An illustration showing the double helix structure of DNA (Image courtesy of the National Human Genome Research Institute).
Want a taste of what Breakthrough Prize-winner Eric Lander‘s MITx course 7.00x will be like? Take a look at our 7.01SC Fundamentals of Biology course, also by Professor Lander. While the OCW Scholar courses are not MOOCs–they offer no interaction with faculty or students and no certificates–they are independent learning resources that share materials with their MITx cousins. Here’s the course description from the Scholar course:
Fundamentals of Biology focuses on the basic principles of biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and recombinant DNA. These principles are necessary to understanding the basic mechanisms of life and anchor the biological knowledge that is required to understand many of the challenges in everyday life, from human health and disease to loss of biodiversity and environmental quality.
OCW Scholar courses are designed for independent learners who have few additional resources available to them. The courses are substantially more complete than typical OCW courses and include new custom-created content as well as materials repurposed from MIT classrooms. The materials are also arranged in logical sequences and include multimedia such as video and simulations.
