Hebrew University of Jerusalem Courses

Sex from molecules to elephants

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Sexual reproduction can be defined as the sort of reproduction by which each organism arises from the fusion of two cells. This generally implies, with some exceptions, that each organism has two parents. This description might sound trivial it is however not at all. Before the appearance of sex, organisms reproduced solely by division. One cell divided into two cells, no partners, no fusion, just simple cell division. This simple cell division is still here. In fact, the trillions of cells that make up your body are all the descendants of a single cell that underwent several dozens of cell divisions. Surprisingly, most multicellular, as well as, many unicellular organisms reproduce by sex. We might take it thus for granted but this course will show you that it is a rather peculiar and enigmatic process.This course will provide you with the necessary tools to understand how sex works and to marvel at its mysteries. We will start by meeting the actors of this greatest drama in their native habitats, from ancient bacteria that live in thermal geysers in Yellowstone national park to the great mammals that roam the African savanna. We will also briefly discuss the history of life on earth and its contemporary state.The second unit defines the rules of the game explaining the mechanisms of heredity and evolution. The third unit focuses on meiosis, the fundamental and conserved molecular event that forms the basis of sex. And that might have led to the appearance of sex in the first place. We will also explain the fertility cycle and male and female germ cell development. The fourth unit describes the striking variability of sex determination throughout the animal kingdom. We will discuss the requirement for two genders and their considerable cost. Finally, we will dive in the gulf of Aqaba to meet organisms that are both male and female either at the same, or at different times. Sex requires cooperation between two individuals – a male and a female – that are in a basic conflict of interest. Furthermore, males and females compete among themselves. This complex network of cooperation and conflict forms the fascinating plot we will tell in the fifth unit that will discuss the patterns of reproduction and social behavior of different animals – corals, insects, spiders, fish, birds, and mammals. We will be intrigued to discover that the same basic conflict is resolved by a huge range of approaches, from altruistic behavior all the way to open warfare and infanticide. The sixth unit takes us to fertilization and beyond. Starting at an IVF clinic we follow embryonic development throughout the animal kingdom from insects to tadpoles and humans.The seventh unit is dedicated to flowering plants that made our world colorful, sweet-smelling and tasty and that produce almost all animal food.

Sex from Molecules to Elephants

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Class Central TipsLearn How to Sign up to Coursera courses for free1600+ Coursera Courses That Are Still Completely FreeAbout this courseSkip About this courseSexual reproduction can be defined as the sort of reproduction by which each organism arises from the fusion of two cells. This generally implies, with some exceptions, that each organism has two parents.This description might sound trivial it is however not at all. Before the appearance of sex, organisms reproduced solely by division. One cell divided into two cells, no partners, no fusion, just simple cell division. This simple cell division is still here. In fact, the trillions of cells that make up your body are all the descendants of a single cell that underwent several dozens of cell divisions. Surprisingly, most multicellular, as well as, many unicellular organisms reproduce by sex. We might take it thus for granted but this course will show you that it is a rather peculiar and enigmatic process.This course will provide you with the necessary tools to understand how sex works and to marvel at its mysteries. We will start by meeting the actors of this greatest drama in their native habitats, from ancient bacteria that live in thermal geysers in Yellowstone national park to the great mammals that roam the African savanna. We will also briefly discuss the history of life on earth and its contemporary state.The second unit defines the rules of the game explaining the mechanisms of heredity and evolution.The third unit focuses on meiosis, the fundamental and conserved molecular event that forms the basis of sex. And that might have led to the appearance of sex in the first place. We will also explain the fertility cycle and male and female germ cell development. The fourth unit describes the striking variability of sex determination throughout the animal kingdom. We will discuss the requirement for two genders and their considerable cost. Finally, we will dive in the gulf of Aqaba to meet organisms that are both male and female either at the same, or at different times.Sex requires cooperation between two individuals – a male and a female – that are in a basic conflict of interest. Furthermore, males and females compete among themselves. This complex network of cooperation and conflict forms the fascinating plot we will tell in the fifth unit that will discuss the patterns of reproduction and social behavior of different animals – corals, insects, spiders, fish, birds, and mammals. We will be intrigued to discover that the same basic conflict is resolved by a huge range of approaches, from altruistic behavior all the way to open warfare and infanticide.The sixth unit takes us to fertilization and beyond. Starting at an IVF clinic we follow embryonic development throughout the animal kingdom from insects to tadpoles and humans.The seventh unit is dedicated to flowering plants that made our world colorful, sweet-smelling and tasty and that produce almost all animal food.

Modern European Mysticism and Psychological Thought

4.3

Class Central TipsLearn How to Sign up to Coursera courses for free1600+ Coursera Courses That Are Still Completely FreeIn the revival of mysticism today, mysticism has become more psychological while psychology is increasingly interested in mysticism. This course will provide an entry into the complex world of modern mysticism, through studying its psychological thought. We shall begin with exploring the interpretations of mystical experience offered by psychoanalysts in the twentieth century, starting with Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung and ending with contemporary thinkers such as James Hillman. However, we will see that the European mystical traditions, including Kabbalah in the Jewish world and those of the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant worlds, developed their own elaborate systems of psychological thought. Thus, we will mostly examine mystical psychology on its own terms. We shall especially look at two terms that are very much in use also in general culture: the heart (as an emotional rather than a physical center!...) and the soul, looking at the unique mystical concepts of their nature and destiny and asking if there were influences and meetings between the different religions.

Modern Hebrew Poetry שירה עברית מודרנית

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Class Central TipsLearn How to Sign up to Coursera courses for free1600+ Coursera Courses That Are Still Completely Freeהקורס מציע מיפוי של השירה העברית החדשה למן תנועת ההשכלה דרך תקופת "התחייה" והמודרניזם שבא בעקבותיה, ועד לימינו. הקורס מציג באופן חי ונושם את המפנים הפואטיים ואת ההתפתחויות הסגנוניות והתמטיות בתחום השירה העברית, מראשיתה, באמצעות קריאות קרובות של טקסטים מן התקופות השונות, ומעמיד מאגר גדול ושופע של ידע תיאורטי, ספרותיוהיסטורי, לצד פרשנויות עמוקות, מאתגרות ומפתיעות.

Moses' Face: Moses' images as reflected in Jewish literature

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Class Central TipsLearn How to Sign up to Coursera courses for free1600+ Coursera Courses That Are Still Completely FreeOne was Moses but many are his faces. Starting with the Hebrew Bible, continuing with Jewish literatures throughout history (Second Temple literature, rabbinic literature, medieval commentaries, modern literature, thought and art.) the character of Moses keeps changing and developing through the eyes of the beholder, it's time, tendency and the nature of the genre. The course will follow the different phases of Moses' character and try to understand what motives are behind them.אחד היה משה אך רבים פניו. החל בגופו של המקרא והמשך בספרות עם ישראל לדורותיו (ספרות הבית השני, ספרות חז"ל, פרשני ימי הביניים ועוד) וכלה בספרות, באמנות ובהגות של העת החדשה - לובשת ופושטת דמות של משה צורות חדשות ומגוונות, על פי המתבונן, זמנו, מגמתו ואופי יצירתו. הקורס יעקב אחר גלגולי דמויותיו של משה [ביצירה שעד ראשית תקופת הגאונים] ויבקש להבין מה עומד מאחורי יצירתן.

The Wonders and Challenges of Bible Education

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Class Central TipsLearn How to Sign up to Coursera courses for free1600+ Coursera Courses That Are Still Completely FreeBiblical figures play a central role in understanding the richness of the text and provide extraordinary educational opportunities for engaging students in meaningful discourse about its relevance for their lives. This course will focus on examining and analyzing Biblical characters, and give you access to different pedagogical techniques of teaching Bible in the classroom. We will learn about the challenges facing the Bible teacher today, as well as different philosophical, developmental, social, and psychological approaches to addressing those challenges. We will also learn different approaches to examining Biblical stories, including: exegetical, hermeneutic, historical, literary, and gender theory. We will examine and analyze the pedagogic skills to implement these different approaches inside the classroom. We’ll also cover analysis of different Biblical characters and stories, and hear from some experts in the field of Bible studies and Bible education. Using this knowledge, you will gain skills to use inside the classroom, and be able to examine and analyze different educational programs that teach Bible in order to see which best suit your approach and educational setting. If you want to teach Bible, this course is a helpful guide and overview to different approaches and techniques for doing so.Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:1. Students will appreciate challenges in teaching classical Jewish texts to school students2.Students will acquire certain exegetical and literary skills to analyze selected Biblical passages.3. Students will be exposed to a range of different approaches to presenting Biblical characters.4. Students will examine a range of relevant developmental, social, and psychological theories that impact the teaching of the Bible.5. Students will examine a range of educational programs that teach the Bible and will acquire tools to critically analyze these programs.6. Students will produce a course project that will reflect their understanding of the various issues raised.

A Brief History of Humankind

4.9

Class Central TipsLearn How to Sign up to Coursera courses for free1600+ Coursera Courses That Are Still Completely FreeAbout 2 million years ago our humanancestors were insignificant animals living in a corner of Africa. Their impact on the world was no greater thanthat of gorillas, zebras, or chickens. Today humans are spread all over theworld, and they are the most important animal around. The very future of lifeon Earth depends on the ideas and behavior of our species. This course will explain how we humans have conquered planet Earth, and howwe have changed our environment, our societies, and our own bodies and minds.The aim of the course is to give students a brief but complete overview ofhistory, from the Stone Age to the age of capitalismand genetic engineering. The course invites usto question the basic narratives of our world. Its conclusions are enlighteningand at times provocative. For example:·        Werule the world because we are the only animal that can believe in things thatexist purely in our own imagination, such as gods, states, money and humanrights.  ·        Humans are ecological serial killers – even with stone-age tools, our ancestors wipedout half the planet's large terrestrial mammals well before the advent ofagriculture. ·        TheAgricultural Revolution was history’s biggest fraud – wheat domesticatedSapiens rather than the other wayaround. ·        Moneyis the most universal and pluralistic system of mutual trust ever devised.Money is the only thing everyone trusts.·        Empireis the most successful political system humans have invented, and our presentera of anti-imperial sentiment is probably a short-lived aberration. ·        Capitalismis a religion rather than just an economic theory – and it is the mostsuccessful religion to date.·        Thetreatment of animals in modern agriculture may turn out to be the worst crimein     history.·        Weare far more powerful than our ancestors, but we aren’t much happier.·         Humans will soon disappear. With the help of novel technologies, within a fewcenturies or even decades, Humans will upgrade themselves into completelydifferent beings, enjoying godlike qualities and abilities. History began whenhumans invented gods – and will end when humans become gods. 

Introduction to Tissue Engineering

3.7

Class Central TipsLearn How to Sign up to Coursera courses for free1600+ Coursera Courses That Are Still Completely FreeTissue Engineering is a rapidly expanding field of applied biology andbiomedical engineering that aims to create artificial organs for transplantation,basic research, or drug development. A fascinating aspect of the fieldis the fundamental need to integrate knowledge of organic chemistry, cellbiology, genetics, mechanics and transport processes to create functionalorgans. The process uncovers the fascinating complexity of living tissues,and the joy of creation.  This course will review basic cell culture techniques, structure functionrelationships, cellular communication, natural and artificial biomaterials,and the basic equations governing cell survival and tissue organization. 

Invitation to Mathematics הזמנה למתמטיקה

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Class Central TipsLearn How to Sign up to Coursera courses for free1600+ Coursera Courses That Are Still Completely Freeקורס זה עוסק במתמטיקה של בית ספר תיכון מנקודת מבט מתקדמת. מטרתו העיקרית היא לחשוף סטודנטים לעתיד לאופן שבו מתמטיקאים רואים מקצוע זה, ובכך להכין אותם ללימודי מתמטיקה ברמת אוניברסיטה.

Synapses, Neurons and Brains

4.2

Class Central TipsLearn How to Sign up to Coursera courses for free1600+ Coursera Courses That Are Still Completely FreeThese are very unique times for brain research. The aperitif for the course will thus highlight the present “brain-excitements” worldwide. You will then become intimately acquainted with the operational principles of neuronal “life-ware” (synapses, neurons and the networks that they form) and consequently, on how neurons behave as computational microchips and how they plastically and constantly change- a process that underlies learning and memory. Recent heroic attempts to realistically simulate large cortical networks in the computer will be highlighted (e.g., “the Blue Brain Project”) and processes related to perception, cognition and emotions in the brain will be discussed. For dessert we will deliberate on the future of brain research, including the questions of “brain and art”, consciousness and free will. For more information see the course promo below and read “About the course.”