Overview
In this unit, your study will focus on the role of the genome in adaptive change in living organisms, particularly animals. This will help you bring together recent advances in our understanding of the genome and the impact of these on the traditional areas of zoology, particularly those involving evolutionary processes. This unit will provide you with a link between molecular biology and other areas of biology including genetics, evolution, taxonomy, embryology and behaviour. In the latter part of the unit, you will focus on various aspects of human evolution.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites Any one of the following: BIOH11005 Introductory Anatomy and Physiology BIOL11102 Life Science Laboratory BMSC11002 Human Body Systems 2 BMSC11008 Medical Anatomy and Physiology 2 BMSC11011 Human Anatomy and Physiology 2
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 3 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student evaluations
The students commented that the material was broken down into succinct topics and that the unit was very well organised and interesting.
Excellent feedback was received on the unit's reorganisation. Improvement and communication practices will continue in the following years.
Feedback from Student evaluations
The students recommended adding more learning material activities to better prepare students for the final quiz.
The suggested activities are incorporated into lectures, but will be expanded and upgraded in the future.
Feedback from Student evaluations
Students commented that they appreciated updated lectures, which help to keep the content current and applicable to current advances in genetics.
The unit will continue to present new and exciting developments in the area of genetics and review the most interesting and controversial manuscripts published in recent years, such as the side effects of probiotics and the genomic effects of artificial sweeteners, which were presented last year.
Feedback from Student evaluations
Students asked for an explanation of the final quiz structure.
The video on the final quiz was available last year in the Assessment block. The video was additionally posted on the forum a few days before the exam to remind the students of this information. The video footage presented an overview of the quiz structure and strategy for achieving the best marks. In the video, the lecturer opened one quiz attempt and took the students through random sample questions, then continued to "mock-mark" previous years' quiz attempts, with student names removed, to demonstrate where marks could be lost and how to use the time available strategically. The overall cohort mark in this quiz was 87.2%, indicating that the students were more than well-prepared. However, efforts will be made to emphasise the availability of these resources on the Moodle page and further expand this information.
Feedback from Student evaluations
Students emphasised that they enjoyed open communication with the unit coordinator and feedback provided on the essay writing.
The feedback and communication will continue in future unit offerings.