This 15-minute video lesson looks at the role of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in controlling calcium ion concentrations within the muscle cell. [Biology playlist: Lesson 49 of 71].

This 14-minute video lesson looks at secondary active transport in the Nephron. [Biology playlist: Lesson 60 of 71].

This 14-minute video lesson covers the chromosomal basis for gender and sex-linked traits. [Biology playlist: Lesson 17 of 71].

This 14-minute video lesson looks at how a sodium potassium pump can maintain a voltage gradient across a cell or neuron's membrane. [Biology playlist: Lesson 42 of 71].

This 9-minute video lesson discusses what a species is and isn't. It considers ligers, tiglons, mule, hinnies, and dogs. [Biology playlist: Lesson 61 of 71].

This 13-minute video lesson looks at the science of taxonomy and where humans fit into the tree of life. [Biology playlist: Lesson 62 of 71].

This 19-minute video lesson provides an overview of how the nephrons in the kidney filter blood and reabsorb water and other molecules. [Biology playlist: Lesson 59 of 71].

This 20-minute video lesson discusses how variation can be introduced into a species. [Biology playlist: Lesson 7 of 71].

This 23-minute video provides an introduction to viruses. [Biology playlist: Lesson 19 of 71].

Aging involves an intrinsic and progressive decline in function that eventually will affect us all. While everyone is familiar with aging, many basic questions about aging are mysterious. Why are older people more likely to experience diseases like cancer, stroke, and neurodegenerative disorders? What changes happen at the molecular and cellular levels to cause the changes that we associate with old age? Is aging itself a disease, and can we successfully intervene in the aging process?This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.

"This course covers the principles of materials science and cell biology underlying the design of medical implants, artificial organs, and matrices for tissue engineering. Methods for biomaterials surface characterization and analysis of protein adsorption on biomaterials. Molecular and cellular interactions with biomaterials are analyzed in terms of unit cell processes, such as matrix synthesis, degradation, and contraction. Mechanisms underlying wound healing and tissue remodeling following implantation in various organs. Tissue and organ regeneration. Design of implants and prostheses based on control of biomaterials-tissue interactions. Comparative analysis of intact, biodegradable, and bioreplaceable implants by reference to case studies. Criteria for restoration of physiological function for tissues and organs."

" This course teaches the design of contemporary information systems for biological and medical data. Examples are chosen from biology and medicine to illustrate complete life cycle information systems, beginning with data acquisition, following to data storage and finally to retrieval and analysis. Design of appropriate databases, client-server strategies, data interchange protocols, and computational modeling architectures. Students are expected to have some familiarity with scientific application software and a basic understanding of at least one contemporary programming language (e.g. C, C++, Java, Lisp, Perl, Python). A major term project is required of all students. This subject is open to motivated seniors having a strong interest in biomedical engineering and information system design with the ability to carry out a significant independent project. This course was offered as part of the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) program as course number SMA 5304."

This course presents the fundamentals of digital signal processing with particular emphasis on problems in biomedical research and clinical medicine. It covers principles and algorithms for processing both deterministic and random signals. Topics include data acquisition, imaging, filtering, coding, feature extraction, and modeling. The focus of the course is a series of labs that provide practical experience in processing physiological data, with examples from cardiology, speech processing, and medical imaging. The labs are done on the MIT Server in MATLABĺ¨ during weekly lab sessions that take place in an electronic classroom. Lectures cover signal processing topics relevant to the lab exercises, as well as background on the biological signals processed in the labs.

Students learn about biomimicry and how engineers often imitate nature in the design of innovative new products. They demonstrate their knowledge of biomimicry by practicing brainstorming and designing a new product based on what they know about animals and nature.

This subject deals primarily with kinetic and equilibrium mathematical models of biomolecular interactions, as well as the application of these quantitative analyses to biological problems across a wide range of levels of organization, from individual molecular interactions to populations of cells.

This course will introduce the student to the major concepts of biotechnology. The student will discuss genetic engineering of plants and animals and the current major medical, environmental, and agricultural applications of each. There are also a variety of topics that this course will cover after ranging from nanobiotechnology to environmental biotechnology. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: identify and describe the fields of biotechnology; compare and contrast forward and reverse genetics and the way they influence biodiversity; compare and contrast systemic studies of the genome, transcriptome, and proteome; explain how genome projects are performed, and discuss the completion and the information processing in these projects; describe and explain the principles of existing gene therapies; design strategies that support genetic counseling; explain and analyze DNA fingerprints, and compare DNA fingerprints to non-DNA biometrics; describe and compare bioremediation technologies in air, water, and soil; design strategies for generating genetically modified organisms, and discuss ethical concerns; discuss emerging fields in biotechnology. (Biology 403)

This activity is an introduction to the study of birds. Students will gain observation and classification skills.

This activity is a field investigation of the bird population in the schoolyard and how the students will plan to attract more birds.

The purpose of this lesson is to teach students about blood and its components while instilling an appreciation of its importance for survival. The lesson takes a step-by-step approach to determining the recipe for blood while introducing students to important laboratory techniques like centrifugation and microscopy, as well as some diseases of cell types found in blood. It also highlights the importance of donating blood by explaining basic physiological concepts and the blood donation procedure.