General introduction to chemical foundations, atoms, molecules and ions. Stoichiometry and chemical reactions. Properties of gases, solids and liquides, and properties af solutions. Atomic structure and the periodic table. Atomic bonding (ionic, covalent and metal) using VB theory. Chemical kinetics and chemical equilibrium. Acids and bases and the properties and application of aqueous solutions (buffers and solubility products). Thermochemistry (enhalpy, entropy, sponaneity and the Gibbs free energy). Electrochemistry (galvanic and electrolyic sells) and application of electrochemistry. Nuclear chemistry.

Molar volume of gases, thermochemistry, reaction enthalpies and Hesse's law, Rate of chemical reactions, decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, reaction reversibility and Le Chatelier's principle, determination of acid ionization constant with potentiometric titration, determination of equilibrium constant with absorbtion measurements.

Plants as organisms. Structure and function of the plant cell. Photosynthesis. The anatomy and morphology of plants. Alternation of generations, the evolution, life cycles and characteristics of mosses and vascular plant groups with emphasis on the flowering plants. The evolution of seeds, flowers and fruits. Vegetation of the earth, the biomes. The vegetation and vegetation history of Iceland. Laboratory work: Cells and tissue types. Examples of the anatomy and morphology of major groups, seeds, flowers and fruits. The diversity of plant form and environment.

Lectures: Mendelian inheritance. Sex chromosomes. Cytoplasmic inheritance. Chromosomes. Cell division (mitosis and meiosis). Life cycles. Linkage and recombination in eukaryotes. Bacterial genetics. Gene mapping and tetrad analysis. Genotype and phenotype. Chromosomal changes. DNA: Structure and replication. RNA: Transcription. Rgulation of gene transcription. Gene isolation and manipulation. Genomics. Transposons.  Mutations. Repair and recombination.  Model organisms. Laboratory work: : I. The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. II. Mitosis in onions. III. Plasmids and restriction enzymes. IV. PCR. V. Analysis of asci from Sordaria fimicola.

Exam: Laboratory and problems 25%, written 75%. Minimum mark needed for each part.

Course description: The fundamental concepts of calculus will be discussed. Subjects: Limits and continuous functions. Differentiable functions, rules for derivatives, derivatives of higher order, antiderivatives. Applications of differential calculus: Extremal value problems, linear approximation. The main functions in calculus: logarithms, exponential functions and trigonometric functions. The mean value theorem. Integration: The definite integral and rules of integration. The fundamental theorem of calculus. Techniques of integration, improper integrals. Series and sequences. Ordinary differential equations. Vectors and matrix calculations.

Basic principles of organic chemistry with special reference to the medical disciplines. All main classes of organic compounds from alkanes to amines are covered together with their major reaction mechanisms. Structure and chemistry of biological compounds such as carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and proteins with special reference to biochemistry, enzyme catalysed reaction and medicine in general.

Students will be trained in the laboratory work needed in the organic lab. Organic compounds will be synthesized with addition, alkylation and aldol condensation. The identification of organic compounds will be performed with the help of derivatives and TLC.

During this course, students will be introduced to organisms and acellular entities too small to be seen by the unaided eye.  They can acquire knowledge on the characteristics of bacteria, archaea, viruses and eukaryotic microorganisms.  The course will explain the importance of microorganisms, how they live in diverse and dynamic ecosystems and how some affect humans, for example by being valuable for the food industry or by causing disease.  The students will gain laboratory experience and practice aseptic techniques. 

Lectures: The course is intended to provide an overview of the evolutionary history on animals as well as structural and functional characteristics. Fundamentals in systematics and evolution and the relationship of phyla will be presented. An overview will be given of the function, development, life history and ecology of invertebrates. The following phyla will be thoroughly discussed: Protozoa, Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Mollusca, Annelida, Arthropoda and Echinodermata. Other phyla will also be presented in lesser detail.

Laboratory work: Examination and dissection of representative species. Compulsary attendance in practicals.

At the beginning of the course some main statistical concepts are introduced, such as population, sample, variable and randomness. Various descriptive statistics are introduced, as well as basic graphical representations. Fundamentals of probability theory are introduced, as well as the most common probability distributions. The rest of the course deals with inferential statistics where hypotheses tests and confidence intervals for means, variance and proportions are covered as well a analysis of variance (ANOVA) and simple linear regression. Students will learn how to apply the above mentioned methods in the statistical software R.

A thorough treatment of the fundamentals of biochemistry - part one; structure and function of macromolecules. The scope of biochemistry. Water and its properties. Interactions in biomolecules. Amino acids, peptides and the structure of proteins. Protein function.  Protein stability, folding, and dynamics related to function. Carbohydrates and glycobiology. Lipids, membranes and membrane proteins. Enzyme kinetics, regulation of enzyme activity, and mechanisms of enzyme catalysis. Signal transduction and membrane receptors. Structure of nucleic acids, stability, and basic recombinant technology. Final grade is combined from the final exam (85% ) and a midterm exam (15%).

Lectures:
Twice weekly (2 x 40 min.) Probelm solving class (2 x 40 min.) weekly.

Course evaluation:
Final exam (3 hours): 85% of final grade.
Midterm: 15% of final grade.

Textbook:
Nelson D.L. & Cox M.M. Lehninger: Principles of Biochemistry, 8th Edition, 2021

Lectures: Introduction. Evolution. Behaviour. Historical and ecological biogeography. Populations: Dispersal, natality and mortality rates, life tables, age composition, population growth, regulation of population size, cyclic fluctuations, migration. Species interactions: Competition, predation, other forms of interactions. Communities: Community description, species composition, species diversity, food webs, stability, succession. Ecosystems: Biogeochemical cycles, energy flow, productivity, trophic efficiency. Marine ecology, fresh-water ecology, terrestrial ecology; introduction to Icelandic ecosystems. Practical work: Exercises are in the lab and in the field. The emphasis is on application of scientific method in ecology, variation and data analysis. The exercises include experimental studies of population growth and competition between Paramecium species, studies of terrestrial communities (plants and animals), zonation of tidal zones and life in streams. Obligatory: all practical exercises. Course evaluation: ractical exercises and seminars 50% including a more extensive written report to be orally presented. Ten written exercises 50%. Minimum grade of 5 required for all parts.

Lectures: The course gives an overview of the evolution and the principal anatomical and functional characteristics of vertebrates.. The origin of chordates and vertebrates will be discussed. An overview will be given of the embryology and the structure and function of the main organ systems of vertebrates. The course reviews the evolution and phylogeny and discusses key adaptations of the major vertebrate classes.

Laboratory work: Dissection and examination of representative vertebrates.

An introduction to the principal methods used for isolation and analysis of proteins and therir properties. Emphasis is on the catalytic properties of enzymes and determination of enzyme activity. The main theories of enzymatic catalysis, such as the Michaelis-Menten equation, will be presented and students compare this with data that they generate. Students will do simple exercises, modeling protein structure, isolating and measuring proteins and determining enzymatic properties such as Km and Kcat using appropriate methods and software.

The cell biology part includes four lectures each week for 14 weeks (4L week for 14 weeks). The content includes: Introduction to cell biology, structure and evolution of eukaryotic cells. The main emphasis is on eukaryotic cells. Chemistry of the cell and energy conversion, structure and function of cellular macromolecules. The structure and function of cellular organs and functional units like the cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, cytoskeleton, golgi-system, lysosomes and peroxisomes. Intracellular regulation and signal pathways linked to communication between cells, together with cell differentiation and cancer. Details on extracellular matrix are included and basic immunology.

Histology is an independent short course accompanying the LÍF315G cell biology course. The course is structured as a practical course with support lectures, and lectures and practical exercises last for 6 weeks. The practical classes are primarily based on examining histological samples under a microscope and generating properly annotated histological sketches. Attendance is mandatory in practical lessons. The final exam is held two weeks after the last lecture.

The aim of the course is to introduce the basics of histology and tissue structure, as well as to make students independent in the use of microscopes when examining tissue samples. The lectures discuss the properties of individual tissues, the characteristics and function of different cell types and the properties of the extracellular matrix in a tissue-specific context. The preparation of samples is also discussed separately.

Developmental biology unifies multiple subject areas within life- and medical sciences and many fundamental discoveries on molecular and cellular processes come from developmental biology research. The aim of the course is for students to gain broad overview of the main topics of developmental biology and to acquire knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the development of different groups of vertebrates and invertebrates at multiple levels, ranging from the whole organism to the role of molecules in regulating developmental processes.

Main lecture topics: The role of development. Historical overview. Development of unicellular organisms. Reproduction and genetic recombination. Developmental patterns among multicellular animals. Specification and determination of embryonic cell fates. Modern techniques in developmental biology. Controlling gene expression, - developmental genes. Importance of cell interactions. Structure of gametes, fertilization and activation of the egg. Early stages of development in selected invertebrates. Specification of embryonic axes and organs of the fruit fly, -a hierarchical system of gene control. Early stages of development and specification of embryonic axes in amphibias, birds and mammals. Fate of embryonic layers and organogensis in vertebrates. Limb formation in tetrapods. Sex determination, sexual development and development of gametes among invertebrates and vertebrates. Plant development.

In the practical exercises, the aim of the course is for students to gain training and skills in the handling and microscopic analysis of embryos, while also strengthening their knowledge of the main developmental events in different animal groups. Emphasis is also placed on students gaining practice in the use of databases in developmental genetics and genetics.

Practicals: The use of databases and genome browsers; Drosophila embryonic development and metamorphosis; zebrafish development; chick development.

Student presentations: Sudents are required to give two short presentations on course-related topics. The grade for each presentation represents 10% of the total grade for the course. Minimum grade required is 5,0 for both presentations.

Evolutionary biology: Darwin and evolution of the evolutionary theory. The tree of life, natural selection and adaptation.  How evolution works: The origin of variation, the raw material for evolution.  The genetical theory of natural selection. Evolution of phenotypic traits.  Genetic drift: Evolution at random and in space. Species and speciation. Products of evolution:  Conflict and cooperation. Life-history evolution. Coevolution among species. Evolution of genes and genomes. Evolution and development. Macroevolution and the history of life: Phylogeny, the history of life, geography of evolution and the evolution of biological diversity. Evolution above the species level. Human evolution and human society.

Lectures: Homeostasis, membrane potentials, neurons, nervous systems, endocrinology, sensory physiology, muscles, circulation, respiration, osmoregulation and excretion, digestion, metabolism, energy balance, reproduction.

Lab work: 1) Membrane potentials and ligands. 2) Somatic nerves/skeletal muscle. 3) Ergometry.
Other assignments: Online exams and review questions, information will be given at the beginning of the course.

Key species of organisms in Icelandic ecosystems. Methods of field research in ecology will be introduced. Emphasis is placed on the ability to recognize the main species in the country's flora and fauna, as well as data analysis and comparison with theoretical knowledge about habitat ecology.  

Field trips begin before the formal start of the fall semester. Teaching can take place both on weekdays and weekends. 

All students must attend the field-trips and submit a field-book in order to complete the course.

The life of flowering plants: From fertilization, embryo and seed development, growth and metabolism, to senescence. Effects of plant hormones and environmental factors on growth and development. Uptake and transport of water and nutrients. Carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Relationships between plants and micro-organisms. Reproduction: Asexual propagation and in vitro culture as a method in plant biotechnology, sexual reproduction as an essential process in plant evolution and plant improvement. Laboratory exercises: Experiments in plant physiology. Evaluation: final written exam 60%, laboratory exam 30% and project 10%.

Textbook: Taiz & Zeiger (2015) Plant Physiology and Development, 6.edition.

The main aim of this course is to introduce students to methodologies in the field, identifications, natural history, systematics, evolution and ecology of insects and arachnids, animals that together form the most diverse group of organisms on earth. Emphasis will be placed on systematics in its broadest sense, discussing biodiversity, its dimensions and measurements, and how we learn about the relationship between organisms and discover new species (phylogenetic analysis and taxonomy). The course introduces all major groups of insects and arachnids (mainly spiders).

Student lectures: Each student gives a lecture on some novel aspects of entomology/arachnology.

Practicals: Emphasis is placed on field trips at the beginning of the semester, where students collect insects and arachnids in the field using various methods. As insect activities slow down during fall, practicals moves into the laboratory. There, students will work exclusively with the specimens they caught themselves., and learn to identify and curate them as would be done at a natural history museum. The final projects in the practical are the submission of the insect and acrachnid collection of each student. A practical test will be held focusing on identification.

Tests total 60% of the grade, student lectures 10%, practical exam 10% and insect collection 20% of the total grade.

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

Lectures: Mendelian genetics, organization of the human genome, structure of chromosomes, chromosomal changes and syndromes, gene mapping via association and whole genome sequencing methods, genetic analysis, genetic screening, genetics of simple and complex traits, genes and environment, cancer genetics, gene therapy, human and primate evolution, ethical issues concerning human genetics, informed consent and private information. Students are expected to have prior knowledge of the principles genetics.

Practical: Analyses of genetic data, study of chromosomal labelling, analyses of genetic associations and transcriptomes.

Land use. Types and utilization of mineral, fuel and water resources, origins and effects of major pollutants. Biodiversity, habitat, fragmentation, species extinctions and effects of introduced species. The application of ecological knowledge to environmental problems. Environmental impact assessment, restoration. The philosophy of nature conservation. International conventions. Major environmental issues in Iceland: fisheries, soil erosion, wetland drainage, impact studies, legislation, organization and administration of environmental affairs. Various excursions, student seminars.

The course is divided into lectures, practical sessions, discussions and student projects.

Lectures: Theoretical basis of common molecular-biology techniques and their application in research. Course material provided by teachers.

Laboratory practice in molecular biology techniques: Training in general molecular biology laboratory skills and active documentation in laboratory notebooks.

Discussions are associated with all other parts (lectures, practicals and student projects)

Main topics:  Laboratory notebooks, electronic laboratory notebooks and standard operating procedures (SOP's), use of online tools. Basics of DNA work and DNA cloning. Plasmids and plasmid maps, working with DNA sequences. DNA and RNA isolation and quantification (Southern and Northern blotting, PCR, RT-PCR, qRT-PCR), restriction enzymes, DNA sequencing techniques and data analysis. Basics of E. coli cultures and plasmid work. Basics of cell culture and transfection. Model organisms: E.coli, S. cerevisiae, C. reinhardtii, A. thaliana, C. elegans, D. melanogaster, M. musculus.  Transgenesis and genetic tools in bacteria, yeast and multicellular organisms. CRISPR technique and gRNA design. RNA interference and other methods for conditional gene expression and inhibition. Protein expression and analysis. How to raise and use antibodies for research. Western blot, immunostaining of cells and tissues, radioactive techniques. Microscopy in molecular biology. Methods used in recent research papers will be discussed.

Student projects: Study of a recent method or method group. Output varies by year but aims at training students in reference work and different approaches to mediating scientific material. Examples include: Posters, Essays, Talks, Videos, Webpages and Podcasts.

This course will explore the diversity of fish species, their adaptations to the environment, and how the ecosystem influences their numbers and vice versa.  Practical training will be offered both in the field and in the laboratory.  The key issues to be examined are:  Classification of fishes;  Morphology, anatomy, and key adaptations to the aquatic environment;  Environmental effects on the distribution and numbers of fish;  Population structure and diversification in fish communities;  Factors controlling the distribution, movements, numbers and age composition of a fish population;  Overview of the key taxa of salt- and freshwater fishes of the northern hemisphere

The aim of this course is to introduce different applications of microorganisms and to help students develop independent research skills. In the first part of the course, students will visit a geothermal area and subsequently work on a research project where they isolate, identify and study bacterial strains.

The second part will introduce different fields of microbial biotechnology and how they have been shaped by recent progress in microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry. State of the art will be covered regarding subjects such as microbial diversity as a resource of enzymes and biocompounds; bioprospecting, thermophiles, marine microbes and microalgae, biorefineries (emphasis on seaweed and lignocellulose), enzymes (emphasis on carbohydrate active enzymes), metabolic engineering (genetic engineering, omics), energy-biotechnology, cultivation and fermentation technology. The course will exemplify Icelandic biotechnology where applicable. Cultivation/production technology and yeast will be presented specifically in practical sessions in the brewing of beer.

The third part will cover environmental sampling, microbial communities and biofilms, microbes in aquatic and terrestrial environments, indoor air quality and the impact of molds. Also, water- and food-borne pathogens, risk assessment and surveillance, water treatment, microbial remediation, methane production and global warming. Students will visit waste management and water treatment plants and review and present selected research articles.

Additional teaching one Saturday in end of September or beginning of October.

The course centers on the biological communities of freshwater ecosystems and diversity among them. The focus will be on abiotic factors, chemical, physical, and later ecological and evolutionary aspects. Initially the focus is on chemical and physical processes in freshwater systems, and how they influence ecosystem properties, energy flow and nutrition cycling. The main types of freshwater ecosystems will be introduced, also how they are categorized and their diversity. Focus will be on organism, populations, communities and food-webs in freshwaters, and the adaptations for various limnological habitats. Special focus will be on Icelandic freshwater ecosystems, but international examples also explored. Threats to freshwater ecosystems will be discussed, related to exploitation, pollution, protection of waters and ecosystems. Human influence will be in focus, from commercial, recreational usage to aquaculture, and disturbances to limnological ecosystems due to daming, agriculture and climate change. Field trips will be integral to the course, sampling springs, rivers and stream waters. Measurements done on abiotic and biotic factors, from primary producers to top predators. Lab sessions will focus on biological materials using scientific approaches. Students will give lectures, write reports, conduct studies of limnological systems and organisms.

Student may be granted two credits, with an approval of the department, for lecture or poster that he is the first author of at scientific conference.

It is only possible to get credits for lecture or poster once during Bachelor and Master program.

The first part of the course consists mainly of lectures presented by the students on selected topics relating to molecular biology of viruses and viral infections.

The second part of the course is taught in parallel with LÍF110G, which is intended for students of nursing.  Different groups of pathogens will be addressed, bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and helminths as well as the infections and diseases they cause.  The main human pathogens will be introduced, their natural habitats and transmission routes, infections and symptoms, identification and treatment. 

Numerical methods are an essential part of biology and are applied to design of experiments and observations, description of result and their analysis. Sudents learn these methods by working on biological data and to interpretate its results. Main method include the maximum likelihood estimation, linear models, regression and analysis of variance and generalized linear models. Multivariate analysis. Bootstrap and permutation analysis. The analysis will done using R. The students will obtain an extensive exercise in applyin R on various biological datasets.

Assessment: Written examen (70%), practicals (30%). The students needs to obtain a passing grade in both parts.

The immune system, organs and cells. Innate immunity, phagocytes, complement, inflammation. Adaptive immunity, development and differentiation of lymphocytes. Specificity and antigen recognition, function of B- and T-cells. Immune responses, immunological memory, mucosal immunity. Immunological tolerance and immune regulation. Immune deficiency, hypersensitivity, autoimmunity and transplantation.  Treatment and intervention of autoimmune and allergic diseases.  Vaccination and protection from infections. Immunological methods and diagnostics. Students presentations and discussions of scientific articles under the teachers supervision.

Content: The intent of this graduate readings seminar is to expose you to Biogeography- that branch of biology that deals with the geographic distribution of organisms and ecosystems in space and time. As such, Biogeography is an exceptionally broad field that integrally relates to a multitude of other scientific disciplines. The goal of this course is to give you insights into some early hypotheses and ideas that helped shape modern biogeographic research. From there we will move towards current research paradigms, by focusing on specific sub-disciplines and hypotheses that drive the field today. A basic understanding of biogeographic patterns (how they can develop, be maintained, or shift) seems particularly important today, given the clear evidence that climate change is, and will continue to work to shift distributions. Teaching: Teacher and students lead discussions of chapters and papers selected by the teacher Grading: Particpation and attendance 50%, Student lead discussion 50%

This module’s aim is to provide an understanding of the basic principles of nature conservation and the role of management and planning for nature conservation in Iceland. Emphasis will be on the interaction between conservation and the recreational use of protected areas. The module also provides students with increased knowledge of the complex relationships between tourism practices and the preservation of biodiversity and geodiversity. Tourism planning within protected area will be discussed. Also conflicts as regard different interest groups in land use and conservation, as well as regulations and laws in nature conservation. Basics in nature interpretation and guidance of protected areas will further be covered. In addition, students will gain practical experience of day-to-day management. The module will develop awareness and understanding of factors and influences that need to be taken into account in management for conservation. This will be achieved through a series of lectures, specified readings, and practical training in field. 

This course focuses on animal parasites and the ecology of host-parasite interactions. During the first half of the course (Weeks 1 to 6) students will be introduced to the main groups of parasites with emphasis on the: (1) form and function; (2) development; (3) general life cycles; (4) biodiversity; (5) and phylogenetic relationships and classification. In the second half of the course (Weeks 7 to 14) the focus will be on the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions, the impacts of parasites on host individuals to ecosystems, and how parasites are adapting to changing environments. Formal weekly lectures (4 x 40 minutes) will be supplemented readings (textbooks and papers). 

The laboratory component of the course will focus on methods in parasitology. Students will collect their own parasite material during a weekend long field trip/exercise and using video tutorials, will practice different methods such as mucus, blood and fæcal smears, and staining & mounting. Each student will submit their own collection of slide material with parasite identifications for assessment at the end of semester.

Assignments will be designed to expose students to the parasitological literature on topics selected to supplement those covered in lecture. The essay format aims to develop synthesis and critical thinking skills.

The course will provide an overview of marine and freshwater ecology, with an emphasis on their structure and function. Furthermore, the course will cover oceanography, physical and chemical properties of aquatic environments, characteristics of sub-Arctic environment and organisms, nutrient cycles, food webs, biodiversity, community ecology, and habitat utilization. Case studies will be introduced from utilization of Icelandic marine and freshwater populations. Field and practical sessions will cover marine, freshwater and intertidal habitats. Field work, as well as problem and discussion sessions, will focus on theory and hypothesis driven approaches and analyses. Students will also write an extended literature review paper on a particular topic and present the paper orally to teachers and classmates.

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

The emphasis is on research articles. Resent research in various field with links to cell biology are included but can vary between years. For each lecture max three research articles are included.

Each student gives a seminar on one research article with details on methods and results. The students write a report (essay) on the article and discusses the results in a critical way.

Examples of topics included in the course: innate immunity, prions, the proteins pontin and reptin, polarized epithelium, development of trachea, data analyses and gene expression, autophagy, the origin of the nucleus.

The vascular flora of Iceland and the arctic flora: origins, composition, ecology. The biogeography of the flora of the North Atlantic. The Pleistocene environment of Iceland and the Holocene vegetation history of Iceland and Europe. Hypotheses on the age and origin of the Icelandic flora and the arctic flora. The soils of Iceland: characteristics and development, desertification. Post-settlement vegetation changes in Iceland. Biodiversity and distribution patterns of the Icelandic vascular flora. Protected and red-list species. after the biogeography of the circumpolar north. Origins and characteristics of the vascular flora of Iceland. Methods for the description and classification of vegetation. Icelandic vegetation: classification, distribution, environment and utilization. 4 day summer field course.

An excursion abroad for a period of two weeks at the end of spring-semester. In this excursion the students visit natural sites in a tropical country, to study diversity and ecology of the rain-forests, mangroves and marine life. During the semester the students attend 20 lectures by the supervising teachers. The students also work on special projects and submit scientitic reports.

Classification of birds, zoogeography, aspects of ecology and adaptations, including migration, social behaviour, food ecology, population dynamics, management. Field and laboratory work: Survey of the main families with an emphasis on Icelandic species. Field trips in SW-Iceland, partly during the semester and partly in May, after the examination period.

The objectives of the course are to introduce students to important pollutants, their characteristics and distribution, with emphasis on their effects on organisms. The first part of the course deals with the major classes of pollutants (Metals, Organic pollutants, Radioactivity), their origin, behaviour and characteristics. The second part focuses on bioavailability, bioaccumulation and bioconcentration and the effects of the pollutants on organisms. Biomarkers and bioassays will be discussed. The third part of the course deals with pollutants in arctic and subarctic areas, with emphasis on Iceland. Practical classes consist of four large projects.

Lectures: The molecular basis of life (chemical bonds, biological molecules, structure of DNA, RNA and proteins). Genomes and the flow of biological information. Chromosome structure and function, chromatin and nucleosomes. The cell cycle, DNA replication. Chromosome segregaition, Transcription. Regulation of transcription. RNA processing. Translation. Regulation of translation. Regulatory RNAs. Protein modification and targeting. DNA damage, checkpoints and DNA repair mechanisms. Repair of DNA double-strand breaks and homologous recombination. Mobile DNA elements. Tools and techniques in molecular Biology, including Model organisms.

Seminar: Students present and discuss selected research papers and hand in a short essay.

Laboratory work: Work on molecular genetics project relevant to current research. Basic methods such as gene cloning, gene transfer and expression, PCR, sequencing, DNA isolation and restriction analysis, electrophoresis of DNA and proteins will be used.

Exam: Laboratory 10%, seminar 15%, written final exam 75%.

Genomics and bioinformatics are intertwinned in many ways. Technological advances enabled the sequencing of for instance genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes. Complete genome sequences of thousands of organisms enables study of this flood of information for gaining knowledge and deeper understanding of biological phenomena. Comparative studies, in one way or another, building on Darwininan thought provide the theoretical underpinnings for analyzing this information and it applications. Characters and features conserved among organisms are based in conserved parts of genomes and conversely, new and unique phenotypes are affected by variable parts of genomes. This applies equally to animals, plants and microbes, and cells, enzymatic and developmental systems.

The course centers on the theoretical and practical aspects of comparative analysis, about analyses of genomes, metagenomes and transcriptomes to study biological, medical and applied questions. The lectures cover structure and sequencing of genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes, molecular evolution, different types of bioinformatic data, shell scripts, intro to R and Python scripting and applications. The practicals include, retrieval of data from databases, blast and alignment, assembly and annotation, comparison of genomes, population data analyses. Students will work with databases, such as Flybase, Genebank and ENSEMBL. Data will be retrived with Biomart and Bioconductor, and data quality discussed. Algorithms for search tools and alignments, read counts and comparisons of groups and treatments. Also elements of python scripting, open linux software, installation of linux programs, analyses of data from RNA-seq, RADseq and genome sequencing.

Students are required to turn in a few small and one big group project and present the large project with a lecture. In discussion session primary literature will be presented.

The following topics are addressed:

Terrestrial food webs and biological communities above and below ground. The role of organisms and other factors in shaping terrestrial habitats. Relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem processes such as primary production and nutrient dynamics. Effects of individual organism groups and traits, of plants and herbivores in particular, on ecosystem processes, stability and resilience. Effects of climate change and land use on ecosystems with emphasis on northern regions (sub-Arctic and Arctic). The unique characteristics of Icelandic ecosystems. Restoration of degraded and collapsed ecosystems. Main methods in community and ecosystem research.

• Classification and characteristics of mammals
• Focus on northern mammals
• Adaptation and specialization
• Energetics
• Compedition
• Territories and home-range
• Population ecology
• Methods for population estimates: a) counts, b) mark-recapture analyses, c) virtual population analyses

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

4 ECTS 8-day summer school course - Ecology and Evolution of Aquatic Parasite

Do you want to learn how to use AI to analyse images and increase automation in biological monitoring? Join us on this course to learn about Analysing image data harnessing AI – A case studies of seabirds, penguins and seals monitoring.

How far can this take you with your own research? The world is changing and monitoring techniques are too - both with emerging technologies and new strategies such as citizen science. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is resulting in our ability to analyse large data sets in ways we were not able to before. To harness this new capability, it needs to be more widely understood and incorporated into data collection.

Seabirds and seals are both important components of the marine ecosystem in their own rights but also both act as important indicators as to the health of marine systems (or a sentinel species). We seek to monitor them as they are of direct interest (e.g., threatened species, disease vectors), and as they are an easily measured indicator for the health of a broader ecosystem (e.g., cliff nesting seabirds like kittiwakes or guillemots).

This summer school will show you how to harness the power of AI, citizen science and new monitoring techniques including drones and camera traps as well as how to best analyse those datasets. The whole point is to go beyond what you would be comfortable with in either analysis or scale. It will be a challenging and rewarding time!

About the course

We have arranged an 8-day summer school course for 4 ECTS (credits) in Reykjavík, Iceland. Dates for this course are May 18^th to 29^th, 2026.Led by visiting scientists Dr Tom Hart (Oxford Brookes University), Dr Maria Christodoulou (University of Oxford) and Dr Liliana Schoenberger (Royal Haskoning DHV), in collaboration with the University of Iceland, this course will feature lectures, tutorials using case studies on seabirds and seals, engaging discussions on the state of AI in biology research, as well as hands-on field work to acquire the data to analyse during the course.

General introduction to chemical foundations, atoms, molecules and ions. Stoichiometry and chemical reactions. Properties of gases, solids and liquides, and properties af solutions. Atomic structure and the periodic table. Atomic bonding (ionic, covalent and metal) using VB theory. Chemical kinetics and chemical equilibrium. Acids and bases and the properties and application of aqueous solutions (buffers and solubility products). Thermochemistry (enhalpy, entropy, sponaneity and the Gibbs free energy). Electrochemistry (galvanic and electrolyic sells) and application of electrochemistry. Nuclear chemistry.

Molar volume of gases, thermochemistry, reaction enthalpies and Hesse's law, Rate of chemical reactions, decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, reaction reversibility and Le Chatelier's principle, determination of acid ionization constant with potentiometric titration, determination of equilibrium constant with absorbtion measurements.

Plants as organisms. Structure and function of the plant cell. Photosynthesis. The anatomy and morphology of plants. Alternation of generations, the evolution, life cycles and characteristics of mosses and vascular plant groups with emphasis on the flowering plants. The evolution of seeds, flowers and fruits. Vegetation of the earth, the biomes. The vegetation and vegetation history of Iceland. Laboratory work: Cells and tissue types. Examples of the anatomy and morphology of major groups, seeds, flowers and fruits. The diversity of plant form and environment.

Lectures: Mendelian inheritance. Sex chromosomes. Cytoplasmic inheritance. Chromosomes. Cell division (mitosis and meiosis). Life cycles. Linkage and recombination in eukaryotes. Bacterial genetics. Gene mapping and tetrad analysis. Genotype and phenotype. Chromosomal changes. DNA: Structure and replication. RNA: Transcription. Rgulation of gene transcription. Gene isolation and manipulation. Genomics. Transposons.  Mutations. Repair and recombination.  Model organisms. Laboratory work: : I. The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. II. Mitosis in onions. III. Plasmids and restriction enzymes. IV. PCR. V. Analysis of asci from Sordaria fimicola.

Exam: Laboratory and problems 25%, written 75%. Minimum mark needed for each part.

Course description: The fundamental concepts of calculus will be discussed. Subjects: Limits and continuous functions. Differentiable functions, rules for derivatives, derivatives of higher order, antiderivatives. Applications of differential calculus: Extremal value problems, linear approximation. The main functions in calculus: logarithms, exponential functions and trigonometric functions. The mean value theorem. Integration: The definite integral and rules of integration. The fundamental theorem of calculus. Techniques of integration, improper integrals. Series and sequences. Ordinary differential equations. Vectors and matrix calculations.

Basic principles of organic chemistry with special reference to the medical disciplines. All main classes of organic compounds from alkanes to amines are covered together with their major reaction mechanisms. Structure and chemistry of biological compounds such as carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and proteins with special reference to biochemistry, enzyme catalysed reaction and medicine in general.

Students will be trained in the laboratory work needed in the organic lab. Organic compounds will be synthesized with addition, alkylation and aldol condensation. The identification of organic compounds will be performed with the help of derivatives and TLC.

During this course, students will be introduced to organisms and acellular entities too small to be seen by the unaided eye.  They can acquire knowledge on the characteristics of bacteria, archaea, viruses and eukaryotic microorganisms.  The course will explain the importance of microorganisms, how they live in diverse and dynamic ecosystems and how some affect humans, for example by being valuable for the food industry or by causing disease.  The students will gain laboratory experience and practice aseptic techniques. 

Lectures: The course is intended to provide an overview of the evolutionary history on animals as well as structural and functional characteristics. Fundamentals in systematics and evolution and the relationship of phyla will be presented. An overview will be given of the function, development, life history and ecology of invertebrates. The following phyla will be thoroughly discussed: Protozoa, Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Mollusca, Annelida, Arthropoda and Echinodermata. Other phyla will also be presented in lesser detail.

Laboratory work: Examination and dissection of representative species. Compulsary attendance in practicals.

At the beginning of the course some main statistical concepts are introduced, such as population, sample, variable and randomness. Various descriptive statistics are introduced, as well as basic graphical representations. Fundamentals of probability theory are introduced, as well as the most common probability distributions. The rest of the course deals with inferential statistics where hypotheses tests and confidence intervals for means, variance and proportions are covered as well a analysis of variance (ANOVA) and simple linear regression. Students will learn how to apply the above mentioned methods in the statistical software R.

A thorough treatment of the fundamentals of biochemistry - part one; structure and function of macromolecules. The scope of biochemistry. Water and its properties. Interactions in biomolecules. Amino acids, peptides and the structure of proteins. Protein function.  Protein stability, folding, and dynamics related to function. Carbohydrates and glycobiology. Lipids, membranes and membrane proteins. Enzyme kinetics, regulation of enzyme activity, and mechanisms of enzyme catalysis. Signal transduction and membrane receptors. Structure of nucleic acids, stability, and basic recombinant technology. Final grade is combined from the final exam (85% ) and a midterm exam (15%).

Lectures:
Twice weekly (2 x 40 min.) Probelm solving class (2 x 40 min.) weekly.

Course evaluation:
Final exam (3 hours): 85% of final grade.
Midterm: 15% of final grade.

Textbook:
Nelson D.L. & Cox M.M. Lehninger: Principles of Biochemistry, 8th Edition, 2021

Lectures: Introduction. Evolution. Behaviour. Historical and ecological biogeography. Populations: Dispersal, natality and mortality rates, life tables, age composition, population growth, regulation of population size, cyclic fluctuations, migration. Species interactions: Competition, predation, other forms of interactions. Communities: Community description, species composition, species diversity, food webs, stability, succession. Ecosystems: Biogeochemical cycles, energy flow, productivity, trophic efficiency. Marine ecology, fresh-water ecology, terrestrial ecology; introduction to Icelandic ecosystems. Practical work: Exercises are in the lab and in the field. The emphasis is on application of scientific method in ecology, variation and data analysis. The exercises include experimental studies of population growth and competition between Paramecium species, studies of terrestrial communities (plants and animals), zonation of tidal zones and life in streams. Obligatory: all practical exercises. Course evaluation: ractical exercises and seminars 50% including a more extensive written report to be orally presented. Ten written exercises 50%. Minimum grade of 5 required for all parts.

Lectures: The course gives an overview of the evolution and the principal anatomical and functional characteristics of vertebrates.. The origin of chordates and vertebrates will be discussed. An overview will be given of the embryology and the structure and function of the main organ systems of vertebrates. The course reviews the evolution and phylogeny and discusses key adaptations of the major vertebrate classes.

Laboratory work: Dissection and examination of representative vertebrates.

An introduction to the principal methods used for isolation and analysis of proteins and therir properties. Emphasis is on the catalytic properties of enzymes and determination of enzyme activity. The main theories of enzymatic catalysis, such as the Michaelis-Menten equation, will be presented and students compare this with data that they generate. Students will do simple exercises, modeling protein structure, isolating and measuring proteins and determining enzymatic properties such as Km and Kcat using appropriate methods and software.

The cell biology part includes four lectures each week for 14 weeks (4L week for 14 weeks). The content includes: Introduction to cell biology, structure and evolution of eukaryotic cells. The main emphasis is on eukaryotic cells. Chemistry of the cell and energy conversion, structure and function of cellular macromolecules. The structure and function of cellular organs and functional units like the cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, cytoskeleton, golgi-system, lysosomes and peroxisomes. Intracellular regulation and signal pathways linked to communication between cells, together with cell differentiation and cancer. Details on extracellular matrix are included and basic immunology.

Histology is an independent short course accompanying the LÍF315G cell biology course. The course is structured as a practical course with support lectures, and lectures and practical exercises last for 6 weeks. The practical classes are primarily based on examining histological samples under a microscope and generating properly annotated histological sketches. Attendance is mandatory in practical lessons. The final exam is held two weeks after the last lecture.

The aim of the course is to introduce the basics of histology and tissue structure, as well as to make students independent in the use of microscopes when examining tissue samples. The lectures discuss the properties of individual tissues, the characteristics and function of different cell types and the properties of the extracellular matrix in a tissue-specific context. The preparation of samples is also discussed separately.

Developmental biology unifies multiple subject areas within life- and medical sciences and many fundamental discoveries on molecular and cellular processes come from developmental biology research. The aim of the course is for students to gain broad overview of the main topics of developmental biology and to acquire knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the development of different groups of vertebrates and invertebrates at multiple levels, ranging from the whole organism to the role of molecules in regulating developmental processes.

Main lecture topics: The role of development. Historical overview. Development of unicellular organisms. Reproduction and genetic recombination. Developmental patterns among multicellular animals. Specification and determination of embryonic cell fates. Modern techniques in developmental biology. Controlling gene expression, - developmental genes. Importance of cell interactions. Structure of gametes, fertilization and activation of the egg. Early stages of development in selected invertebrates. Specification of embryonic axes and organs of the fruit fly, -a hierarchical system of gene control. Early stages of development and specification of embryonic axes in amphibias, birds and mammals. Fate of embryonic layers and organogensis in vertebrates. Limb formation in tetrapods. Sex determination, sexual development and development of gametes among invertebrates and vertebrates. Plant development.

In the practical exercises, the aim of the course is for students to gain training and skills in the handling and microscopic analysis of embryos, while also strengthening their knowledge of the main developmental events in different animal groups. Emphasis is also placed on students gaining practice in the use of databases in developmental genetics and genetics.

Practicals: The use of databases and genome browsers; Drosophila embryonic development and metamorphosis; zebrafish development; chick development.

Student presentations: Sudents are required to give two short presentations on course-related topics. The grade for each presentation represents 10% of the total grade for the course. Minimum grade required is 5,0 for both presentations.

Evolutionary biology: Darwin and evolution of the evolutionary theory. The tree of life, natural selection and adaptation.  How evolution works: The origin of variation, the raw material for evolution.  The genetical theory of natural selection. Evolution of phenotypic traits.  Genetic drift: Evolution at random and in space. Species and speciation. Products of evolution:  Conflict and cooperation. Life-history evolution. Coevolution among species. Evolution of genes and genomes. Evolution and development. Macroevolution and the history of life: Phylogeny, the history of life, geography of evolution and the evolution of biological diversity. Evolution above the species level. Human evolution and human society.

Lectures: Homeostasis, membrane potentials, neurons, nervous systems, endocrinology, sensory physiology, muscles, circulation, respiration, osmoregulation and excretion, digestion, metabolism, energy balance, reproduction.

Lab work: 1) Membrane potentials and ligands. 2) Somatic nerves/skeletal muscle. 3) Ergometry.
Other assignments: Online exams and review questions, information will be given at the beginning of the course.

Key species of organisms in Icelandic ecosystems. Methods of field research in ecology will be introduced. Emphasis is placed on the ability to recognize the main species in the country's flora and fauna, as well as data analysis and comparison with theoretical knowledge about habitat ecology.  

Field trips begin before the formal start of the fall semester. Teaching can take place both on weekdays and weekends. 

All students must attend the field-trips and submit a field-book in order to complete the course.

The life of flowering plants: From fertilization, embryo and seed development, growth and metabolism, to senescence. Effects of plant hormones and environmental factors on growth and development. Uptake and transport of water and nutrients. Carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Relationships between plants and micro-organisms. Reproduction: Asexual propagation and in vitro culture as a method in plant biotechnology, sexual reproduction as an essential process in plant evolution and plant improvement. Laboratory exercises: Experiments in plant physiology. Evaluation: final written exam 60%, laboratory exam 30% and project 10%.

Textbook: Taiz & Zeiger (2015) Plant Physiology and Development, 6.edition.

The main aim of this course is to introduce students to methodologies in the field, identifications, natural history, systematics, evolution and ecology of insects and arachnids, animals that together form the most diverse group of organisms on earth. Emphasis will be placed on systematics in its broadest sense, discussing biodiversity, its dimensions and measurements, and how we learn about the relationship between organisms and discover new species (phylogenetic analysis and taxonomy). The course introduces all major groups of insects and arachnids (mainly spiders).

Student lectures: Each student gives a lecture on some novel aspects of entomology/arachnology.

Practicals: Emphasis is placed on field trips at the beginning of the semester, where students collect insects and arachnids in the field using various methods. As insect activities slow down during fall, practicals moves into the laboratory. There, students will work exclusively with the specimens they caught themselves., and learn to identify and curate them as would be done at a natural history museum. The final projects in the practical are the submission of the insect and acrachnid collection of each student. A practical test will be held focusing on identification.

Tests total 60% of the grade, student lectures 10%, practical exam 10% and insect collection 20% of the total grade.

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

Lectures: Mendelian genetics, organization of the human genome, structure of chromosomes, chromosomal changes and syndromes, gene mapping via association and whole genome sequencing methods, genetic analysis, genetic screening, genetics of simple and complex traits, genes and environment, cancer genetics, gene therapy, human and primate evolution, ethical issues concerning human genetics, informed consent and private information. Students are expected to have prior knowledge of the principles genetics.

Practical: Analyses of genetic data, study of chromosomal labelling, analyses of genetic associations and transcriptomes.

Land use. Types and utilization of mineral, fuel and water resources, origins and effects of major pollutants. Biodiversity, habitat, fragmentation, species extinctions and effects of introduced species. The application of ecological knowledge to environmental problems. Environmental impact assessment, restoration. The philosophy of nature conservation. International conventions. Major environmental issues in Iceland: fisheries, soil erosion, wetland drainage, impact studies, legislation, organization and administration of environmental affairs. Various excursions, student seminars.

The course is divided into lectures, practical sessions, discussions and student projects.

Lectures: Theoretical basis of common molecular-biology techniques and their application in research. Course material provided by teachers.

Laboratory practice in molecular biology techniques: Training in general molecular biology laboratory skills and active documentation in laboratory notebooks.

Discussions are associated with all other parts (lectures, practicals and student projects)

Main topics:  Laboratory notebooks, electronic laboratory notebooks and standard operating procedures (SOP's), use of online tools. Basics of DNA work and DNA cloning. Plasmids and plasmid maps, working with DNA sequences. DNA and RNA isolation and quantification (Southern and Northern blotting, PCR, RT-PCR, qRT-PCR), restriction enzymes, DNA sequencing techniques and data analysis. Basics of E. coli cultures and plasmid work. Basics of cell culture and transfection. Model organisms: E.coli, S. cerevisiae, C. reinhardtii, A. thaliana, C. elegans, D. melanogaster, M. musculus.  Transgenesis and genetic tools in bacteria, yeast and multicellular organisms. CRISPR technique and gRNA design. RNA interference and other methods for conditional gene expression and inhibition. Protein expression and analysis. How to raise and use antibodies for research. Western blot, immunostaining of cells and tissues, radioactive techniques. Microscopy in molecular biology. Methods used in recent research papers will be discussed.

Student projects: Study of a recent method or method group. Output varies by year but aims at training students in reference work and different approaches to mediating scientific material. Examples include: Posters, Essays, Talks, Videos, Webpages and Podcasts.

This course will explore the diversity of fish species, their adaptations to the environment, and how the ecosystem influences their numbers and vice versa.  Practical training will be offered both in the field and in the laboratory.  The key issues to be examined are:  Classification of fishes;  Morphology, anatomy, and key adaptations to the aquatic environment;  Environmental effects on the distribution and numbers of fish;  Population structure and diversification in fish communities;  Factors controlling the distribution, movements, numbers and age composition of a fish population;  Overview of the key taxa of salt- and freshwater fishes of the northern hemisphere

The aim of this course is to introduce different applications of microorganisms and to help students develop independent research skills. In the first part of the course, students will visit a geothermal area and subsequently work on a research project where they isolate, identify and study bacterial strains.

The second part will introduce different fields of microbial biotechnology and how they have been shaped by recent progress in microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry. State of the art will be covered regarding subjects such as microbial diversity as a resource of enzymes and biocompounds; bioprospecting, thermophiles, marine microbes and microalgae, biorefineries (emphasis on seaweed and lignocellulose), enzymes (emphasis on carbohydrate active enzymes), metabolic engineering (genetic engineering, omics), energy-biotechnology, cultivation and fermentation technology. The course will exemplify Icelandic biotechnology where applicable. Cultivation/production technology and yeast will be presented specifically in practical sessions in the brewing of beer.

The third part will cover environmental sampling, microbial communities and biofilms, microbes in aquatic and terrestrial environments, indoor air quality and the impact of molds. Also, water- and food-borne pathogens, risk assessment and surveillance, water treatment, microbial remediation, methane production and global warming. Students will visit waste management and water treatment plants and review and present selected research articles.

Additional teaching one Saturday in end of September or beginning of October.

The course centers on the biological communities of freshwater ecosystems and diversity among them. The focus will be on abiotic factors, chemical, physical, and later ecological and evolutionary aspects. Initially the focus is on chemical and physical processes in freshwater systems, and how they influence ecosystem properties, energy flow and nutrition cycling. The main types of freshwater ecosystems will be introduced, also how they are categorized and their diversity. Focus will be on organism, populations, communities and food-webs in freshwaters, and the adaptations for various limnological habitats. Special focus will be on Icelandic freshwater ecosystems, but international examples also explored. Threats to freshwater ecosystems will be discussed, related to exploitation, pollution, protection of waters and ecosystems. Human influence will be in focus, from commercial, recreational usage to aquaculture, and disturbances to limnological ecosystems due to daming, agriculture and climate change. Field trips will be integral to the course, sampling springs, rivers and stream waters. Measurements done on abiotic and biotic factors, from primary producers to top predators. Lab sessions will focus on biological materials using scientific approaches. Students will give lectures, write reports, conduct studies of limnological systems and organisms.

Student may be granted two credits, with an approval of the department, for lecture or poster that he is the first author of at scientific conference.

It is only possible to get credits for lecture or poster once during Bachelor and Master program.

The first part of the course consists mainly of lectures presented by the students on selected topics relating to molecular biology of viruses and viral infections.

The second part of the course is taught in parallel with LÍF110G, which is intended for students of nursing.  Different groups of pathogens will be addressed, bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and helminths as well as the infections and diseases they cause.  The main human pathogens will be introduced, their natural habitats and transmission routes, infections and symptoms, identification and treatment. 

Numerical methods are an essential part of biology and are applied to design of experiments and observations, description of result and their analysis. Sudents learn these methods by working on biological data and to interpretate its results. Main method include the maximum likelihood estimation, linear models, regression and analysis of variance and generalized linear models. Multivariate analysis. Bootstrap and permutation analysis. The analysis will done using R. The students will obtain an extensive exercise in applyin R on various biological datasets.

Assessment: Written examen (70%), practicals (30%). The students needs to obtain a passing grade in both parts.

The immune system, organs and cells. Innate immunity, phagocytes, complement, inflammation. Adaptive immunity, development and differentiation of lymphocytes. Specificity and antigen recognition, function of B- and T-cells. Immune responses, immunological memory, mucosal immunity. Immunological tolerance and immune regulation. Immune deficiency, hypersensitivity, autoimmunity and transplantation.  Treatment and intervention of autoimmune and allergic diseases.  Vaccination and protection from infections. Immunological methods and diagnostics. Students presentations and discussions of scientific articles under the teachers supervision.

Content: The intent of this graduate readings seminar is to expose you to Biogeography- that branch of biology that deals with the geographic distribution of organisms and ecosystems in space and time. As such, Biogeography is an exceptionally broad field that integrally relates to a multitude of other scientific disciplines. The goal of this course is to give you insights into some early hypotheses and ideas that helped shape modern biogeographic research. From there we will move towards current research paradigms, by focusing on specific sub-disciplines and hypotheses that drive the field today. A basic understanding of biogeographic patterns (how they can develop, be maintained, or shift) seems particularly important today, given the clear evidence that climate change is, and will continue to work to shift distributions. Teaching: Teacher and students lead discussions of chapters and papers selected by the teacher Grading: Particpation and attendance 50%, Student lead discussion 50%

This module’s aim is to provide an understanding of the basic principles of nature conservation and the role of management and planning for nature conservation in Iceland. Emphasis will be on the interaction between conservation and the recreational use of protected areas. The module also provides students with increased knowledge of the complex relationships between tourism practices and the preservation of biodiversity and geodiversity. Tourism planning within protected area will be discussed. Also conflicts as regard different interest groups in land use and conservation, as well as regulations and laws in nature conservation. Basics in nature interpretation and guidance of protected areas will further be covered. In addition, students will gain practical experience of day-to-day management. The module will develop awareness and understanding of factors and influences that need to be taken into account in management for conservation. This will be achieved through a series of lectures, specified readings, and practical training in field. 

This course focuses on animal parasites and the ecology of host-parasite interactions. During the first half of the course (Weeks 1 to 6) students will be introduced to the main groups of parasites with emphasis on the: (1) form and function; (2) development; (3) general life cycles; (4) biodiversity; (5) and phylogenetic relationships and classification. In the second half of the course (Weeks 7 to 14) the focus will be on the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions, the impacts of parasites on host individuals to ecosystems, and how parasites are adapting to changing environments. Formal weekly lectures (4 x 40 minutes) will be supplemented readings (textbooks and papers). 

The laboratory component of the course will focus on methods in parasitology. Students will collect their own parasite material during a weekend long field trip/exercise and using video tutorials, will practice different methods such as mucus, blood and fæcal smears, and staining & mounting. Each student will submit their own collection of slide material with parasite identifications for assessment at the end of semester.

Assignments will be designed to expose students to the parasitological literature on topics selected to supplement those covered in lecture. The essay format aims to develop synthesis and critical thinking skills.

The course will provide an overview of marine and freshwater ecology, with an emphasis on their structure and function. Furthermore, the course will cover oceanography, physical and chemical properties of aquatic environments, characteristics of sub-Arctic environment and organisms, nutrient cycles, food webs, biodiversity, community ecology, and habitat utilization. Case studies will be introduced from utilization of Icelandic marine and freshwater populations. Field and practical sessions will cover marine, freshwater and intertidal habitats. Field work, as well as problem and discussion sessions, will focus on theory and hypothesis driven approaches and analyses. Students will also write an extended literature review paper on a particular topic and present the paper orally to teachers and classmates.

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

The emphasis is on research articles. Resent research in various field with links to cell biology are included but can vary between years. For each lecture max three research articles are included.

Each student gives a seminar on one research article with details on methods and results. The students write a report (essay) on the article and discusses the results in a critical way.

Examples of topics included in the course: innate immunity, prions, the proteins pontin and reptin, polarized epithelium, development of trachea, data analyses and gene expression, autophagy, the origin of the nucleus.

The vascular flora of Iceland and the arctic flora: origins, composition, ecology. The biogeography of the flora of the North Atlantic. The Pleistocene environment of Iceland and the Holocene vegetation history of Iceland and Europe. Hypotheses on the age and origin of the Icelandic flora and the arctic flora. The soils of Iceland: characteristics and development, desertification. Post-settlement vegetation changes in Iceland. Biodiversity and distribution patterns of the Icelandic vascular flora. Protected and red-list species. after the biogeography of the circumpolar north. Origins and characteristics of the vascular flora of Iceland. Methods for the description and classification of vegetation. Icelandic vegetation: classification, distribution, environment and utilization. 4 day summer field course.

An excursion abroad for a period of two weeks at the end of spring-semester. In this excursion the students visit natural sites in a tropical country, to study diversity and ecology of the rain-forests, mangroves and marine life. During the semester the students attend 20 lectures by the supervising teachers. The students also work on special projects and submit scientitic reports.

Classification of birds, zoogeography, aspects of ecology and adaptations, including migration, social behaviour, food ecology, population dynamics, management. Field and laboratory work: Survey of the main families with an emphasis on Icelandic species. Field trips in SW-Iceland, partly during the semester and partly in May, after the examination period.

The objectives of the course are to introduce students to important pollutants, their characteristics and distribution, with emphasis on their effects on organisms. The first part of the course deals with the major classes of pollutants (Metals, Organic pollutants, Radioactivity), their origin, behaviour and characteristics. The second part focuses on bioavailability, bioaccumulation and bioconcentration and the effects of the pollutants on organisms. Biomarkers and bioassays will be discussed. The third part of the course deals with pollutants in arctic and subarctic areas, with emphasis on Iceland. Practical classes consist of four large projects.

Lectures: The molecular basis of life (chemical bonds, biological molecules, structure of DNA, RNA and proteins). Genomes and the flow of biological information. Chromosome structure and function, chromatin and nucleosomes. The cell cycle, DNA replication. Chromosome segregaition, Transcription. Regulation of transcription. RNA processing. Translation. Regulation of translation. Regulatory RNAs. Protein modification and targeting. DNA damage, checkpoints and DNA repair mechanisms. Repair of DNA double-strand breaks and homologous recombination. Mobile DNA elements. Tools and techniques in molecular Biology, including Model organisms.

Seminar: Students present and discuss selected research papers and hand in a short essay.

Laboratory work: Work on molecular genetics project relevant to current research. Basic methods such as gene cloning, gene transfer and expression, PCR, sequencing, DNA isolation and restriction analysis, electrophoresis of DNA and proteins will be used.

Exam: Laboratory 10%, seminar 15%, written final exam 75%.

Genomics and bioinformatics are intertwinned in many ways. Technological advances enabled the sequencing of for instance genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes. Complete genome sequences of thousands of organisms enables study of this flood of information for gaining knowledge and deeper understanding of biological phenomena. Comparative studies, in one way or another, building on Darwininan thought provide the theoretical underpinnings for analyzing this information and it applications. Characters and features conserved among organisms are based in conserved parts of genomes and conversely, new and unique phenotypes are affected by variable parts of genomes. This applies equally to animals, plants and microbes, and cells, enzymatic and developmental systems.

The course centers on the theoretical and practical aspects of comparative analysis, about analyses of genomes, metagenomes and transcriptomes to study biological, medical and applied questions. The lectures cover structure and sequencing of genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes, molecular evolution, different types of bioinformatic data, shell scripts, intro to R and Python scripting and applications. The practicals include, retrieval of data from databases, blast and alignment, assembly and annotation, comparison of genomes, population data analyses. Students will work with databases, such as Flybase, Genebank and ENSEMBL. Data will be retrived with Biomart and Bioconductor, and data quality discussed. Algorithms for search tools and alignments, read counts and comparisons of groups and treatments. Also elements of python scripting, open linux software, installation of linux programs, analyses of data from RNA-seq, RADseq and genome sequencing.

Students are required to turn in a few small and one big group project and present the large project with a lecture. In discussion session primary literature will be presented.

The following topics are addressed:

Terrestrial food webs and biological communities above and below ground. The role of organisms and other factors in shaping terrestrial habitats. Relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem processes such as primary production and nutrient dynamics. Effects of individual organism groups and traits, of plants and herbivores in particular, on ecosystem processes, stability and resilience. Effects of climate change and land use on ecosystems with emphasis on northern regions (sub-Arctic and Arctic). The unique characteristics of Icelandic ecosystems. Restoration of degraded and collapsed ecosystems. Main methods in community and ecosystem research.

• Classification and characteristics of mammals
• Focus on northern mammals
• Adaptation and specialization
• Energetics
• Compedition
• Territories and home-range
• Population ecology
• Methods for population estimates: a) counts, b) mark-recapture analyses, c) virtual population analyses

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

4 ECTS 8-day summer school course - Ecology and Evolution of Aquatic Parasite

Do you want to learn how to use AI to analyse images and increase automation in biological monitoring? Join us on this course to learn about Analysing image data harnessing AI – A case studies of seabirds, penguins and seals monitoring.

How far can this take you with your own research? The world is changing and monitoring techniques are too - both with emerging technologies and new strategies such as citizen science. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is resulting in our ability to analyse large data sets in ways we were not able to before. To harness this new capability, it needs to be more widely understood and incorporated into data collection.

Seabirds and seals are both important components of the marine ecosystem in their own rights but also both act as important indicators as to the health of marine systems (or a sentinel species). We seek to monitor them as they are of direct interest (e.g., threatened species, disease vectors), and as they are an easily measured indicator for the health of a broader ecosystem (e.g., cliff nesting seabirds like kittiwakes or guillemots).

This summer school will show you how to harness the power of AI, citizen science and new monitoring techniques including drones and camera traps as well as how to best analyse those datasets. The whole point is to go beyond what you would be comfortable with in either analysis or scale. It will be a challenging and rewarding time!

About the course

We have arranged an 8-day summer school course for 4 ECTS (credits) in Reykjavík, Iceland. Dates for this course are May 18^th to 29^th, 2026.Led by visiting scientists Dr Tom Hart (Oxford Brookes University), Dr Maria Christodoulou (University of Oxford) and Dr Liliana Schoenberger (Royal Haskoning DHV), in collaboration with the University of Iceland, this course will feature lectures, tutorials using case studies on seabirds and seals, engaging discussions on the state of AI in biology research, as well as hands-on field work to acquire the data to analyse during the course.

General introduction to chemical foundations, atoms, molecules and ions. Stoichiometry and chemical reactions. Properties of gases, solids and liquides, and properties af solutions. Atomic structure and the periodic table. Atomic bonding (ionic, covalent and metal) using VB theory. Chemical kinetics and chemical equilibrium. Acids and bases and the properties and application of aqueous solutions (buffers and solubility products). Thermochemistry (enhalpy, entropy, sponaneity and the Gibbs free energy). Electrochemistry (galvanic and electrolyic sells) and application of electrochemistry. Nuclear chemistry.

Molar volume of gases, thermochemistry, reaction enthalpies and Hesse's law, Rate of chemical reactions, decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, reaction reversibility and Le Chatelier's principle, determination of acid ionization constant with potentiometric titration, determination of equilibrium constant with absorbtion measurements.

Plants as organisms. Structure and function of the plant cell. Photosynthesis. The anatomy and morphology of plants. Alternation of generations, the evolution, life cycles and characteristics of mosses and vascular plant groups with emphasis on the flowering plants. The evolution of seeds, flowers and fruits. Vegetation of the earth, the biomes. The vegetation and vegetation history of Iceland. Laboratory work: Cells and tissue types. Examples of the anatomy and morphology of major groups, seeds, flowers and fruits. The diversity of plant form and environment.

Lectures: Mendelian inheritance. Sex chromosomes. Cytoplasmic inheritance. Chromosomes. Cell division (mitosis and meiosis). Life cycles. Linkage and recombination in eukaryotes. Bacterial genetics. Gene mapping and tetrad analysis. Genotype and phenotype. Chromosomal changes. DNA: Structure and replication. RNA: Transcription. Rgulation of gene transcription. Gene isolation and manipulation. Genomics. Transposons.  Mutations. Repair and recombination.  Model organisms. Laboratory work: : I. The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. II. Mitosis in onions. III. Plasmids and restriction enzymes. IV. PCR. V. Analysis of asci from Sordaria fimicola.

Exam: Laboratory and problems 25%, written 75%. Minimum mark needed for each part.

Course description: The fundamental concepts of calculus will be discussed. Subjects: Limits and continuous functions. Differentiable functions, rules for derivatives, derivatives of higher order, antiderivatives. Applications of differential calculus: Extremal value problems, linear approximation. The main functions in calculus: logarithms, exponential functions and trigonometric functions. The mean value theorem. Integration: The definite integral and rules of integration. The fundamental theorem of calculus. Techniques of integration, improper integrals. Series and sequences. Ordinary differential equations. Vectors and matrix calculations.

Basic principles of organic chemistry with special reference to the medical disciplines. All main classes of organic compounds from alkanes to amines are covered together with their major reaction mechanisms. Structure and chemistry of biological compounds such as carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and proteins with special reference to biochemistry, enzyme catalysed reaction and medicine in general.

Students will be trained in the laboratory work needed in the organic lab. Organic compounds will be synthesized with addition, alkylation and aldol condensation. The identification of organic compounds will be performed with the help of derivatives and TLC.

During this course, students will be introduced to organisms and acellular entities too small to be seen by the unaided eye.  They can acquire knowledge on the characteristics of bacteria, archaea, viruses and eukaryotic microorganisms.  The course will explain the importance of microorganisms, how they live in diverse and dynamic ecosystems and how some affect humans, for example by being valuable for the food industry or by causing disease.  The students will gain laboratory experience and practice aseptic techniques. 

Lectures: The course is intended to provide an overview of the evolutionary history on animals as well as structural and functional characteristics. Fundamentals in systematics and evolution and the relationship of phyla will be presented. An overview will be given of the function, development, life history and ecology of invertebrates. The following phyla will be thoroughly discussed: Protozoa, Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Mollusca, Annelida, Arthropoda and Echinodermata. Other phyla will also be presented in lesser detail.

Laboratory work: Examination and dissection of representative species. Compulsary attendance in practicals.

At the beginning of the course some main statistical concepts are introduced, such as population, sample, variable and randomness. Various descriptive statistics are introduced, as well as basic graphical representations. Fundamentals of probability theory are introduced, as well as the most common probability distributions. The rest of the course deals with inferential statistics where hypotheses tests and confidence intervals for means, variance and proportions are covered as well a analysis of variance (ANOVA) and simple linear regression. Students will learn how to apply the above mentioned methods in the statistical software R.

A thorough treatment of the fundamentals of biochemistry - part one; structure and function of macromolecules. The scope of biochemistry. Water and its properties. Interactions in biomolecules. Amino acids, peptides and the structure of proteins. Protein function.  Protein stability, folding, and dynamics related to function. Carbohydrates and glycobiology. Lipids, membranes and membrane proteins. Enzyme kinetics, regulation of enzyme activity, and mechanisms of enzyme catalysis. Signal transduction and membrane receptors. Structure of nucleic acids, stability, and basic recombinant technology. Final grade is combined from the final exam (85% ) and a midterm exam (15%).

Lectures:
Twice weekly (2 x 40 min.) Probelm solving class (2 x 40 min.) weekly.

Course evaluation:
Final exam (3 hours): 85% of final grade.
Midterm: 15% of final grade.

Textbook:
Nelson D.L. & Cox M.M. Lehninger: Principles of Biochemistry, 8th Edition, 2021

Lectures: Introduction. Evolution. Behaviour. Historical and ecological biogeography. Populations: Dispersal, natality and mortality rates, life tables, age composition, population growth, regulation of population size, cyclic fluctuations, migration. Species interactions: Competition, predation, other forms of interactions. Communities: Community description, species composition, species diversity, food webs, stability, succession. Ecosystems: Biogeochemical cycles, energy flow, productivity, trophic efficiency. Marine ecology, fresh-water ecology, terrestrial ecology; introduction to Icelandic ecosystems. Practical work: Exercises are in the lab and in the field. The emphasis is on application of scientific method in ecology, variation and data analysis. The exercises include experimental studies of population growth and competition between Paramecium species, studies of terrestrial communities (plants and animals), zonation of tidal zones and life in streams. Obligatory: all practical exercises. Course evaluation: ractical exercises and seminars 50% including a more extensive written report to be orally presented. Ten written exercises 50%. Minimum grade of 5 required for all parts.

Lectures: The course gives an overview of the evolution and the principal anatomical and functional characteristics of vertebrates.. The origin of chordates and vertebrates will be discussed. An overview will be given of the embryology and the structure and function of the main organ systems of vertebrates. The course reviews the evolution and phylogeny and discusses key adaptations of the major vertebrate classes.

Laboratory work: Dissection and examination of representative vertebrates.

An introduction to the principal methods used for isolation and analysis of proteins and therir properties. Emphasis is on the catalytic properties of enzymes and determination of enzyme activity. The main theories of enzymatic catalysis, such as the Michaelis-Menten equation, will be presented and students compare this with data that they generate. Students will do simple exercises, modeling protein structure, isolating and measuring proteins and determining enzymatic properties such as Km and Kcat using appropriate methods and software.

The cell biology part includes four lectures each week for 14 weeks (4L week for 14 weeks). The content includes: Introduction to cell biology, structure and evolution of eukaryotic cells. The main emphasis is on eukaryotic cells. Chemistry of the cell and energy conversion, structure and function of cellular macromolecules. The structure and function of cellular organs and functional units like the cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, cytoskeleton, golgi-system, lysosomes and peroxisomes. Intracellular regulation and signal pathways linked to communication between cells, together with cell differentiation and cancer. Details on extracellular matrix are included and basic immunology.

Histology is an independent short course accompanying the LÍF315G cell biology course. The course is structured as a practical course with support lectures, and lectures and practical exercises last for 6 weeks. The practical classes are primarily based on examining histological samples under a microscope and generating properly annotated histological sketches. Attendance is mandatory in practical lessons. The final exam is held two weeks after the last lecture.

The aim of the course is to introduce the basics of histology and tissue structure, as well as to make students independent in the use of microscopes when examining tissue samples. The lectures discuss the properties of individual tissues, the characteristics and function of different cell types and the properties of the extracellular matrix in a tissue-specific context. The preparation of samples is also discussed separately.

Developmental biology unifies multiple subject areas within life- and medical sciences and many fundamental discoveries on molecular and cellular processes come from developmental biology research. The aim of the course is for students to gain broad overview of the main topics of developmental biology and to acquire knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the development of different groups of vertebrates and invertebrates at multiple levels, ranging from the whole organism to the role of molecules in regulating developmental processes.

Main lecture topics: The role of development. Historical overview. Development of unicellular organisms. Reproduction and genetic recombination. Developmental patterns among multicellular animals. Specification and determination of embryonic cell fates. Modern techniques in developmental biology. Controlling gene expression, - developmental genes. Importance of cell interactions. Structure of gametes, fertilization and activation of the egg. Early stages of development in selected invertebrates. Specification of embryonic axes and organs of the fruit fly, -a hierarchical system of gene control. Early stages of development and specification of embryonic axes in amphibias, birds and mammals. Fate of embryonic layers and organogensis in vertebrates. Limb formation in tetrapods. Sex determination, sexual development and development of gametes among invertebrates and vertebrates. Plant development.

In the practical exercises, the aim of the course is for students to gain training and skills in the handling and microscopic analysis of embryos, while also strengthening their knowledge of the main developmental events in different animal groups. Emphasis is also placed on students gaining practice in the use of databases in developmental genetics and genetics.

Practicals: The use of databases and genome browsers; Drosophila embryonic development and metamorphosis; zebrafish development; chick development.

Student presentations: Sudents are required to give two short presentations on course-related topics. The grade for each presentation represents 10% of the total grade for the course. Minimum grade required is 5,0 for both presentations.

Evolutionary biology: Darwin and evolution of the evolutionary theory. The tree of life, natural selection and adaptation.  How evolution works: The origin of variation, the raw material for evolution.  The genetical theory of natural selection. Evolution of phenotypic traits.  Genetic drift: Evolution at random and in space. Species and speciation. Products of evolution:  Conflict and cooperation. Life-history evolution. Coevolution among species. Evolution of genes and genomes. Evolution and development. Macroevolution and the history of life: Phylogeny, the history of life, geography of evolution and the evolution of biological diversity. Evolution above the species level. Human evolution and human society.

Lectures: Homeostasis, membrane potentials, neurons, nervous systems, endocrinology, sensory physiology, muscles, circulation, respiration, osmoregulation and excretion, digestion, metabolism, energy balance, reproduction.

Lab work: 1) Membrane potentials and ligands. 2) Somatic nerves/skeletal muscle. 3) Ergometry.
Other assignments: Online exams and review questions, information will be given at the beginning of the course.

Key species of organisms in Icelandic ecosystems. Methods of field research in ecology will be introduced. Emphasis is placed on the ability to recognize the main species in the country's flora and fauna, as well as data analysis and comparison with theoretical knowledge about habitat ecology.  

Field trips begin before the formal start of the fall semester. Teaching can take place both on weekdays and weekends. 

All students must attend the field-trips and submit a field-book in order to complete the course.

The life of flowering plants: From fertilization, embryo and seed development, growth and metabolism, to senescence. Effects of plant hormones and environmental factors on growth and development. Uptake and transport of water and nutrients. Carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Relationships between plants and micro-organisms. Reproduction: Asexual propagation and in vitro culture as a method in plant biotechnology, sexual reproduction as an essential process in plant evolution and plant improvement. Laboratory exercises: Experiments in plant physiology. Evaluation: final written exam 60%, laboratory exam 30% and project 10%.

Textbook: Taiz & Zeiger (2015) Plant Physiology and Development, 6.edition.

The main aim of this course is to introduce students to methodologies in the field, identifications, natural history, systematics, evolution and ecology of insects and arachnids, animals that together form the most diverse group of organisms on earth. Emphasis will be placed on systematics in its broadest sense, discussing biodiversity, its dimensions and measurements, and how we learn about the relationship between organisms and discover new species (phylogenetic analysis and taxonomy). The course introduces all major groups of insects and arachnids (mainly spiders).

Student lectures: Each student gives a lecture on some novel aspects of entomology/arachnology.

Practicals: Emphasis is placed on field trips at the beginning of the semester, where students collect insects and arachnids in the field using various methods. As insect activities slow down during fall, practicals moves into the laboratory. There, students will work exclusively with the specimens they caught themselves., and learn to identify and curate them as would be done at a natural history museum. The final projects in the practical are the submission of the insect and acrachnid collection of each student. A practical test will be held focusing on identification.

Tests total 60% of the grade, student lectures 10%, practical exam 10% and insect collection 20% of the total grade.

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

Lectures: Mendelian genetics, organization of the human genome, structure of chromosomes, chromosomal changes and syndromes, gene mapping via association and whole genome sequencing methods, genetic analysis, genetic screening, genetics of simple and complex traits, genes and environment, cancer genetics, gene therapy, human and primate evolution, ethical issues concerning human genetics, informed consent and private information. Students are expected to have prior knowledge of the principles genetics.

Practical: Analyses of genetic data, study of chromosomal labelling, analyses of genetic associations and transcriptomes.

Land use. Types and utilization of mineral, fuel and water resources, origins and effects of major pollutants. Biodiversity, habitat, fragmentation, species extinctions and effects of introduced species. The application of ecological knowledge to environmental problems. Environmental impact assessment, restoration. The philosophy of nature conservation. International conventions. Major environmental issues in Iceland: fisheries, soil erosion, wetland drainage, impact studies, legislation, organization and administration of environmental affairs. Various excursions, student seminars.

The course is divided into lectures, practical sessions, discussions and student projects.

Lectures: Theoretical basis of common molecular-biology techniques and their application in research. Course material provided by teachers.

Laboratory practice in molecular biology techniques: Training in general molecular biology laboratory skills and active documentation in laboratory notebooks.

Discussions are associated with all other parts (lectures, practicals and student projects)

Main topics:  Laboratory notebooks, electronic laboratory notebooks and standard operating procedures (SOP's), use of online tools. Basics of DNA work and DNA cloning. Plasmids and plasmid maps, working with DNA sequences. DNA and RNA isolation and quantification (Southern and Northern blotting, PCR, RT-PCR, qRT-PCR), restriction enzymes, DNA sequencing techniques and data analysis. Basics of E. coli cultures and plasmid work. Basics of cell culture and transfection. Model organisms: E.coli, S. cerevisiae, C. reinhardtii, A. thaliana, C. elegans, D. melanogaster, M. musculus.  Transgenesis and genetic tools in bacteria, yeast and multicellular organisms. CRISPR technique and gRNA design. RNA interference and other methods for conditional gene expression and inhibition. Protein expression and analysis. How to raise and use antibodies for research. Western blot, immunostaining of cells and tissues, radioactive techniques. Microscopy in molecular biology. Methods used in recent research papers will be discussed.

Student projects: Study of a recent method or method group. Output varies by year but aims at training students in reference work and different approaches to mediating scientific material. Examples include: Posters, Essays, Talks, Videos, Webpages and Podcasts.

This course will explore the diversity of fish species, their adaptations to the environment, and how the ecosystem influences their numbers and vice versa.  Practical training will be offered both in the field and in the laboratory.  The key issues to be examined are:  Classification of fishes;  Morphology, anatomy, and key adaptations to the aquatic environment;  Environmental effects on the distribution and numbers of fish;  Population structure and diversification in fish communities;  Factors controlling the distribution, movements, numbers and age composition of a fish population;  Overview of the key taxa of salt- and freshwater fishes of the northern hemisphere

The aim of this course is to introduce different applications of microorganisms and to help students develop independent research skills. In the first part of the course, students will visit a geothermal area and subsequently work on a research project where they isolate, identify and study bacterial strains.

The second part will introduce different fields of microbial biotechnology and how they have been shaped by recent progress in microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry. State of the art will be covered regarding subjects such as microbial diversity as a resource of enzymes and biocompounds; bioprospecting, thermophiles, marine microbes and microalgae, biorefineries (emphasis on seaweed and lignocellulose), enzymes (emphasis on carbohydrate active enzymes), metabolic engineering (genetic engineering, omics), energy-biotechnology, cultivation and fermentation technology. The course will exemplify Icelandic biotechnology where applicable. Cultivation/production technology and yeast will be presented specifically in practical sessions in the brewing of beer.

The third part will cover environmental sampling, microbial communities and biofilms, microbes in aquatic and terrestrial environments, indoor air quality and the impact of molds. Also, water- and food-borne pathogens, risk assessment and surveillance, water treatment, microbial remediation, methane production and global warming. Students will visit waste management and water treatment plants and review and present selected research articles.

Additional teaching one Saturday in end of September or beginning of October.

The course centers on the biological communities of freshwater ecosystems and diversity among them. The focus will be on abiotic factors, chemical, physical, and later ecological and evolutionary aspects. Initially the focus is on chemical and physical processes in freshwater systems, and how they influence ecosystem properties, energy flow and nutrition cycling. The main types of freshwater ecosystems will be introduced, also how they are categorized and their diversity. Focus will be on organism, populations, communities and food-webs in freshwaters, and the adaptations for various limnological habitats. Special focus will be on Icelandic freshwater ecosystems, but international examples also explored. Threats to freshwater ecosystems will be discussed, related to exploitation, pollution, protection of waters and ecosystems. Human influence will be in focus, from commercial, recreational usage to aquaculture, and disturbances to limnological ecosystems due to daming, agriculture and climate change. Field trips will be integral to the course, sampling springs, rivers and stream waters. Measurements done on abiotic and biotic factors, from primary producers to top predators. Lab sessions will focus on biological materials using scientific approaches. Students will give lectures, write reports, conduct studies of limnological systems and organisms.

Student may be granted two credits, with an approval of the department, for lecture or poster that he is the first author of at scientific conference.

It is only possible to get credits for lecture or poster once during Bachelor and Master program.

The first part of the course consists mainly of lectures presented by the students on selected topics relating to molecular biology of viruses and viral infections.

The second part of the course is taught in parallel with LÍF110G, which is intended for students of nursing.  Different groups of pathogens will be addressed, bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and helminths as well as the infections and diseases they cause.  The main human pathogens will be introduced, their natural habitats and transmission routes, infections and symptoms, identification and treatment. 

Numerical methods are an essential part of biology and are applied to design of experiments and observations, description of result and their analysis. Sudents learn these methods by working on biological data and to interpretate its results. Main method include the maximum likelihood estimation, linear models, regression and analysis of variance and generalized linear models. Multivariate analysis. Bootstrap and permutation analysis. The analysis will done using R. The students will obtain an extensive exercise in applyin R on various biological datasets.

Assessment: Written examen (70%), practicals (30%). The students needs to obtain a passing grade in both parts.

The immune system, organs and cells. Innate immunity, phagocytes, complement, inflammation. Adaptive immunity, development and differentiation of lymphocytes. Specificity and antigen recognition, function of B- and T-cells. Immune responses, immunological memory, mucosal immunity. Immunological tolerance and immune regulation. Immune deficiency, hypersensitivity, autoimmunity and transplantation.  Treatment and intervention of autoimmune and allergic diseases.  Vaccination and protection from infections. Immunological methods and diagnostics. Students presentations and discussions of scientific articles under the teachers supervision.

Content: The intent of this graduate readings seminar is to expose you to Biogeography- that branch of biology that deals with the geographic distribution of organisms and ecosystems in space and time. As such, Biogeography is an exceptionally broad field that integrally relates to a multitude of other scientific disciplines. The goal of this course is to give you insights into some early hypotheses and ideas that helped shape modern biogeographic research. From there we will move towards current research paradigms, by focusing on specific sub-disciplines and hypotheses that drive the field today. A basic understanding of biogeographic patterns (how they can develop, be maintained, or shift) seems particularly important today, given the clear evidence that climate change is, and will continue to work to shift distributions. Teaching: Teacher and students lead discussions of chapters and papers selected by the teacher Grading: Particpation and attendance 50%, Student lead discussion 50%

This module’s aim is to provide an understanding of the basic principles of nature conservation and the role of management and planning for nature conservation in Iceland. Emphasis will be on the interaction between conservation and the recreational use of protected areas. The module also provides students with increased knowledge of the complex relationships between tourism practices and the preservation of biodiversity and geodiversity. Tourism planning within protected area will be discussed. Also conflicts as regard different interest groups in land use and conservation, as well as regulations and laws in nature conservation. Basics in nature interpretation and guidance of protected areas will further be covered. In addition, students will gain practical experience of day-to-day management. The module will develop awareness and understanding of factors and influences that need to be taken into account in management for conservation. This will be achieved through a series of lectures, specified readings, and practical training in field. 

This course focuses on animal parasites and the ecology of host-parasite interactions. During the first half of the course (Weeks 1 to 6) students will be introduced to the main groups of parasites with emphasis on the: (1) form and function; (2) development; (3) general life cycles; (4) biodiversity; (5) and phylogenetic relationships and classification. In the second half of the course (Weeks 7 to 14) the focus will be on the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions, the impacts of parasites on host individuals to ecosystems, and how parasites are adapting to changing environments. Formal weekly lectures (4 x 40 minutes) will be supplemented readings (textbooks and papers). 

The laboratory component of the course will focus on methods in parasitology. Students will collect their own parasite material during a weekend long field trip/exercise and using video tutorials, will practice different methods such as mucus, blood and fæcal smears, and staining & mounting. Each student will submit their own collection of slide material with parasite identifications for assessment at the end of semester.

Assignments will be designed to expose students to the parasitological literature on topics selected to supplement those covered in lecture. The essay format aims to develop synthesis and critical thinking skills.

The course will provide an overview of marine and freshwater ecology, with an emphasis on their structure and function. Furthermore, the course will cover oceanography, physical and chemical properties of aquatic environments, characteristics of sub-Arctic environment and organisms, nutrient cycles, food webs, biodiversity, community ecology, and habitat utilization. Case studies will be introduced from utilization of Icelandic marine and freshwater populations. Field and practical sessions will cover marine, freshwater and intertidal habitats. Field work, as well as problem and discussion sessions, will focus on theory and hypothesis driven approaches and analyses. Students will also write an extended literature review paper on a particular topic and present the paper orally to teachers and classmates.

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

The emphasis is on research articles. Resent research in various field with links to cell biology are included but can vary between years. For each lecture max three research articles are included.

Each student gives a seminar on one research article with details on methods and results. The students write a report (essay) on the article and discusses the results in a critical way.

Examples of topics included in the course: innate immunity, prions, the proteins pontin and reptin, polarized epithelium, development of trachea, data analyses and gene expression, autophagy, the origin of the nucleus.

The vascular flora of Iceland and the arctic flora: origins, composition, ecology. The biogeography of the flora of the North Atlantic. The Pleistocene environment of Iceland and the Holocene vegetation history of Iceland and Europe. Hypotheses on the age and origin of the Icelandic flora and the arctic flora. The soils of Iceland: characteristics and development, desertification. Post-settlement vegetation changes in Iceland. Biodiversity and distribution patterns of the Icelandic vascular flora. Protected and red-list species. after the biogeography of the circumpolar north. Origins and characteristics of the vascular flora of Iceland. Methods for the description and classification of vegetation. Icelandic vegetation: classification, distribution, environment and utilization. 4 day summer field course.

An excursion abroad for a period of two weeks at the end of spring-semester. In this excursion the students visit natural sites in a tropical country, to study diversity and ecology of the rain-forests, mangroves and marine life. During the semester the students attend 20 lectures by the supervising teachers. The students also work on special projects and submit scientitic reports.

Classification of birds, zoogeography, aspects of ecology and adaptations, including migration, social behaviour, food ecology, population dynamics, management. Field and laboratory work: Survey of the main families with an emphasis on Icelandic species. Field trips in SW-Iceland, partly during the semester and partly in May, after the examination period.

The objectives of the course are to introduce students to important pollutants, their characteristics and distribution, with emphasis on their effects on organisms. The first part of the course deals with the major classes of pollutants (Metals, Organic pollutants, Radioactivity), their origin, behaviour and characteristics. The second part focuses on bioavailability, bioaccumulation and bioconcentration and the effects of the pollutants on organisms. Biomarkers and bioassays will be discussed. The third part of the course deals with pollutants in arctic and subarctic areas, with emphasis on Iceland. Practical classes consist of four large projects.

Lectures: The molecular basis of life (chemical bonds, biological molecules, structure of DNA, RNA and proteins). Genomes and the flow of biological information. Chromosome structure and function, chromatin and nucleosomes. The cell cycle, DNA replication. Chromosome segregaition, Transcription. Regulation of transcription. RNA processing. Translation. Regulation of translation. Regulatory RNAs. Protein modification and targeting. DNA damage, checkpoints and DNA repair mechanisms. Repair of DNA double-strand breaks and homologous recombination. Mobile DNA elements. Tools and techniques in molecular Biology, including Model organisms.

Seminar: Students present and discuss selected research papers and hand in a short essay.

Laboratory work: Work on molecular genetics project relevant to current research. Basic methods such as gene cloning, gene transfer and expression, PCR, sequencing, DNA isolation and restriction analysis, electrophoresis of DNA and proteins will be used.

Exam: Laboratory 10%, seminar 15%, written final exam 75%.

Genomics and bioinformatics are intertwinned in many ways. Technological advances enabled the sequencing of for instance genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes. Complete genome sequences of thousands of organisms enables study of this flood of information for gaining knowledge and deeper understanding of biological phenomena. Comparative studies, in one way or another, building on Darwininan thought provide the theoretical underpinnings for analyzing this information and it applications. Characters and features conserved among organisms are based in conserved parts of genomes and conversely, new and unique phenotypes are affected by variable parts of genomes. This applies equally to animals, plants and microbes, and cells, enzymatic and developmental systems.

The course centers on the theoretical and practical aspects of comparative analysis, about analyses of genomes, metagenomes and transcriptomes to study biological, medical and applied questions. The lectures cover structure and sequencing of genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes, molecular evolution, different types of bioinformatic data, shell scripts, intro to R and Python scripting and applications. The practicals include, retrieval of data from databases, blast and alignment, assembly and annotation, comparison of genomes, population data analyses. Students will work with databases, such as Flybase, Genebank and ENSEMBL. Data will be retrived with Biomart and Bioconductor, and data quality discussed. Algorithms for search tools and alignments, read counts and comparisons of groups and treatments. Also elements of python scripting, open linux software, installation of linux programs, analyses of data from RNA-seq, RADseq and genome sequencing.

Students are required to turn in a few small and one big group project and present the large project with a lecture. In discussion session primary literature will be presented.

The following topics are addressed:

Terrestrial food webs and biological communities above and below ground. The role of organisms and other factors in shaping terrestrial habitats. Relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem processes such as primary production and nutrient dynamics. Effects of individual organism groups and traits, of plants and herbivores in particular, on ecosystem processes, stability and resilience. Effects of climate change and land use on ecosystems with emphasis on northern regions (sub-Arctic and Arctic). The unique characteristics of Icelandic ecosystems. Restoration of degraded and collapsed ecosystems. Main methods in community and ecosystem research.

• Classification and characteristics of mammals
• Focus on northern mammals
• Adaptation and specialization
• Energetics
• Compedition
• Territories and home-range
• Population ecology
• Methods for population estimates: a) counts, b) mark-recapture analyses, c) virtual population analyses

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

4 ECTS 8-day summer school course - Ecology and Evolution of Aquatic Parasite

Do you want to learn how to use AI to analyse images and increase automation in biological monitoring? Join us on this course to learn about Analysing image data harnessing AI – A case studies of seabirds, penguins and seals monitoring.

How far can this take you with your own research? The world is changing and monitoring techniques are too - both with emerging technologies and new strategies such as citizen science. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is resulting in our ability to analyse large data sets in ways we were not able to before. To harness this new capability, it needs to be more widely understood and incorporated into data collection.

Seabirds and seals are both important components of the marine ecosystem in their own rights but also both act as important indicators as to the health of marine systems (or a sentinel species). We seek to monitor them as they are of direct interest (e.g., threatened species, disease vectors), and as they are an easily measured indicator for the health of a broader ecosystem (e.g., cliff nesting seabirds like kittiwakes or guillemots).

This summer school will show you how to harness the power of AI, citizen science and new monitoring techniques including drones and camera traps as well as how to best analyse those datasets. The whole point is to go beyond what you would be comfortable with in either analysis or scale. It will be a challenging and rewarding time!

About the course

We have arranged an 8-day summer school course for 4 ECTS (credits) in Reykjavík, Iceland. Dates for this course are May 18^th to 29^th, 2026.Led by visiting scientists Dr Tom Hart (Oxford Brookes University), Dr Maria Christodoulou (University of Oxford) and Dr Liliana Schoenberger (Royal Haskoning DHV), in collaboration with the University of Iceland, this course will feature lectures, tutorials using case studies on seabirds and seals, engaging discussions on the state of AI in biology research, as well as hands-on field work to acquire the data to analyse during the course.

General introduction to chemical foundations, atoms, molecules and ions. Stoichiometry and chemical reactions. Properties of gases, solids and liquides, and properties af solutions. Atomic structure and the periodic table. Atomic bonding (ionic, covalent and metal) using VB theory. Chemical kinetics and chemical equilibrium. Acids and bases and the properties and application of aqueous solutions (buffers and solubility products). Thermochemistry (enhalpy, entropy, sponaneity and the Gibbs free energy). Electrochemistry (galvanic and electrolyic sells) and application of electrochemistry. Nuclear chemistry.

Molar volume of gases, thermochemistry, reaction enthalpies and Hesse's law, Rate of chemical reactions, decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, reaction reversibility and Le Chatelier's principle, determination of acid ionization constant with potentiometric titration, determination of equilibrium constant with absorbtion measurements.

Plants as organisms. Structure and function of the plant cell. Photosynthesis. The anatomy and morphology of plants. Alternation of generations, the evolution, life cycles and characteristics of mosses and vascular plant groups with emphasis on the flowering plants. The evolution of seeds, flowers and fruits. Vegetation of the earth, the biomes. The vegetation and vegetation history of Iceland. Laboratory work: Cells and tissue types. Examples of the anatomy and morphology of major groups, seeds, flowers and fruits. The diversity of plant form and environment.

Lectures: Mendelian inheritance. Sex chromosomes. Cytoplasmic inheritance. Chromosomes. Cell division (mitosis and meiosis). Life cycles. Linkage and recombination in eukaryotes. Bacterial genetics. Gene mapping and tetrad analysis. Genotype and phenotype. Chromosomal changes. DNA: Structure and replication. RNA: Transcription. Rgulation of gene transcription. Gene isolation and manipulation. Genomics. Transposons.  Mutations. Repair and recombination.  Model organisms. Laboratory work: : I. The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. II. Mitosis in onions. III. Plasmids and restriction enzymes. IV. PCR. V. Analysis of asci from Sordaria fimicola.

Exam: Laboratory and problems 25%, written 75%. Minimum mark needed for each part.

Course description: The fundamental concepts of calculus will be discussed. Subjects: Limits and continuous functions. Differentiable functions, rules for derivatives, derivatives of higher order, antiderivatives. Applications of differential calculus: Extremal value problems, linear approximation. The main functions in calculus: logarithms, exponential functions and trigonometric functions. The mean value theorem. Integration: The definite integral and rules of integration. The fundamental theorem of calculus. Techniques of integration, improper integrals. Series and sequences. Ordinary differential equations. Vectors and matrix calculations.

Basic principles of organic chemistry with special reference to the medical disciplines. All main classes of organic compounds from alkanes to amines are covered together with their major reaction mechanisms. Structure and chemistry of biological compounds such as carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and proteins with special reference to biochemistry, enzyme catalysed reaction and medicine in general.

Students will be trained in the laboratory work needed in the organic lab. Organic compounds will be synthesized with addition, alkylation and aldol condensation. The identification of organic compounds will be performed with the help of derivatives and TLC.

During this course, students will be introduced to organisms and acellular entities too small to be seen by the unaided eye.  They can acquire knowledge on the characteristics of bacteria, archaea, viruses and eukaryotic microorganisms.  The course will explain the importance of microorganisms, how they live in diverse and dynamic ecosystems and how some affect humans, for example by being valuable for the food industry or by causing disease.  The students will gain laboratory experience and practice aseptic techniques. 

Lectures: The course is intended to provide an overview of the evolutionary history on animals as well as structural and functional characteristics. Fundamentals in systematics and evolution and the relationship of phyla will be presented. An overview will be given of the function, development, life history and ecology of invertebrates. The following phyla will be thoroughly discussed: Protozoa, Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Mollusca, Annelida, Arthropoda and Echinodermata. Other phyla will also be presented in lesser detail.

Laboratory work: Examination and dissection of representative species. Compulsary attendance in practicals.

At the beginning of the course some main statistical concepts are introduced, such as population, sample, variable and randomness. Various descriptive statistics are introduced, as well as basic graphical representations. Fundamentals of probability theory are introduced, as well as the most common probability distributions. The rest of the course deals with inferential statistics where hypotheses tests and confidence intervals for means, variance and proportions are covered as well a analysis of variance (ANOVA) and simple linear regression. Students will learn how to apply the above mentioned methods in the statistical software R.

A thorough treatment of the fundamentals of biochemistry - part one; structure and function of macromolecules. The scope of biochemistry. Water and its properties. Interactions in biomolecules. Amino acids, peptides and the structure of proteins. Protein function.  Protein stability, folding, and dynamics related to function. Carbohydrates and glycobiology. Lipids, membranes and membrane proteins. Enzyme kinetics, regulation of enzyme activity, and mechanisms of enzyme catalysis. Signal transduction and membrane receptors. Structure of nucleic acids, stability, and basic recombinant technology. Final grade is combined from the final exam (85% ) and a midterm exam (15%).

Lectures:
Twice weekly (2 x 40 min.) Probelm solving class (2 x 40 min.) weekly.

Course evaluation:
Final exam (3 hours): 85% of final grade.
Midterm: 15% of final grade.

Textbook:
Nelson D.L. & Cox M.M. Lehninger: Principles of Biochemistry, 8th Edition, 2021

Lectures: Introduction. Evolution. Behaviour. Historical and ecological biogeography. Populations: Dispersal, natality and mortality rates, life tables, age composition, population growth, regulation of population size, cyclic fluctuations, migration. Species interactions: Competition, predation, other forms of interactions. Communities: Community description, species composition, species diversity, food webs, stability, succession. Ecosystems: Biogeochemical cycles, energy flow, productivity, trophic efficiency. Marine ecology, fresh-water ecology, terrestrial ecology; introduction to Icelandic ecosystems. Practical work: Exercises are in the lab and in the field. The emphasis is on application of scientific method in ecology, variation and data analysis. The exercises include experimental studies of population growth and competition between Paramecium species, studies of terrestrial communities (plants and animals), zonation of tidal zones and life in streams. Obligatory: all practical exercises. Course evaluation: ractical exercises and seminars 50% including a more extensive written report to be orally presented. Ten written exercises 50%. Minimum grade of 5 required for all parts.

Lectures: The course gives an overview of the evolution and the principal anatomical and functional characteristics of vertebrates.. The origin of chordates and vertebrates will be discussed. An overview will be given of the embryology and the structure and function of the main organ systems of vertebrates. The course reviews the evolution and phylogeny and discusses key adaptations of the major vertebrate classes.

Laboratory work: Dissection and examination of representative vertebrates.

An introduction to the principal methods used for isolation and analysis of proteins and therir properties. Emphasis is on the catalytic properties of enzymes and determination of enzyme activity. The main theories of enzymatic catalysis, such as the Michaelis-Menten equation, will be presented and students compare this with data that they generate. Students will do simple exercises, modeling protein structure, isolating and measuring proteins and determining enzymatic properties such as Km and Kcat using appropriate methods and software.

The cell biology part includes four lectures each week for 14 weeks (4L week for 14 weeks). The content includes: Introduction to cell biology, structure and evolution of eukaryotic cells. The main emphasis is on eukaryotic cells. Chemistry of the cell and energy conversion, structure and function of cellular macromolecules. The structure and function of cellular organs and functional units like the cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, cytoskeleton, golgi-system, lysosomes and peroxisomes. Intracellular regulation and signal pathways linked to communication between cells, together with cell differentiation and cancer. Details on extracellular matrix are included and basic immunology.

Histology is an independent short course accompanying the LÍF315G cell biology course. The course is structured as a practical course with support lectures, and lectures and practical exercises last for 6 weeks. The practical classes are primarily based on examining histological samples under a microscope and generating properly annotated histological sketches. Attendance is mandatory in practical lessons. The final exam is held two weeks after the last lecture.

The aim of the course is to introduce the basics of histology and tissue structure, as well as to make students independent in the use of microscopes when examining tissue samples. The lectures discuss the properties of individual tissues, the characteristics and function of different cell types and the properties of the extracellular matrix in a tissue-specific context. The preparation of samples is also discussed separately.

Developmental biology unifies multiple subject areas within life- and medical sciences and many fundamental discoveries on molecular and cellular processes come from developmental biology research. The aim of the course is for students to gain broad overview of the main topics of developmental biology and to acquire knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the development of different groups of vertebrates and invertebrates at multiple levels, ranging from the whole organism to the role of molecules in regulating developmental processes.

Main lecture topics: The role of development. Historical overview. Development of unicellular organisms. Reproduction and genetic recombination. Developmental patterns among multicellular animals. Specification and determination of embryonic cell fates. Modern techniques in developmental biology. Controlling gene expression, - developmental genes. Importance of cell interactions. Structure of gametes, fertilization and activation of the egg. Early stages of development in selected invertebrates. Specification of embryonic axes and organs of the fruit fly, -a hierarchical system of gene control. Early stages of development and specification of embryonic axes in amphibias, birds and mammals. Fate of embryonic layers and organogensis in vertebrates. Limb formation in tetrapods. Sex determination, sexual development and development of gametes among invertebrates and vertebrates. Plant development.

In the practical exercises, the aim of the course is for students to gain training and skills in the handling and microscopic analysis of embryos, while also strengthening their knowledge of the main developmental events in different animal groups. Emphasis is also placed on students gaining practice in the use of databases in developmental genetics and genetics.

Practicals: The use of databases and genome browsers; Drosophila embryonic development and metamorphosis; zebrafish development; chick development.

Student presentations: Sudents are required to give two short presentations on course-related topics. The grade for each presentation represents 10% of the total grade for the course. Minimum grade required is 5,0 for both presentations.

Evolutionary biology: Darwin and evolution of the evolutionary theory. The tree of life, natural selection and adaptation.  How evolution works: The origin of variation, the raw material for evolution.  The genetical theory of natural selection. Evolution of phenotypic traits.  Genetic drift: Evolution at random and in space. Species and speciation. Products of evolution:  Conflict and cooperation. Life-history evolution. Coevolution among species. Evolution of genes and genomes. Evolution and development. Macroevolution and the history of life: Phylogeny, the history of life, geography of evolution and the evolution of biological diversity. Evolution above the species level. Human evolution and human society.

Lectures: Homeostasis, membrane potentials, neurons, nervous systems, endocrinology, sensory physiology, muscles, circulation, respiration, osmoregulation and excretion, digestion, metabolism, energy balance, reproduction.

Lab work: 1) Membrane potentials and ligands. 2) Somatic nerves/skeletal muscle. 3) Ergometry.
Other assignments: Online exams and review questions, information will be given at the beginning of the course.

Key species of organisms in Icelandic ecosystems. Methods of field research in ecology will be introduced. Emphasis is placed on the ability to recognize the main species in the country's flora and fauna, as well as data analysis and comparison with theoretical knowledge about habitat ecology.  

Field trips begin before the formal start of the fall semester. Teaching can take place both on weekdays and weekends. 

All students must attend the field-trips and submit a field-book in order to complete the course.

The life of flowering plants: From fertilization, embryo and seed development, growth and metabolism, to senescence. Effects of plant hormones and environmental factors on growth and development. Uptake and transport of water and nutrients. Carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Relationships between plants and micro-organisms. Reproduction: Asexual propagation and in vitro culture as a method in plant biotechnology, sexual reproduction as an essential process in plant evolution and plant improvement. Laboratory exercises: Experiments in plant physiology. Evaluation: final written exam 60%, laboratory exam 30% and project 10%.

Textbook: Taiz & Zeiger (2015) Plant Physiology and Development, 6.edition.

The main aim of this course is to introduce students to methodologies in the field, identifications, natural history, systematics, evolution and ecology of insects and arachnids, animals that together form the most diverse group of organisms on earth. Emphasis will be placed on systematics in its broadest sense, discussing biodiversity, its dimensions and measurements, and how we learn about the relationship between organisms and discover new species (phylogenetic analysis and taxonomy). The course introduces all major groups of insects and arachnids (mainly spiders).

Student lectures: Each student gives a lecture on some novel aspects of entomology/arachnology.

Practicals: Emphasis is placed on field trips at the beginning of the semester, where students collect insects and arachnids in the field using various methods. As insect activities slow down during fall, practicals moves into the laboratory. There, students will work exclusively with the specimens they caught themselves., and learn to identify and curate them as would be done at a natural history museum. The final projects in the practical are the submission of the insect and acrachnid collection of each student. A practical test will be held focusing on identification.

Tests total 60% of the grade, student lectures 10%, practical exam 10% and insect collection 20% of the total grade.

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

Lectures: Mendelian genetics, organization of the human genome, structure of chromosomes, chromosomal changes and syndromes, gene mapping via association and whole genome sequencing methods, genetic analysis, genetic screening, genetics of simple and complex traits, genes and environment, cancer genetics, gene therapy, human and primate evolution, ethical issues concerning human genetics, informed consent and private information. Students are expected to have prior knowledge of the principles genetics.

Practical: Analyses of genetic data, study of chromosomal labelling, analyses of genetic associations and transcriptomes.

Land use. Types and utilization of mineral, fuel and water resources, origins and effects of major pollutants. Biodiversity, habitat, fragmentation, species extinctions and effects of introduced species. The application of ecological knowledge to environmental problems. Environmental impact assessment, restoration. The philosophy of nature conservation. International conventions. Major environmental issues in Iceland: fisheries, soil erosion, wetland drainage, impact studies, legislation, organization and administration of environmental affairs. Various excursions, student seminars.

The course is divided into lectures, practical sessions, discussions and student projects.

Lectures: Theoretical basis of common molecular-biology techniques and their application in research. Course material provided by teachers.

Laboratory practice in molecular biology techniques: Training in general molecular biology laboratory skills and active documentation in laboratory notebooks.

Discussions are associated with all other parts (lectures, practicals and student projects)

Main topics:  Laboratory notebooks, electronic laboratory notebooks and standard operating procedures (SOP's), use of online tools. Basics of DNA work and DNA cloning. Plasmids and plasmid maps, working with DNA sequences. DNA and RNA isolation and quantification (Southern and Northern blotting, PCR, RT-PCR, qRT-PCR), restriction enzymes, DNA sequencing techniques and data analysis. Basics of E. coli cultures and plasmid work. Basics of cell culture and transfection. Model organisms: E.coli, S. cerevisiae, C. reinhardtii, A. thaliana, C. elegans, D. melanogaster, M. musculus.  Transgenesis and genetic tools in bacteria, yeast and multicellular organisms. CRISPR technique and gRNA design. RNA interference and other methods for conditional gene expression and inhibition. Protein expression and analysis. How to raise and use antibodies for research. Western blot, immunostaining of cells and tissues, radioactive techniques. Microscopy in molecular biology. Methods used in recent research papers will be discussed.

Student projects: Study of a recent method or method group. Output varies by year but aims at training students in reference work and different approaches to mediating scientific material. Examples include: Posters, Essays, Talks, Videos, Webpages and Podcasts.

This course will explore the diversity of fish species, their adaptations to the environment, and how the ecosystem influences their numbers and vice versa.  Practical training will be offered both in the field and in the laboratory.  The key issues to be examined are:  Classification of fishes;  Morphology, anatomy, and key adaptations to the aquatic environment;  Environmental effects on the distribution and numbers of fish;  Population structure and diversification in fish communities;  Factors controlling the distribution, movements, numbers and age composition of a fish population;  Overview of the key taxa of salt- and freshwater fishes of the northern hemisphere

The aim of this course is to introduce different applications of microorganisms and to help students develop independent research skills. In the first part of the course, students will visit a geothermal area and subsequently work on a research project where they isolate, identify and study bacterial strains.

The second part will introduce different fields of microbial biotechnology and how they have been shaped by recent progress in microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry. State of the art will be covered regarding subjects such as microbial diversity as a resource of enzymes and biocompounds; bioprospecting, thermophiles, marine microbes and microalgae, biorefineries (emphasis on seaweed and lignocellulose), enzymes (emphasis on carbohydrate active enzymes), metabolic engineering (genetic engineering, omics), energy-biotechnology, cultivation and fermentation technology. The course will exemplify Icelandic biotechnology where applicable. Cultivation/production technology and yeast will be presented specifically in practical sessions in the brewing of beer.

The third part will cover environmental sampling, microbial communities and biofilms, microbes in aquatic and terrestrial environments, indoor air quality and the impact of molds. Also, water- and food-borne pathogens, risk assessment and surveillance, water treatment, microbial remediation, methane production and global warming. Students will visit waste management and water treatment plants and review and present selected research articles.

Additional teaching one Saturday in end of September or beginning of October.

The course centers on the biological communities of freshwater ecosystems and diversity among them. The focus will be on abiotic factors, chemical, physical, and later ecological and evolutionary aspects. Initially the focus is on chemical and physical processes in freshwater systems, and how they influence ecosystem properties, energy flow and nutrition cycling. The main types of freshwater ecosystems will be introduced, also how they are categorized and their diversity. Focus will be on organism, populations, communities and food-webs in freshwaters, and the adaptations for various limnological habitats. Special focus will be on Icelandic freshwater ecosystems, but international examples also explored. Threats to freshwater ecosystems will be discussed, related to exploitation, pollution, protection of waters and ecosystems. Human influence will be in focus, from commercial, recreational usage to aquaculture, and disturbances to limnological ecosystems due to daming, agriculture and climate change. Field trips will be integral to the course, sampling springs, rivers and stream waters. Measurements done on abiotic and biotic factors, from primary producers to top predators. Lab sessions will focus on biological materials using scientific approaches. Students will give lectures, write reports, conduct studies of limnological systems and organisms.

Student may be granted two credits, with an approval of the department, for lecture or poster that he is the first author of at scientific conference.

It is only possible to get credits for lecture or poster once during Bachelor and Master program.

The first part of the course consists mainly of lectures presented by the students on selected topics relating to molecular biology of viruses and viral infections.

The second part of the course is taught in parallel with LÍF110G, which is intended for students of nursing.  Different groups of pathogens will be addressed, bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and helminths as well as the infections and diseases they cause.  The main human pathogens will be introduced, their natural habitats and transmission routes, infections and symptoms, identification and treatment. 

Numerical methods are an essential part of biology and are applied to design of experiments and observations, description of result and their analysis. Sudents learn these methods by working on biological data and to interpretate its results. Main method include the maximum likelihood estimation, linear models, regression and analysis of variance and generalized linear models. Multivariate analysis. Bootstrap and permutation analysis. The analysis will done using R. The students will obtain an extensive exercise in applyin R on various biological datasets.

Assessment: Written examen (70%), practicals (30%). The students needs to obtain a passing grade in both parts.

The immune system, organs and cells. Innate immunity, phagocytes, complement, inflammation. Adaptive immunity, development and differentiation of lymphocytes. Specificity and antigen recognition, function of B- and T-cells. Immune responses, immunological memory, mucosal immunity. Immunological tolerance and immune regulation. Immune deficiency, hypersensitivity, autoimmunity and transplantation.  Treatment and intervention of autoimmune and allergic diseases.  Vaccination and protection from infections. Immunological methods and diagnostics. Students presentations and discussions of scientific articles under the teachers supervision.

Content: The intent of this graduate readings seminar is to expose you to Biogeography- that branch of biology that deals with the geographic distribution of organisms and ecosystems in space and time. As such, Biogeography is an exceptionally broad field that integrally relates to a multitude of other scientific disciplines. The goal of this course is to give you insights into some early hypotheses and ideas that helped shape modern biogeographic research. From there we will move towards current research paradigms, by focusing on specific sub-disciplines and hypotheses that drive the field today. A basic understanding of biogeographic patterns (how they can develop, be maintained, or shift) seems particularly important today, given the clear evidence that climate change is, and will continue to work to shift distributions. Teaching: Teacher and students lead discussions of chapters and papers selected by the teacher Grading: Particpation and attendance 50%, Student lead discussion 50%

This module’s aim is to provide an understanding of the basic principles of nature conservation and the role of management and planning for nature conservation in Iceland. Emphasis will be on the interaction between conservation and the recreational use of protected areas. The module also provides students with increased knowledge of the complex relationships between tourism practices and the preservation of biodiversity and geodiversity. Tourism planning within protected area will be discussed. Also conflicts as regard different interest groups in land use and conservation, as well as regulations and laws in nature conservation. Basics in nature interpretation and guidance of protected areas will further be covered. In addition, students will gain practical experience of day-to-day management. The module will develop awareness and understanding of factors and influences that need to be taken into account in management for conservation. This will be achieved through a series of lectures, specified readings, and practical training in field. 

This course focuses on animal parasites and the ecology of host-parasite interactions. During the first half of the course (Weeks 1 to 6) students will be introduced to the main groups of parasites with emphasis on the: (1) form and function; (2) development; (3) general life cycles; (4) biodiversity; (5) and phylogenetic relationships and classification. In the second half of the course (Weeks 7 to 14) the focus will be on the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions, the impacts of parasites on host individuals to ecosystems, and how parasites are adapting to changing environments. Formal weekly lectures (4 x 40 minutes) will be supplemented readings (textbooks and papers). 

The laboratory component of the course will focus on methods in parasitology. Students will collect their own parasite material during a weekend long field trip/exercise and using video tutorials, will practice different methods such as mucus, blood and fæcal smears, and staining & mounting. Each student will submit their own collection of slide material with parasite identifications for assessment at the end of semester.

Assignments will be designed to expose students to the parasitological literature on topics selected to supplement those covered in lecture. The essay format aims to develop synthesis and critical thinking skills.

The course will provide an overview of marine and freshwater ecology, with an emphasis on their structure and function. Furthermore, the course will cover oceanography, physical and chemical properties of aquatic environments, characteristics of sub-Arctic environment and organisms, nutrient cycles, food webs, biodiversity, community ecology, and habitat utilization. Case studies will be introduced from utilization of Icelandic marine and freshwater populations. Field and practical sessions will cover marine, freshwater and intertidal habitats. Field work, as well as problem and discussion sessions, will focus on theory and hypothesis driven approaches and analyses. Students will also write an extended literature review paper on a particular topic and present the paper orally to teachers and classmates.

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

The emphasis is on research articles. Resent research in various field with links to cell biology are included but can vary between years. For each lecture max three research articles are included.

Each student gives a seminar on one research article with details on methods and results. The students write a report (essay) on the article and discusses the results in a critical way.

Examples of topics included in the course: innate immunity, prions, the proteins pontin and reptin, polarized epithelium, development of trachea, data analyses and gene expression, autophagy, the origin of the nucleus.

The vascular flora of Iceland and the arctic flora: origins, composition, ecology. The biogeography of the flora of the North Atlantic. The Pleistocene environment of Iceland and the Holocene vegetation history of Iceland and Europe. Hypotheses on the age and origin of the Icelandic flora and the arctic flora. The soils of Iceland: characteristics and development, desertification. Post-settlement vegetation changes in Iceland. Biodiversity and distribution patterns of the Icelandic vascular flora. Protected and red-list species. after the biogeography of the circumpolar north. Origins and characteristics of the vascular flora of Iceland. Methods for the description and classification of vegetation. Icelandic vegetation: classification, distribution, environment and utilization. 4 day summer field course.

An excursion abroad for a period of two weeks at the end of spring-semester. In this excursion the students visit natural sites in a tropical country, to study diversity and ecology of the rain-forests, mangroves and marine life. During the semester the students attend 20 lectures by the supervising teachers. The students also work on special projects and submit scientitic reports.

Classification of birds, zoogeography, aspects of ecology and adaptations, including migration, social behaviour, food ecology, population dynamics, management. Field and laboratory work: Survey of the main families with an emphasis on Icelandic species. Field trips in SW-Iceland, partly during the semester and partly in May, after the examination period.

The objectives of the course are to introduce students to important pollutants, their characteristics and distribution, with emphasis on their effects on organisms. The first part of the course deals with the major classes of pollutants (Metals, Organic pollutants, Radioactivity), their origin, behaviour and characteristics. The second part focuses on bioavailability, bioaccumulation and bioconcentration and the effects of the pollutants on organisms. Biomarkers and bioassays will be discussed. The third part of the course deals with pollutants in arctic and subarctic areas, with emphasis on Iceland. Practical classes consist of four large projects.

Lectures: The molecular basis of life (chemical bonds, biological molecules, structure of DNA, RNA and proteins). Genomes and the flow of biological information. Chromosome structure and function, chromatin and nucleosomes. The cell cycle, DNA replication. Chromosome segregaition, Transcription. Regulation of transcription. RNA processing. Translation. Regulation of translation. Regulatory RNAs. Protein modification and targeting. DNA damage, checkpoints and DNA repair mechanisms. Repair of DNA double-strand breaks and homologous recombination. Mobile DNA elements. Tools and techniques in molecular Biology, including Model organisms.

Seminar: Students present and discuss selected research papers and hand in a short essay.

Laboratory work: Work on molecular genetics project relevant to current research. Basic methods such as gene cloning, gene transfer and expression, PCR, sequencing, DNA isolation and restriction analysis, electrophoresis of DNA and proteins will be used.

Exam: Laboratory 10%, seminar 15%, written final exam 75%.

Genomics and bioinformatics are intertwinned in many ways. Technological advances enabled the sequencing of for instance genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes. Complete genome sequences of thousands of organisms enables study of this flood of information for gaining knowledge and deeper understanding of biological phenomena. Comparative studies, in one way or another, building on Darwininan thought provide the theoretical underpinnings for analyzing this information and it applications. Characters and features conserved among organisms are based in conserved parts of genomes and conversely, new and unique phenotypes are affected by variable parts of genomes. This applies equally to animals, plants and microbes, and cells, enzymatic and developmental systems.

The course centers on the theoretical and practical aspects of comparative analysis, about analyses of genomes, metagenomes and transcriptomes to study biological, medical and applied questions. The lectures cover structure and sequencing of genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes, molecular evolution, different types of bioinformatic data, shell scripts, intro to R and Python scripting and applications. The practicals include, retrieval of data from databases, blast and alignment, assembly and annotation, comparison of genomes, population data analyses. Students will work with databases, such as Flybase, Genebank and ENSEMBL. Data will be retrived with Biomart and Bioconductor, and data quality discussed. Algorithms for search tools and alignments, read counts and comparisons of groups and treatments. Also elements of python scripting, open linux software, installation of linux programs, analyses of data from RNA-seq, RADseq and genome sequencing.

Students are required to turn in a few small and one big group project and present the large project with a lecture. In discussion session primary literature will be presented.

The following topics are addressed:

Terrestrial food webs and biological communities above and below ground. The role of organisms and other factors in shaping terrestrial habitats. Relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem processes such as primary production and nutrient dynamics. Effects of individual organism groups and traits, of plants and herbivores in particular, on ecosystem processes, stability and resilience. Effects of climate change and land use on ecosystems with emphasis on northern regions (sub-Arctic and Arctic). The unique characteristics of Icelandic ecosystems. Restoration of degraded and collapsed ecosystems. Main methods in community and ecosystem research.

• Classification and characteristics of mammals
• Focus on northern mammals
• Adaptation and specialization
• Energetics
• Compedition
• Territories and home-range
• Population ecology
• Methods for population estimates: a) counts, b) mark-recapture analyses, c) virtual population analyses

Third year students are permitted to carry out a 10-15 ECTS research project supervised by a resident teacher. The number of projects on offer at every given time is limited and students must themselves search for available projects and contact possible instructors. A research project can be supervised by an external instructor, but must be sponsored by a teacher within the study programme and the research plan submitted to the director of studies (námsbrautarstjóri) for evaluation. The goal of the project is for the student to obtain skills in the field of study, to be able to acquire and analyze data and explain basic results. The research project concludes with a report which is graded by the supervisor/sponsor. Reports must conform to the format and rules of the Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences.

4 ECTS 8-day summer school course - Ecology and Evolution of Aquatic Parasite

Do you want to learn how to use AI to analyse images and increase automation in biological monitoring? Join us on this course to learn about Analysing image data harnessing AI – A case studies of seabirds, penguins and seals monitoring.

How far can this take you with your own research? The world is changing and monitoring techniques are too - both with emerging technologies and new strategies such as citizen science. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is resulting in our ability to analyse large data sets in ways we were not able to before. To harness this new capability, it needs to be more widely understood and incorporated into data collection.

Seabirds and seals are both important components of the marine ecosystem in their own rights but also both act as important indicators as to the health of marine systems (or a sentinel species). We seek to monitor them as they are of direct interest (e.g., threatened species, disease vectors), and as they are an easily measured indicator for the health of a broader ecosystem (e.g., cliff nesting seabirds like kittiwakes or guillemots).

This summer school will show you how to harness the power of AI, citizen science and new monitoring techniques including drones and camera traps as well as how to best analyse those datasets. The whole point is to go beyond what you would be comfortable with in either analysis or scale. It will be a challenging and rewarding time!

About the course

We have arranged an 8-day summer school course for 4 ECTS (credits) in Reykjavík, Iceland. Dates for this course are May 18^th to 29^th, 2026.Led by visiting scientists Dr Tom Hart (Oxford Brookes University), Dr Maria Christodoulou (University of Oxford) and Dr Liliana Schoenberger (Royal Haskoning DHV), in collaboration with the University of Iceland, this course will feature lectures, tutorials using case studies on seabirds and seals, engaging discussions on the state of AI in biology research, as well as hands-on field work to acquire the data to analyse during the course.