FYEC 137 - 138 - What is Life? -This course will explore the unique characteristic of living things from the perspectives of a biologist and a computer scientist. These fields and their cognate disciplines have begun to challenge old definitions of life by attempting to create computer algorithms and artificial organisms that mimic life. Nature, too, has produced entities, such as the molecules that cause "Mad Cow Disease," that blur the lines between life and non-life. In this course the characteristics of living things, including the genetic code and replication, as well as attempts to recreate these features in silico and in vitro will be examined with lectures, discussions, and hands-on laboratories. Professor David Coppola, Department of Biology, and Professor John Rabung, Department of Computer Science . Four hours each semester. [Area of Knowledge requirements met: one laboratory science course under the Natural and Mathematical Sciences area and one non-lab computer science course under the Natural and Mathematical Sciences area. Open to all students.]