This module explores advanced topics in biological science, from evolution to cell and molecular biology. You’ll learn about fundamental aspects of modern biology through the study of speciation and evolutionary processes, the origin of variation and genome evolution, the control of gene expression and cell behaviour, the life and death of cells, development and ageing. You’ll extend your understanding of these diverse biology topics and further develop your research skills through onscreen practical and scientific literacy activities and at-home investigations.
Biology encompasses all aspects of studying living things, from their ecology and behaviour, physiology and anatomy, to their cell biology and molecular composition. You will learn about biological processes operating at different levels - molecular, cellular, organismal and species – and explore key concepts and research methodologies in these areas. The module is presented as a series of eight topics, alongside a closely related research skills strand.
Topic 1: Species and Speciation
Here, you will consider the enormous diversity of life on Earth and how it has arisen. You will learn about some of the difficulties in defining species and current thinking on the mechanisms of speciation.
Topic 2: Evolutionary Mechanisms
In this topic, you will study the mechanisms of evolution, examining the processes responsible for the diversity of living things. You will consider how variation in populations, necessary for evolution, is studied and how it changes over time.
Topic 3: Origin of Variation
Except for some viruses, the genomes of all organisms on Earth are composed of DNA. Changes in DNA in individuals are the source of population variation, allowing evolution to occur. Here you will learn how and why changes in DNA occur, and the effect of environmental influences on variation. You will also engage with case studies that illustrate how the molecular basis of variation is studied experimentally.
Topic 4: Genomes and genome evolution
The genomes of different species differ considerably in their content and structure. Considering that all life on earth is believed to have originated from a common ancestor over 3.5 billion years ago, a tremendous amount of genome evolution must have occurred to give rise to the diversity of present-day species. In this topic, you will explore some of the mechanisms by which changes in genes and genomes occur and the methodology by which our current understanding of present-day genome structure and content has been achieved. You will also revisit the subject of Topic 1 to consider how genomic changes can contribute towards speciation.
Topic 5: Gene expression and its control
Whilst its genome determines the characteristics of an organism, the expression of its component genes varies. Whether or not particular genes are expressed in a cell, and the level of their expression, are determined by various control mechanisms. These mechanisms, which can operate over a range of time frames and at different stages, produce the remarkably different cells present in multicellular organisms and determine the behaviour and properties of all cells. In this topic, you will learn about the various types and levels of control of gene expression – the subtle and the less subtle.
Topic 6: Controlling cell behaviour
All organisms, whether unicellular or multicellular, must respond to their ever-changing environment to survive and flourish. In this topic, you will learn about some of the fundamentals of cell signalling - how cells detect and respond to physical changes and chemical cues occurring around and within them. To develop your understanding of common principles that apply to all cell signalling processes, you will explore, in some detail, a particular signalling pathway that operates in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Topic 7: Life and Death of the Cell
This topic looks at fascinating biological processes that occur at the beginning and end of the life of a cell. Cell death is a crucial aspect of life, and without cell death, organisms would not develop or function correctly. Here, you will focus mainly on a form of programmed cell death known as apoptosis. At the other extreme, the subject of stem cells, the undifferentiated cells found in multicellular organisms and from which the many diverse cell types of the organism are derived, is explored. Stem cell biology and cell death processes are intricately associated with development in multicellular organisms, the subject of the next topic.
Topic 8: Development, morphogenesis and ageing
In this topic, you will move from considering processes purely at the cellular level to relating these processes to what happens at the level of the whole organism. You will begin by focusing on the mechanisms that orchestrate embryonic development in multicellular organisms, before turning to the factors that influence the life span of different organisms and those that result in their biological ageing. The topic finishes with a brief consideration of interactions between organisms by discussing the relationship between host organisms and their microbiota (the microbes that live in and on them) and how this can influence the host's ageing.
Research Skills strand
You will be directed here at appropriate points in your study of the module topics to undertake specific activities designed to develop your scientific skills through a mix of ‘at-home’ field-based investigations and onscreen practical and scientific literacy activities. Studying organisms in the field or the laboratory is an essential aspect of biological scientific inquiry. The role of what are known as ‘model organisms’ in biological research is a theme developed in this strand. The essential skills of reading and assessing published research papers and extracting data from scientific databases will also be developed.
There are no formal entry requirements for this module.
At The Open University, we believe education should be open to all, so we provide high-quality university education to anyone who wishes to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential.
Even though there are no entry requirements, you’ll need appropriate knowledge of biology obtained through:
Are you ready for S317?
We recommend that you’ve completed:
And you’re familiar with the biology from:
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
Additionally, an online spoken academic discussion with your tutor will take place and form part of your assessment.
The School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences offers optional laboratory schools in Milton Keynes at an additional cost. Laboratory schools are not part of this module but may be of interest if you wish to gain relevant hands-on laboratory experience.
Further information and instructions for booking are on the SS032 website.
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
Additionally, the website includes:
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying S317 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
Biological science: from genes to species (S317) starts once a year – in October.
It will next start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2028.
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