General and Environmental Biology with Elements of Histology

The purpose of this Course is to provide a straightforward explanation of the way in which the most important molecules and organelles of the cell, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic, cooperate to create a system that moves, feeds, responds to stimuli, grows and divides, i.e., in a word, that is alive.

The knowledge/skill acquired at the end of the Course will be: what is that we mean for life, how the life is likely appeared on the Earth, which are the biological macromolecules and how they are built, how such macromolecules cooperate on the ground of their structure/function, which are the cellular organelles, their role, appearance and meaning during evolution. Students will be able not only to identify a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell/organism, but also to understand that higher organisms are communities of specific and differentiated cells derived by growth and division from a single founder cell, the oocyte fertilized by the spermatozoon. Through observation at the light microscopy, with relative explanation, of a wide panel of histological specimen, students are qualified to recognize the kind of animal tissue and the basic function that the selected tissue plays in the general homeostasis.