BINF 4191

Life Sciences and the Law

Law and regulations permeate our daily lives, and nowhere is this truer than in areas of life sciences. This course explores what the law is, how our current laws developed, and factors currently affecting the evolution of the law. It provides a general overview of U.S. law, including constitutional law, criminal law, contract law, tort law, property law (especially intellectual property law), business law (especially legal aspects of forming a new company), and administrative law. It then focuses on specific aspects of the law affecting the life sciences, such as ownership of tissues and organisms, regulation of drugs and medical devices, regulation of research in the life sciences, the history and regulation of medicine, the economics and various types of health care delivery, and food production.

Units: 3.0