life sciences
PVNet offers Biology courses and workshops on the following subjects:
Biology
This program acts as the building block for students interested in branching out into other subfields. It teaches students the basics of studying living organisms, their classification, their forms, and their environment.
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BioTechnology
BioTechnology combines two different fields by using cutting-edge techniques and tools to manipulate and experiment with living organisms. PVNet's facility provides students access to technology they can't find at school.
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Marine Biology
Students interested in marine life can take our Marine Biology courses to learn more about the flora and fauna that populate our local coastline. Our lab allows students to create their own aquariums to study organisms in-person.
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Neuroscience
Learn about how our complex nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, function. PVNet offers access to technology that students can use to measure brain activity and other interesting processes.
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Biology
Biology is the branch of science that deals with the study of living things, both past and present. The field is as diverse as life itself, having sub-disciplines focusing on the form (anatomy), the function (physiology), the classification (taxonomy), of organisms, and the way organisms interact with their environment (ecology). Advances in related areas and the marriage of sometimes disparate disciplines have also contributed to the enormous spectrum of specialties. Biophysics, biochemistry, molecular biology, marine biology, astrobiology, biological illustration, biodesign, bioinformatics, and biotechnology are a tiny sampling of these combined fields. The biological sciences are the gateway to health sciences, which have their own dizzying array of specialties and potential livelihoods.
Traditional tools like the microscope and the balance are still workhorses in a modern biology lab but are now complemented PCR thermocyclers, gel electrophoresis devices, centrifuges, data analysis applications, and the like. Students who take biology/biotech classes at PVNet will have access to these instruments, as well as resources to make their own devices.
BioTEchnology
Biotechnology I is a one-semester course that provides access to tools for studying biology. The course will explore the genetic manipulation of organisms to produce commercial products, as well as topics not ordinarily covered in a traditional biotechnology or biology class. PVNet has some unique resources and can provide hands-on experiences in the following areas: design and fabrication of custom scientific devices, 3D printing, electronics, neuroscience and bioamplifiers, exposure to living examples of all taxonomic kingdoms, bioinformatics, and bioprinting
marine biology
Meet some of the organisms along our own coastline! Marine biology is a branch of biology that focuses on life in the ocean. In this course, you will make an aquarium and conduct studies on local marine flora and fauna using both laboratory and DIY scientific devices. Great for potential science fair projects or even an introduction if you will be taking Marine Biology in the fall.
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neuroscience
The neurosciences include those branches of science that focus on the study of the nervous systems of animals, including humans. The form and function of nervous systems, as well as their influence upon behavior have long been studied by neuroscience researchers. Although neuroscience is at its root a biological science, it is increasingly spinning off disciplines that may be far removed from nerve cells and action potentials. Machine learning is a good example. Machine learning is a scientific discipline that attempts to solve problems using computer algorithms based on processes seen in nervous systems and the human brain.
Students taking PVNet's biology classes use bioampliers to study action potentials in human muscles, invertebrate nerves, and the excitable cells of plants and other organisms.
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Neurotech
Neurotechnolgy includes those branches of technology that further our understanding of nervous systems, consciousness, and complex behavior. Neurotechnology and neuroscience address many shared questions and broadly overlap, but subtle differences in focus warrant treating the two disciplines as separate fields. The neurosciences deal primarily with neurological life processes at all levels. Neurotechnology places a greater emphasis on the tools for studying those life processes, and the use of those tools to heal or improve brain functions.
Students taking PVNet's biology classes can use bioampliers to study action potentials in human muscles, invertebrate nerves, and excitable cells in plants and other organisms.