Teaching and Exploring the Social Implications of Twenty-First Century Molecular Biology in a Laboratory-Based General Education Course

At the University of California, Los Angeles The Genome: Blueprint, Controversy, Destiny is an inquiry-based course with a laboratory component, designed for non-science majors. The course explores the many ways in which molecular biology—including the Human Genome Project, genetically modified foods, gene therapy, and forensics—is increasingly permeating society in the 21st century. The laboratory component of the course includes experience in real research—the sequencing of a microbial genome. Students feel, think, and act like scientists while they consider the societal implications of the technology. The course aims to prepare students to be scientifically literate citizens while simultaneously building a major research accomplishment.