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MITx: Genetics: Analysis and Applications

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How do we know what we know about heredity? Enhance your scientific thinking and experimental design skills with this in-depth adventure through genetics.

Genetics: Analysis and Applications
8 weeks
4–6 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Mar 19
Ends May 28

About this course

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This is the second genetics course in a three-part series. Building upon the concepts from biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology from our 7.00x Introductory Biology MOOC, these genetics courses go to a new level of depth. What are different types of genetic changes? How do nature and scientists create these genetic variations? How do we design and perform analyses to identify the genetic basis of a trait or disease?

Professors Peter Reddien and Mary Gehring will challenge you to expand your understanding of genetics. You will study the variety of genetic changes, different approaches to genetic analyses, and the impact of genetics on development and behavior.

We developed the 7.03x Genetics series with an emphasis on:

  • Developing your scientific thinking skills including articulating hypotheses, designing experiments, performing thought experiments, and interpreting data.
  • Using data based on real scientific experiments and highlighting the scientific process in assessments.
  • Asserting that biology is an active field that changes daily through examples of research and relevance to medicine, not static information in a textbook.
  • Uniting themes and principles that inform how scientists conduct and interpret research.
  • Implementing the science of learning in the course design.

At a glance

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated skills:Experimental Design, Scientific Methods, Research, Biochemistry, Biology, Molecular Biology, Genetics

What you'll learn

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  1. How to appreciate the applications of genetics to everyday life.
  2. How to apply terminology appropriately to concepts in genetics.
  3. How to justify the use of specific techniques and methods for answering different genetic questions.
  4. How to analyze the location and type of mutation or chromosomal change.
  5. How to find or create mutants of interest.
  6. How to explain the impact of genetics on development and behavior.
  • Studying the Genome
  • Understanding Genetic Variation
  • Editing the Genome
  • Applications of Edited Genomes
  • Regulatory Pathways
  • Insights Using Genetic Tools

Frequently Asked Questions

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How can I take related biology courses from MIT?

The other MITx Biology courses run throughout the year. Check out the MITx Biology website for more details and registration links.

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. edX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

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