MCD BIO 138
Developmental Biology
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: Life Sciences 3, 4, and 23L, or 7A, 7B, 7C, 23L, and 107. Development of understanding of fundamental molecular mechanisms and cellular activities guiding formation of complex organism from single fertilized egg. Development of model organisms to understand conserved nature of developmental decisions across animal kingdom, distinct features that lead to diversification of animal shape and form during evolution. Origin and roles of stem and progenitor cells in development and maintenance of specific organ systems. Roles of cell shape change, cell death, proliferation, and migration in generating shape of embryo, organs, and tissues. Mechanisms by which cells become different from and communicate with one another to coordinate their activities in time and space in embryo. Special emphasis on experimental approaches used to address these fundamental questions that determine how organized tissues and organs are formed and maintained throughout life of organism. Letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2016 - For all Pre-Meds I'm selling custom made MCAT Full-Lengths which are custom designed with AAMC style questions. These questions mimim question packs and section bank. If you don't want to purchase the AAMC question banks separately you can get it in Full-length format to enable most important practice in your study schedule to gauge where you're at and how to improve. Contact **********
Fall 2016 - For all Pre-Meds I'm selling custom made MCAT Full-Lengths which are custom designed with AAMC style questions. These questions mimim question packs and section bank. If you don't want to purchase the AAMC question banks separately you can get it in Full-length format to enable most important practice in your study schedule to gauge where you're at and how to improve. Contact **********
Most Helpful Review
A lot of memorization for this class. Got B in the end. Make sure you study a bit everyday, because it's impossible to memorize all of this a few days before the final, especially if you have other science classes. recommend bruindemand.org for reading the scientific paper since they normally a lot of time to read. very approachable in office hours, but it's not ncessary, again spend time everyday memorizing, memorizing and memorizing. DON'T CRAM!!! and you will be ok.
A lot of memorization for this class. Got B in the end. Make sure you study a bit everyday, because it's impossible to memorize all of this a few days before the final, especially if you have other science classes. recommend bruindemand.org for reading the scientific paper since they normally a lot of time to read. very approachable in office hours, but it's not ncessary, again spend time everyday memorizing, memorizing and memorizing. DON'T CRAM!!! and you will be ok.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - I loved having Dr. Lyons for this class. It is a difficult class, and you can't get behind because a lot of the material builds on itself. However, Dr. Lyons couldn't be more clear as a lecturer. I recommend taking notes on almost everything she says because she adds details to the experiments from the slides and will explain concepts in ways that could make it easier to understand. She really is one of the best professors I've had at UCLA and very clearly cares about her students. If you stay on top of the lectures and really know the experiments and how they contributed our scientific understanding of development, you'll do well. Going to office hours is a huge help and Dr. Lyons and the TA's are very approachable and happy to answer any questions.
Fall 2019 - I loved having Dr. Lyons for this class. It is a difficult class, and you can't get behind because a lot of the material builds on itself. However, Dr. Lyons couldn't be more clear as a lecturer. I recommend taking notes on almost everything she says because she adds details to the experiments from the slides and will explain concepts in ways that could make it easier to understand. She really is one of the best professors I've had at UCLA and very clearly cares about her students. If you stay on top of the lectures and really know the experiments and how they contributed our scientific understanding of development, you'll do well. Going to office hours is a huge help and Dr. Lyons and the TA's are very approachable and happy to answer any questions.
Most Helpful Review
Be prepared to memorize ALOT! If you have taken 153A , then you'll know what I'm talking about. The materials and concepts are not very difficult to understand but still this memorization makes it hard. The papers that we had to read weekly also is tough. When I had her, I was able to take the quizes with the papers in front of me, but it was still hard. I submitted a lot of my journals to bruindemand.org for summaries because they take so much time to read on your own, and youre tested more on lecture than scientific papers. Again, make time to memorize and you will come out alright.
Be prepared to memorize ALOT! If you have taken 153A , then you'll know what I'm talking about. The materials and concepts are not very difficult to understand but still this memorization makes it hard. The papers that we had to read weekly also is tough. When I had her, I was able to take the quizes with the papers in front of me, but it was still hard. I submitted a lot of my journals to bruindemand.org for summaries because they take so much time to read on your own, and youre tested more on lecture than scientific papers. Again, make time to memorize and you will come out alright.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - While this class wasn't easy, the professor definitely made up for it! The class consisted of two midterms and a final, which was made open note due to classes moving online. In addition, there were two open note quizzes (one right before each midterm), discussion participation points, weekly assignments based on readings, and extra credit clicker points. Dr. Rigueur is also one of those professors who truly cares about the success of her students and is very approachable - she offered many office hours throughout the quarter (she even changed her office hours from being once a week to offered almost every day when many students said they couldn't make the originally scheduled ones), and would often stop during lectures to answer questions. Additionally, both of the TA's in this course were super helpful (Rachel and Alex) in both discussion section and office hours!
Winter 2020 - While this class wasn't easy, the professor definitely made up for it! The class consisted of two midterms and a final, which was made open note due to classes moving online. In addition, there were two open note quizzes (one right before each midterm), discussion participation points, weekly assignments based on readings, and extra credit clicker points. Dr. Rigueur is also one of those professors who truly cares about the success of her students and is very approachable - she offered many office hours throughout the quarter (she even changed her office hours from being once a week to offered almost every day when many students said they couldn't make the originally scheduled ones), and would often stop during lectures to answer questions. Additionally, both of the TA's in this course were super helpful (Rachel and Alex) in both discussion section and office hours!
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2022 - This class is very difficult, but it doesn’t help that the “MCDB 138 Team,” which is composed of 2 professors and 3 TAs, give inconsistent answers. When I ask questions, the professors give contradictory statements regarding class material (for example, if something is true or false). The questions on the assessments are often very poorly worded and it’s never easy to understand what’s exactly being asked.
Spring 2022 - This class is very difficult, but it doesn’t help that the “MCDB 138 Team,” which is composed of 2 professors and 3 TAs, give inconsistent answers. When I ask questions, the professors give contradictory statements regarding class material (for example, if something is true or false). The questions on the assessments are often very poorly worded and it’s never easy to understand what’s exactly being asked.
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