Marine Biology (MB) is the study of marine organisms and their relationship with the physical and chemical dynamics of the marine environment. Faculty expertise encompasses several major areas of modern biology including evolutionary, ecological, organismic, physiological, biochemical, and genetic processes of marine animals and microorganisms. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography department offers graduate degrees in Oceanography, Marine Biology, and Earth Sciences. A graduate student's work will be concentrated in one of three tentative program areas: Climate-Ocean-Atmosphere Program, Geosciences of the Earth, Oceans, and Planets, or Ocean Biosciences Program. The interdisciplinary nature of research in marine and earth sciences is emphasized. Students are encouraged to take courses from various UC San Diego departments, and to pursue interdisciplinary research projects. Marine Chemical Biology (MCB) is an interfacial discipline combining the fields of chemistry and biology to study and manipulate biological systems with the use of chemical, biochemical and genetic techniques and tools. Currently most of the investigations in the MCB track are focused on the discovery and application of marine microbial natural products and the study of biochemical processes utilized to create these unique molecules.