BIOS9411 – Toxicants in ecosystems and humans: Effects
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The course gives insight into how toxicants affects humans and the environment, with a particular focus on individual effects. Toxicants affect many of the same processes in different organisms and the course will discuss similarities and differences between different species, using mammalian toxicology as a starting point. The course includes aspects of both ecotoxicology and human toxicology.
Learning outcome
- Have knowledge of the mechanisms of toxicity for different toxic substances, including endocrine disruption, genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, developmental toxicity and behavioural toxicity.
- Have knowledge of the metabolism of toxicants in different species.
- Have knowledge about the effects of toxicants on a molecular and cellular level, on individual health, on populations in nature and on communities, as well as the use of biomarkers.
- Understand the importance of different groups of toxicants for human health and the environment.
- Have experience with sampling fish in a field survey and measurement of biomarkers in their tissues.
- Understand important drivers for distribution and accumulation of toxicants, including environmental, chemical, physical, physiological and ecological factors.
- Understand models for toxicokinetics and -dynamics.
- Understand models for accumulation and statistical tools used in ecotoxicology.
- Expertise in conveying toxicological knowledge at the Master´s level
Admission to the course
PhD candidates from the University of Oslo should apply for classes and register for examinations through Studentweb.
If a course has limited intake capacity, priority will be given to PhD candidates who follow an individual education plan where this particular course is included. Some national researchers’ schools may have specific rules for ranking applicants for courses with limited intake capacity.
PhD candidates who have been admitted to another higher education institution must apply for a position as a visiting student within a given deadline.
Master's students must register for BIOS5411 – Toxicants in ecosystems and humans: Effects.
The courses BIOS5411 and BIOS9411 have common admission. Applicants are ranked by the following criteria:
1. PhD candidates and master's students at the MN faculty who have the course as part of the approved curriculum. Master's students in Toxicology and environmental science are given priority.
2. Other PhD candidates, master students and visiting PhD candidates.
3. Students with admission to single courses on master’s level and exchange students
Applicants are ranked by credits in each group; all applicants within 1st rank before applicants in 2nd etc. If admission is limited to a fixed number of participants, admission will be decided by drawing lots for students who are ranked equally
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Recommended previous knowledge
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with BIOS5411 – Toxicants in ecosystems and humans: Effects.
- 5 credits overlap with BIO4540 – Human Toxicology (discontinued).
- 5 credits overlap with BIO9540 – Human toxicology (discontinued).
- 5 credits overlap with BIO4550 – Ecotoxicology (discontinued).
- 5 credits overlap with BIO9550 – Ecotoxicology (discontinued).
Teaching
- Lectures
- Fieldwork (compulsory): 2 days
- Lab-exercises (compulsory)
- Discussion groups
- One compulsory lecture for the other students, making up 20% of the final grade
Participation in Health and Safety courses are required prior to lab-exercises and fieldwork. The students are required to hold individual insurance to cover field activities. Mandatory course work must be approved before the student can attend the exam.
Attendance is mandatory for the first lecture. This also applies for those on the waiting list. You will lose your seat on the course if documentation for absence is not provided to the student administration studieinfo@ibv.uio.no prior to the first lecture.
As the teaching involves laboratory and/or field work, you should consider taking out a separate travel and personal risk insurance. Read about your insurance cover as a student.
A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.
Examination
Final written exam which counts 100% towards the final grade.
This course has mandatory exercises that must be approved before you can sit the final exam.
It will also be counted as one of the three attempts to sit the exam for this course, if you sit the exam for one of the following courses: BIOS5411 – Toxicants in ecosystems and humans: Effects.
Examination support material
No examination support material is allowed.
Language of examination
You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Resit an examination
Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are offered a postponed exam at the beginning of the next semester.
New examinations are offered at the beginning of the next semester for students who do not successfully complete the exam during the previous semester.
We do not offer a re-scheduled exam for students who withdraw during the exam.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.