Humans and genes

General data

Course ID:	3700-KON86-AL
Erasmus code / ISCED:	13.9 Kod klasyfikacyjny przedmiotu składa się z trzech do pięciu cyfr, przy czym trzy pierwsze oznaczają klasyfikację dziedziny wg. Listy kodów dziedzin obowiązującej w programie Socrates/Erasmus, czwarta (dotąd na ogół 0) – ewentualne uszczegółowienie informacji o dyscyplinie, piąta – stopień zaawansowania przedmiotu ustalony na podstawie roku studiów, dla którego przedmiot jest przeznaczony. / (0519) Biological and related sciences, not elsewhere classifed The ISCED (International Standard Classification of Education) code has been designed by UNESCO.
Course title:	Humans and genes
Name in Polish:	Człowiek i geny
Organizational unit:	Faculty of "Artes Liberales"
Course groups:
ECTS credit allocation (and other scores):	(not available) Basic information on ECTS credits allocation principles: the annual hourly workload of the student’s work required to achieve the expected learning outcomes for a given stage is 1500-1800h, corresponding to 60 ECTS; the student’s weekly hourly workload is 45 h; 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25-30 hours of student work needed to achieve the assumed learning outcomes; weekly student workload necessary to achieve the assumed learning outcomes allows to obtain 1.5 ECTS; work required to pass the course, which has been assigned 3 ECTS, constitutes 10% of the semester student load. view allocation of credits
Language:	Polish
Type of course:	elective courses
Short description:	The course aims to familiarize students not specializing in biological sciences with contemporary knowledge on human biology and genetics. Emphasis will also be placed on applying rational scientific methods to issues of human biology, against the background of issues that are subject to frequent discussion and cause controversy.
Full description:	The course aims to present major trends in contemporary human biology in an approach that is compatible with scientific method, in a way ensuring comprehensibility to anyone without a specialist background in biology. The course covers the following topics: 1. Basic concepts of biology – information, structure and general features of living organisms. History of knowledge about inheritance – from antiquity to the 21st century. 2. Scientific method in natural sciences, in human biology and in medicine. Standards of scientific research – control, blind sample, statistics, meta-analyses. 3. Mendelian and multifactorial inheritance – genetic determinism and human predictability. What knowing the human genome is and what it is not. 4. Genetic tests and consultations, test sensitivity and specificity. Screening tests – biological and ethical issues. 5. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) tests – biological and ethical issues. 6. “Alternative medicine”, homeopathy etc. versus evidence-based medicine. 7. Vaccinations and anti-vaccine movements. 8. Assisted reproduction techniques, pre-implantation and prenatal tests. 9. Stem cells, IPS cells, therapeutic cloning – hopes and doubts. 10. GMO – facts and myths. 11. Communicable diseases and combating them. 12. Cancer. 13. Gene therapy and medical biotechnology. 14. Behavioural genetics and evolutionary psychology.
Bibliography:	Ben Goldacre, „Lekarze, naukowcy, szarlatani. Od przerażonego pacjenta do świadomego konsumenta”, wyd. Septem, Helion, 2011.
Learning outcomes:	- basic knowledge on the place and role of the humanities, the social, exact and natural sciences in early and contemporary culture K_W01 - knowing the relationships between humanities disciplines and the exact and natural sciences in a philosophical and social context K_W06 - basic knowledge on the latest achievements of interdisciplinary research methods in the humanities and the social, exact and natural sciences K_W10 - basic skills in using interdisciplinary research methods and tools to analyse phenomena of contemporary culture K_U05 - understanding the principles, rules and necessity of group work K_K02 - understanding the dynamics of scientific, cultural and social development and keeping up with new research methods and paradigms K_K03
Assessment methods and assessment criteria:	Attendance (maximum 2 absences per semester) Written exam, graded presentation, marks for being active in class.

This course is not currently offered.

Course descriptions are protected by copyright.
Copyright by University of Warsaw.