This is the first semester of a one year series in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. The course is composed of weekly meetings to discuss research problems, methods and current literature. The course will interface with the lectures and students will learn to critically evaluate our scientific knowledge base. The students will be introduced to the tools that are available to obtain and evaluate information. The students will be challenged to identify areas of our scientific knowledge that require further experimentation and clarification. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. Students must co-enroll in GSMC 850 (Proteins and Metabolism) and GSMC 851 (Molecular Genetics).