BIOL 008. First Year Seminar: Containing Multitudes

Recent technological advances have illuminated the numerous and complex interactions that plants and animals have with their microbial partners. These symbiotic relationships play essential roles in all ecosystems as they affect where organisms can live, how they get their nourishment and even how they behave. Understanding and manipulating these partnerships has the potential to transform aspects of our lives - from increasing the food supply to altering the practice of medicine. We will address the hurdles, the promise, and the risks of manipulating the microbiome. Readings will include Yong's I Contain Multitudes, Blaser's Missing Microbes, and Offit's You Bet Your Life, as well as primary and review articles from scientific literature.
Previous background in biology not required.
Natural Sciences and Engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/biology

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