Genetics buzz a potent lure

By SIMON COLLINS science reporter

Biology classes are being swamped with students excited about the new science of genetics.

Auckland University has installed a video relay of its stage one biology classes to a second lecture theatre to cope with a 16 per cent jump in first-year students, from 794 last year to 923 this year.

Alex Cardinal, a 17-year-old first-year student from Oratia, said biology was "the most advancing science. So much stuff is coming out, like the human genome project, it's like a really cool time to be doing biology right now".

Alexander Ferguson, 18, of Titirangi, said: "They are discovering things almost daily."

Overall student numbers at the university are up 6.6 per cent this year. The only other area growing almost as fast as biology is business and economics.

Other universities are also reporting increased numbers this year.

Victoria University's biggest increases are in biological sciences and law, with overall domestic students up 4.5 per cent and foreign students up more than 20 per cent.

Massey University said in January that first-year enrolments in its food technology course more than trebled from 20 at the same time last year to 72 this year.

The director of Auckland University's School of Biological Sciences, Professor Joerg Kistler, said his 16 per cent jump in first-year biology enrolments topped a 12 per cent increase last year.

He said the video relay, used for two first-year classes this year, was not ideal.

"In an ideal world, you'd want to have classes that are very small, ideally 1:1 between the professor and the students," he said.

"The world is, of course, far from ideal. The benefit from doing this is that the participation rate in the country from tertiary education has increased hugely, and the vision that more people should get good tertiary education has led to more innovative teaching methods."

Biology lecturer Dr Judy O'Brien said that while many students pushed in front to get into the "live" lecture room B28, others chose to go straight to the video relay in room B15.

"If you come in late, the lecturer is not going to growl at you," she said.

"Also, in B28 I think they feel much more crushed in, so if there is space in B15 they will tend to go there.

"They generally just forget that they are not in a live lecture.

"They laugh at the jokes, they put their hands up at the questions. It's hilarious."

All students have closer access to tutors in laboratory classes, where a tutor and four demonstrators work with 64 students. They are encouraged to email questions to their lecturers. Incoming Royal Society president Dr Jim Watson said last week that there was "huge potential" for future jobs in molecular biology, immunology, computer science and bioinformatics, using computers to analyse biological information such as genetic structures and functions.