Biology and Life
What is life? These classes will explore the living world around us and connections between light and life – how the energy we receive from the sun supports all life on earth. The course will also support the monastic graduates capacity to engage biological sciences, namely neuroscience. By providing a basic foundation of biology and chemistry needed to understand fundamental principles of cell biology, the course will address the question, what is a cell? (1) Beginning with the concept of atoms, chemical bonds, and molecules. (2) Structure of a cell, focusing on membrane structure (phospholipid bilayers), how do cells stay together? (3) Genetics, DNA – the code the cell needs to build itself, stability of information that passed on from one cell to the next, how do cells replicate? (4) Cell function – what do different cells do?
Teaching Slides (Power Point)
Barry Bruce Presentations
- 1. Cellular Basis of Life
- Tibetan (12 pages) – PDF (1.8 MB), PowerPoint (4.9 MB – Download)
- English (12 pages) – PowerPoint (4.9 MB – Download)
- 2. Central Dogma of Biology
- Tibetan (16 pages) – PDF (1.8 MB), PowerPoint (7.9 MB – Download)
- English (16 pages) – PowerPoint (7.9 MB – Download)
- 3. Molecules of Life
- Tibetan (6 pages) – PDF (759 KB – Download), PowerPoint (3 MB)
- English (6 pages) – PowerPoint (3.1 MB – Download)
- 4. Properties of Earth for Life
- Tibetan (8 pages) – PDF (772 KB), PowerPoint (15.8 MB – Download)
- English (8 pages) – PowerPoint (15.9 MB – Download)
- 5. Uniqueness of Water for Life
- English (7 pages) – PowerPoint (6.4 MB – Download)
- 6. What is Life?
- Tibetan (12 pages) – PDF (2.1 MB), PowerPoint (27.2 MB – Download)
- English (12 pages) – PowerPoint (27.2 MB – Download)
- 7. Micro-Life Around You
- English (12 pages) – PDF (1 MB)
Hands-on Activities
- 1. The Naked Egg (2 pages)
- English – PDF (165.3 KB)