The "Biology" course is the first of the 3 planned courses in Bioinformatics. Students are strongly encouraged to plan their participation in all 3 courses as courses have continuation elements within them.

The general objective of the "Biology" course is to provide an introduction and overview to of biology with emphasis on molecular biology. The course mainly concentrates on genome analysis in domestic animals, but the methods and theories taught are applicable in all higher organisms. The course gives in-depth knowledge of methods for studies of the mammalian genome and it structure and evolution.

The topics covered will include: Biological make up of living organisms; Cells and chromosomes; DNA and proteins; DNA code; Central dogma; Genes; Genomics and proteomics; Genomes of prokaryotes; Genomes of eukaryotes; Human genome; Evolution of genomes; Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) and its testing method; Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) identification; Causative gene identification; Biotechnology; Bioethics. Practical work during this course will give possibility to get acquainted with basic molecular methods: DNA extraction; PCR; RFLP; electrophoresis; genotyping and chromosome analysis methods.

The course will consist of:

1. Distance learning part - 1.5 month before the course students will get pre-reading materials;
2. During the face-to-face meeting lectures will be given by Baltic and Russian teachers as well as the practical training and short ( 5-7 min) presentations of their research work and group discussions.