Considers the process of neurotransmission, especially chemicals used in the brain and elsewhere to carry signals from nerve terminals to the structures they innervate. Focuses on monoamine transmitters (acetylcholine; serotonin; dopamine and norepinephrine); also examines amino acid and peptide transmitters and neuromodulators like adenosine. Macromolecules that mediate neurotransmitter synthesis, release, inactivation, and receptor-mediated actions are discussed, as well as factors that regulate their activity and the second-messenger systems they control.

" This course does not seek to provide answers to ethical questions. Instead, the course hopes to teach students two things. First, how do you recognize ethical or moral problems in science and medicine? When something does not feel right (whether cloning, or failing to clone) ‰ŰÓ what exactly is the nature of the discomfort? What kind of tensions and conflicts exist within biomedicine? Second, how can you think productively about ethical and moral problems? What processes create them? Why do people disagree about them? How can an understanding of philosophy or history help resolve them? By the end of the course students will hopefully have sophisticated and nuanced ideas about problems in bioethics, even if they do not have comfortable answers."

" This course is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current research around sulfur biogeochemistry and astrobiology."

This interdisciplinary course provides a hands-on approach to students in the topics of bioinformatics and proteomics. Lectures and labs cover sequence analysis, microarray expression analysis, Bayesian methods, control theory, scale-free networks, and biotechnology applications. Designed for those with a computational and/or engineering background, it will include current real-world examples, actual implementations, and engineering design issues. Where applicable, engineering issues from signal processing, network theory, machine learning, robotics and other domains will be expounded upon.

Imagine you are a salesman needing to visit 100 cities connected by a set of roads. Can you do it while stopping in each city only once? Even a supercomputer working at 1 trillion operations per second would take longer than the age of the universe to find a solution when considering each possibility in turn. In 1994, Leonard Adleman published a paper in which he described a solution, using the tools of molecular biology, for a smaller 7-city example of this problem. His paper generated enormous scientific and public interest, and kick-started the field of Biological Computing, the main subject of this discussion based seminar course. Students will analyze the Adleman paper, and the papers that preceded and followed it, with an eye for identifying the engineering and scientific aspects of each paper, emphasizing the interplay of these two approaches in the field of Biological Computing. This course is appropriate for both biology and non-biology majors. Care will be taken to fill in any knowledge gaps for both scientists and engineers.

This course covers sensing and measurement for quantitative molecular/cell/tissue analysis, in terms of genetic, biochemical, and biophysical properties. Methods include light and fluorescence microscopies; electro-mechanical probes such as atomic force microscopy, laser and magnetic traps, and MEMS devices; and the application of statistics, probability and noise analysis to experimental data.

In this course problems from biological engineering are used to develop structured computer programming skills and explore the theory and practice of complex systems design and construction.

"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 provides intensive coverage of the theory and practice of electromechanical instrument design with application to biomedical devices. Students will work with MGH doctors to develop new medical products from concept to prototype development and testing. Lectures will present techniques for designing electronic circuits as part of complete sensor systems. Topics covered include: basic electronics circuits, principles of accuracy, op amp circuits, analog signal conditioning, power supplies, microprocessors, wireless communications, sensors, and sensor interface circuits. Labs will cover practical printed circuit board (PCB) design including component selection, PCB layout, assembly, and planning and budgeting for large projects. Problem sets and labs in the first six weeks are in support of the project. Major team-based design, build, and test project in the last six weeks. Student teams will be composed of both electrical engineering and mechanical engineering students.

Seminars exploring current research and topical issues in the biomedical sciences, addressed at the general theme of innovation. Seminars are organized in blocks with related content, and are presented by prominent outside speakers as well as by HST faculty members and graduate students. Each seminar block includes several semi-weekly presentations, in addition to wide-ranging discussions among speakers, faculty, and students. Discussions involve issues such as relations between presented research areas, requirements for further advances in the "state of the art", the role of enabling technologies, the responsible practice of biomedical research, and career paths in the biomedical sciences. This course consists of a series of seminars focused on the development of professional skills. Each semester focuses on a different topic, resulting in a repeating cycle that covers medical ethics, responsible conduct of research, written and oral technical communication, and translational issues. Material and activities include guest lectures, case studies, interactive small group discussions, and role-playing simulations.

Seminars exploring current research and topical issues in the biomedical sciences, addressed at the general theme of innovation. Seminars are organized in blocks with related content, and are presented by prominent outside speakers as well as by HST faculty members and graduate students. Each seminar block includes several semi-weekly presentations, in addition to wide-ranging discussions among speakers, faculty, and students. Discussions involve issues such as relations between presented research areas, requirements for further advances in the "state of the art", the role of enabling technologies, the responsible practice of biomedical research, and career paths in the biomedical sciences.

" 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.

This course provides an outline of vertebrate functional neuroanatomy, aided by studies of comparative neuroanatomy and evolution, and by studies of brain development. Topics include early steps to a central nervous system, basic patterns of brain and spinal cord connections, regional development and differentiation, regeneration, motor and sensory pathways and structures, systems underlying motivations, innate action patterns, formation of habits, and various cognitive functions. In addition, lab techniques are reviewed and students perform brain dissections.

Survey of principles underlying the structure and function of the nervous system, integrating molecular, cellular, and systems approaches. Topics: development of the nervous system and its connections, cell biology or neurons, neurotransmitters and synaptic transmission, sensory systems of the brain, the neuroendocrine system, the motor system, higher cortical functions, behavioral and cellular analyses of learning and memory. First half of an intensive two-term survey of brain and behavioral studies for first-year graduate students. Open to graduate students in other departments, with permission of instructor.

This class is the second half of an intensive survey of cognitive science for first-year graduate students. Topics include visual perception, language, memory, cognitive architecture, learning, reasoning, decision-making, and cognitive development. Topics covered are from behavioral, computational, and neural perspectives.

" This course covers examination of the state of knowledge of planetary formation, beginning with planetary nebulas and continuing through accretion (from gas, to dust, to planetesimals, to planetary embryos, to planets). It also includes processes of planetary differentiation, crust formation, atmospheric degassing, and surface water condensation. This course has integrated discussions of compositional and physical processes, based upon observations from our solar system and from exoplanets. Focus on terrestrial (rocky and metallic) planets, though more volatile-rich bodies are also examined."

This course will serve as a two-week aggressively gentle introduction to programming for those students who lack background in the field. Specifically targeted at students with little or no programming experience, the course seeks to reach students who intend to take 6.001 in the Spring Term and feel they would struggle because they lack the necessary background. The main focus of the subject will be acquiring programming experience: instruction in programming fundamentals coupled with lots of practice problems. Lots of programming required, but lots of support provided.

This course serves as an introduction to the history, theory, and construction of basic structural systems with an introduction to energy issues in buildings. Emphasis is placed on developing an understanding of basic systematic and elemental behavior; principles of structural behavior and analysis of individual structural elements and strategies for load carrying. The subject introduces fundamental energy topics including thermodynamics, psychrometrics, and comfort, as they relate to building design and construction.

This course addresses advanced topics in structures, exterior envelopes and contemporary production technologies. It continues the exploration of structural elements and systems; expanding to include more complex determinant, indeterminate, long-span and high-rise systems. Some of the topics covered include reinforced concrete, steel and engineered wood design, and an introduction to tensile systems. The contemporary exterior envelope is discussed with an emphasis on the classification of systems, their performance attributes and advanced manufacturing technologies.