornerstones of a Colby education and provide the foundation for scholarly inquiry, intellectual discourse, and an open and welcoming campus community. These values are articulated in the [Colby Affirmation](https://www.colby.edu/academics/academic-integrity/the-colby-affirmation/) and are central to this course. Students are expected to demonstrate [academic honesty](https://www.colby.edu/academics/academic-integrity/) in all aspects of this course. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: plagiarism (including quoting sources without quotation marks around the borrowed words and a citation); claiming another’s work or a modification of another’s work as one’s own (**this includes generative AI such as ChatGPT**); buying or attempting to buy papers or projects for a course; fabricating information or citations; knowingly assisting others in acts of academic dishonesty; violating clearly stated rules for taking an exam; misrepresentations to faculty within the context of a course; and submitting the same work, including an essay that you wrote, in more than one course. Sanctions for academic dishonesty are assigned by an academic review board and may include failure on the assignment, failure in the course, suspension or expulsion from the College. For more information on recognizing and avoiding plagiarism, see these guides: - http://libguides.colby.edu/avoidingplagiarism - https://web.colby.edu/writers-center/academic-honesty/ --- ### Academic Support Services: Colby offers a number of useful academic support services to students including Financial support for purchasing textbooks; the Farnham Writers Center for help with all aspects of writing; the Olin Science Library for assistance with searching and acquiring literature; and Counseling Services (x4460) at the Health Center. A list of these services can be found here: https://life.colby.edu/get-support/advising-academic-success/resources/. *Please review these resources and reach out as necessary.* ### Academic Accommodations: If you believe you need academic accommodations, please contact Colby’s Dean of Studies Office (email: accommodations@colby.edu, Ph: (207)859-4000) to discuss your needs or visit their website: https://life.colby.edu/get-support/access-disability-services/ to submit a request for accommodations. <u>***All accommodations must be arranged through the Dean of Studies Office who will issue formal Accommodation Letters as deemed appropriate.***</u> Accommodations require early planning. If you have any questions or concerns you may contact me, however, all disability-related accommodations must be arranged through the Dean of Studies Office. --- ### Athletics: Colby College is supportive of athletic participation by its students, however, academics take priority over athletics. Both NCAA and Colby rules prohibit missing class for practices, thus students should never miss class or lab for an athletic practice. In the case of overlapping commitments between class and athletic competitions, the student <u>**must**</u> meet with the professor as soon as possible to discuss these overlaps. The student may request permission to miss class and make up the missed work; however, the instructor has final authority either to grant or to withhold permission. Students on academic probation may not be excused from any class because of extracurricular or athletic activities. ***<u>It is the responsibility of the student to communicate directly with their instructors during the first week of class to resolve scheduling conflicts</u>.*** Athletic schedules are available [here](https://www.colby.edu/athletics). ## Sustainability Environmental degradation is a serious biological and societal issue. [Colby](https://www.colby.edu/green/) is committed to practices that promote sustainable living. To help minimize the environmental impact of this course, please minimize paper use by reading slides on a device when possible, rather than printing copies. It is acceptable to take notes on a laptop or tablet during class. If you choose to print, please print double-sided on recycled paper. Multiple slides may be printed to a single sheet. And please recycle unwanted paper after the end of the semester. ## COVID-19 Policies - Information regarding the Colby Covid-19 policies can be found at: https://www.colby.edu/communications/covid-19/covid-19-health-and-safety.html Noncompliance with Covid-19 Health and Safety Protocols may also result in sanctions including warnings, probation, restorative justice measures, campus or community service, loss of or restrictions upon social or travel privileges, or loss of the opportunity to attend College activities or events in person, removal from College housing, loss of student employment or off-campus study opportunities, suspension and expulsion (https://my.colby.edu/ICS/COVID-19_Student_Policy.jnz).