Students in this course will be part of a national student crowd sourcing initiative, developed in response to a decreasing supply of effective antibiotics and increased microbial resistance, to identify novel antibiotics produced by soil bacteria. Operating in an authentic research paradigm, students will gain skill in the process of scientific inquiry, including hypothesis generation and testing, and in common procedures of microbial culture and characterization. They will learn about and have the opportunity to use the techniques of recombinant DNA including plasmids, restriction enzymes, and PCR. At the conclusion of the course students will report their findings in poster format and will be able to see the results of other groups around the country.
Students may not receive credit for this course and BB 2915.
At least one college-level biology course.