Hamilton - Most people are familiar with the seven deadly sins - pride, envy, gluttony, lust, wrath, greed and sloth - but could there be molecular solutions for this daily struggle between good and evil? That's what first year bachelor of health sciences students in the undergraduate biology course at McMaster University were asked to find out: their assignment required that they explore the molecular underpinnings of human misbehaviour.

For the project, 181 students were divided into 18 groups, randomly allotted to deal with one of the four deadly sins - sloth, gluttony, lust and wrath. They were expected to read sources to devise molecular ways to counter these sins. Group progress was monitored over 12 weeks by P. K. Rangachari, professor (emeritus) medicine in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and 3M National Teaching Fellow in the BHSc (Hons) program. Randomly selected students were not only regularly questioned about the work and its progress but defended their group's approaches to the entire class. Molecules explored included the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, as well as testosterone and others. A final report was graded.

"Coming in as first year students we expected to be told what to do and be guided," said Faysal Naji, 19. "But, we were faced with the challenge of taking a sin - something we never formerly related to biology - and we had to find out how that sin was somehow related to the body's physiological function."

By getting students to think outside the box, the aim was to come up with the best molecule and design for a drug, or remedy, that counteracts sin.

"Arguments were flying left and right," said Naji. To reduce lust, for example, one group suggested targeting testosterone; others chose prolactin or oxytocin. Another group "invented" a wrath-o-meter that would sense changes in brain transmitters that signaled rage attacks and counter that with an automated nasal spray with an anti-wrath drug.

The chosen interventions had to be defensible on scientific grounds. It was in reality an exercise in rationality, logic, synthesis of information and a willingness to transfer learning to something never seen before.

Imaginative solutions offered by the second batch of students included the use of a spray to dispense a molecule to stimulate people to action and targeting pheromones to counter lust.