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BIO 201 Traditional Labs – Spring 2017

For students in the following majors (including ‘intended’): • BIOCHEMISTRY • BIOINFORMATICS AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY WITH BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES CONCENTRATION • BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES MAJORS AND MINORS (INCLUDING BIO/DENTAL JOINT PROGRAM) • BIOTECHNOLOGY • COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES MAJORS WITH NO SIGNIFICANT LAB PROGRAM WHO WISH TO TAKE THE TRADITIONAL LAB • MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY • NUCLEAR MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY • PHARMACOLOGY/TOXICOLOGY
About the Labs In BIO 201 you will learn about many of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that make life possible. In the lab you will learn about a number of experimental approaches, both classic and contemporary, that have led to our understanding of these mechanisms. Data analysis and lab reports will generally be completed using Microsoft Excel. It is recommended that you use the latest version of Excel (the latest Microsoft Office Suite can be downloaded at the UBIT Software Download Site). For more information, refer to “Lab Reports” below.

Materials Required for Labs

1. Lab manual: BIO 201 - Cell Biology Laboratory Manual, 4th Edition by L.D. Hutson. Hayden McNeil. 2016 (available at the UB North Campus Bookstore ~$60) You must have the 3rd Edition of the lab manual (shown above) and bring it to lab in the 2nd week in order to participate in Lab 1. 2. A composition book: to be used as a lab notebook (shown at right; can be purchased for     ~$3 at most office supply stores, Walmart, etc.). 3. (optional) Personal protective equipment (PPE) – we will provide lab aprons and safety goggles, but if you prefer, you may purchase your own. We do not have space available in lab to store these, however, so you must bring them to lab each week.

lab coat or lab apron – Lab coats can be purchased for  ~$20 from many different websites including Automotive Workwear, Amazon, Scrubs and Beyond, Walmart, and Labwear.com. Aprons should be made of rubber, vinyl, or PVC and can be found for on the websites for Home Science Tools, Food Service Warehouse, and the Public Kitchen Supply, also for less than $20. safety glasses or goggles – can be purchased for $3 and up from hardware stores such as Home Depot or Lowes.

Schedule
Labs begin in WEEK 2 of the semester. You must attend this lab in order to obtain essential information about the labs and complete an assessment. Lab 1 will be done in week 3.
All labs are mandatory and meet at the time, day, and room specified in HUB. Quizzes or assessments will be administered at each lab meeting. For more information about quizzes, see “Quizzes” below.

Personal Protective Equipment
The University at Buffalo takes the protection of its students, the environment, and your experiments very seriously. All students must therefore wear LONG PANTS, CLOSE-TOED shoes, and APPROPRIATE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) in every lab in which chemicals are used. The PPE required in BIO 201 labs includes, goggles, gloves, and aprons, all of which will be provided for you in lab.

Quizzes
Beginning with Lab 1, a short quiz will be administered at the beginning of each lab. For each quiz, you are responsible for the material contained the following sections of the lab manual (preceding Lab 1): Laboratory Safety, Sterile Technique, The Scientific Method, Units of Measure, and Converting Between Units. You are also responsible for understanding the basic principles of each lab and know what technique(s) will be used. The Prelab questions at the end of the Background section of each lab are provided to give you an idea of what types of questions to expect. Also make sure that you know the terminology provided in the Glossary for each lab.

Lab Notebooks
A good scientist always keeps a detailed lab notebook. The contents of the lab notebook should allow anyone to go repeat your experiments, with revisions if necessary. The lab notebook is also a legal document that can be used in a court of law. The federal government can, at any time, confiscate and review the lab notebooks from any lab that receives federal money for research. Lab notebooks are also a primary source of evidence in patent disputes. Most companies require a witness to sign each page of every lab notebook as assurance of authenticity.

In BIO 201, all students are required to keep a lab notebook like those used in research labs. Information needs to be entered before you begin each lab is provided for each lab in the section just before the procedure. In addition ALL DATA and ANY ADDITIONAL NOTES and CONCLUSIONS must be entered in order to receive full credit. Lab notebook entries for Labs 1-8 will be graded at the beginning of the lab meeting that follows the lab in question. In general, lab notebooks should always include the following information:

1. Name of lab
2. Date
3. Name of lab partner, if applicable
4. Goals of the lab
5. Safety precautions
6. Additional notes from T.A.
7. Data (including pictures, charts, or other print-outs, if any)
8. Conclusions

Lab Reports
With the exception of Lab 9, all of your lab reports will be completed in Microsoft Excel using Lab Report template files provided to you by your TA or in UB Learns. For these lab reports we strongly recommended that you use the latest version of Excel (available at the UBIT software download site). If you aren’t already familiar with Excel, you may want to begin to familiarize yourself with it now. Excel instructions for both Mac and PC are available in UB Learns, but for some operations you may find that you need outside help (e.g. Microsoft Excel online help).