FRS 002 — Sec. 002 — (2 units) — CRN 92613— M 3:10-5:00pm —6202 Genome & Biomedical Sciences Building
From the Big Bang to DNA

Instructor: Eric Gershwin, Department of Rheumatology, Allergy & Clinical Immunology, School of Medicine

Description: This will be the 5th year in which we highlight the development of life as it originated from the Big Bang, or the beginning of the Universe. The course will emphasize not only development of our planetary system and earth, but especially the nature of life and the appearance of heavy metals following the explosion of stars. Initially the course will focus on issues in astronomy and cosmology, but then will move heavily into the fragile nature of life’s biology and how difficult it is for intelligent life to have evolved. We will discuss related issues of not only potential physical catastrophes (earthquakes, asteroids), but also the biologic catastrophes of plagues. We will focus on the development of technology and how that will influence man’s evolution. At the end of the course, the goal is for students to have learned to do independent research on a controversial subject and to present it to their student peers.

Format: Class will meet on Monday afternoons from 3:00 to 5:00. Grading: Half of the grade will be based on oral assignments and the balance of the grade will be based on class participation and either a final report or a final class presentation.

About the Instructor: Dr. Eric Gershwin is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Clinical Immunology at the University of California at Davis. He has been on the faculty since 1974. He received his bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and his medical degree from Stanford University. Dr. Gershwin trained in immunology at the National Institutes of Health and is considered a world authority on human immune responses. He has published 20 books and more than 500 experimental articles in immunology and has won international recognition and prizes for his work on autoimmune disease. Dr. Gershwin also has training and Masters degree in astronomy/astrophysics at the Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics from Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia.