Cells, Chromosomes and Cancer

When the building blocks of a new skyscraper are faulty, the entire structure can come tumbling down.  So, what happens when the building blocks of the body – its cells – are faulty?  It could spell bad news for the entire organism.  For example, a disease such as Tay-Sach’s results from the omission of a single nucleotide in a gene on the DNA ladder.  Similarly, cancer arises when cells lose their ability to carry out apoptosis and control their rate of mitosis.  The goal of this course is to understand disease from the cellular level.  We will review cell anatomy and the cell life cycle, discuss the impact of mutation on cell processes, and learn to identify differences between normal and diseased tissues.  Students will perform a metaphase analysis of chromosomes utilizing the process of karyotyping and will perform molecular probe hybridization to normal chromosome preparations, visualizing the results using digital imaging.

 

Session

November 15 and 16, 2008

Tuition

$395 ($375 - Registered on or before October 28, 2008
(includes housing, food, and academic activities)

$345 ($325 - Registered on or before October 28, 2008)
(Day Student)