FRS 001E Sec. 001 (2 units) W 3:10 - 5:00 pm , 25 Wellman
The 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Instructor: Richard Tucker, Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine

Description: The course explores the events leading up to the presentation of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for the discovery of the structure of DNA. In particular, the personalities and scientific contribution described in Watson’s autobiography The Double Helix and in Anne Sayre’s biography of Rosalind Franklin, a key player in the discovery who didn’t win the prize, are compared and contrasted. The major goal of the course is to encourage critical analysis of the Nobel Prize itself, especially how society views the prize and what it takes to be a laureate. Who wins the Nobel Prize and why? Who selects the prize winners? Part of this goal involves the development of critical reading, writing and presentation skills. In addition students are assigned weekly projects ("scavenger hunts") intended to introduce them to using the Internet and campus libraries as learning resources.

Format: Students will meet once each week for a two-hour session. Students present the results of their weekly "scavenger hunts," which in turn are integrated into a general discussion of that week’s reading assignment. Required readings will include The Double Helix by J. D. Watson, Rosalind Franklin & DNA by Anne Sayre, and excerpts from an out-of-print autobiography by Francis Crick entitled What Mad Pursuit. In addition to the short weekly assignments, students write two essays and make a small-group presentation on another controversial Nobel Prize. Grading: Scavenger hunts (10%), class discussion (10%), Essay 1 (1 page) (10%), Student participation (30%), and essay 2 (4-6 pages) (40%).

About the Instructors: Dr. Tucker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy at the School of Medicine. He earned his Ph.D. in Zoology from UC Davis in 1986. After postdoctoral studies in Europe and a junior faculty position on the East Coast, he joined the UC Davis faculty in 1994. His research interests center around understanding the molecules that direct the development of the nervous system. Dr. Tucker is the director of the School of Medicine’s Gross Anatomy course and also enjoys giving anatomy lectures to undergraduates in CHA 101. His long-standing interests in scientific fraud and misconduct led to the development of this Freshman Seminar, which has been offered since 1998.