2010-11 Academic Year
History of Biology and Medicine (20435)
Qualification/course: Biology
Year: 3
Term: 3
Number of ECTS credits: 4
Number of study hours: 100
Course Language(s): Catalan
Lecturer: Albert Presas i Puig
1. Presentation and general objectives of the subject
Biology is one of the sciences with the greatest relevance to the needs of the 21st century. This subject deals with the study of the historical development and establishment of biology as a scientific discipline. Special consideration will be given to the representation and interpretation of the phenomenon of life from the 16th century to the present day, taking into account the relationship between biological thought and other fields of knowledge including medicine, physics, art, religious concepts and politics. The epistemological aspects of biological theory will also be examined in relation to developments in other disciplines.
2. Competences to be achieved and specific objectives
- Knowledge of the characteristic methodology in scientific history in general, particularly biology, as well as the approach required to prepare an analysis of one of the historical aspects of this discipline.
- An examination of the historical evolution of the discipline to help students understand past developments and current issues.
- Development of techniques both to gain access to information of a historical nature and to evaluate it accordingly.
3. Contents
Module 1
Aristotle
Galenism and mediaeval thought
Module 2. The biological sciences during the Renaissance
Vesalius and the study of anatomy
Alchemy, therapeutics and the medicine of Paracelsus
Naturalist philosophy in the 17th century
Module 3. Biological questions during the Enlightenment
Organic theories and mechanics
The preformationism debate
Carl von Linne
Module 4. Biology as a general theory of life
Romanticism and Naturphilosophie
Cellular theory and its impact during the first decades of the 19th century
Module 5. The origins of experimental physiology
The development of scientific methodology in the medical and biological sciences
Module 6. The theory of evolution
The work of Charles Darwin and its social and religious influence
Anti-selectionism and neo-Darwinism
Module 7. The birth of genetics and the new epistemological framework
The work of Gregor Mendel and the laws of inheritance
The synthesis of genetics and evolution
New approaches in biological research
Module 8. The differentiation of the life sciences and the search for general theories
Biological institutions and theories in the late 19th and early 20thcenturies
Module 9. The development of microbiology
Technological advances and the work of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch
Module 10. Immunisation and vaccination
Pre-Jennerian concepts of immune response
Jenner and vaccination against smallpox
Pasteur and vaccination against rabies
The status of vaccination at the start of the 21st century
Module 11. The historical origins of pharmacological therapeutics
Defence and protection mechanisms
Cellular and humoral immunity: The work of Ilya Mechnikov and Paul Ehrlich
The development of instruments of measurement and scientific methodology: Claude Bernard
Module 12. Knowledge of the brain
Descartes and the separation between body and mind
Thomas Willis and the functional organization of the brain
The discovery of electrical transmission to the nerve cells
Neuron theory and Ramón y Cajal
Module 13. The birth of molecular biology
Theories developed between 1930 and 1950
The discovery of nucleic acids.
A new model: DNA and its double helix structure
The central dogma of molecular biology: the transfer of information through the DNA-RNA-protein connection
Theme 14. The development of molecular biology and the beginnings of biotechnology
Recombinable DNA
Biotechnology and the production of biological substances
The example of Genentech and drugs of biotechnological origin
Historical aspects of the analysis of the human genome
4. Assessment
Regular attendance at lectures is a pre-requisite for passing the subject. Any alternative arrangement must be discussed with the lecturer. Regular contact with the lecturer is also obligatory.
- Completion of an assignment of 3,500 words based on instructions given at the start of the year (30%)
- Textual commentary and class participation (30%)
- Oral presentation of assignment (maximum 10 minutes) (10%)
- Multiple-choice test (30%)
5. Recommended bibliography
Bowler, P. J., 1989. Evolution: the history of an idea.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
Canguilhem, G., 1976. El conocimiento de la vida.
Barcelona: Anagrama.
Darwin, Ch. 1988. L'origen de les espècies. Barcelona: Edicions 62.
Dawkins, R., 1979. El gen egoista. Barcelona: Labor.
Fischer, J.-L., 1990. Histoire de la génétique: pratiques, techniques et théories. París: Arpem.
Gillespie, C. C. (Ed.) (1976ss.). The Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Nova York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Gould, St. J., 1997. La falsa medida del hombre.
Barcelona: Crítica.
Jacob, F., 1999. La lógica de lo viviente: una historia de la herencia.
Barcelona: Tusquets.
Jahn, I. R. Löther, K. Senglaub (coord.) (1990). Historia de la biología: teorías, métodos, instituciones y biografías breves.
Barcelona: Labor.
Mayr, E., 1982. The growth of biological thought: diversity,
evolution, and inheritance.
Cambridge [etc.]: The Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press.
Monod, J., 2000. El azar y la necesidad: ensayo sobre la filosofía natural de la biología moderna. Barcelona: Tusquets.
Ruse, M. 1996. Monad to man the concept of progress in evolutionary biology.
Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
Watson, J. D. 1978. La Doble Hélice.
Barcelona: Plaza & Janés.
6. Methodology
The course consists of theoretical lessons, active participation in the classroom and one to one tutoring through individual coursework.
7. Activities schedule
Practical activities are intended to help students acquire specific skills that are important for their future professional development, and include visits to institutions of special significance in the field of life sciences in Catalonia.