School of Life Sciences

This blog is continuation of previous blog dated 2nd November, 2010.

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AUT/SPR

Core course

Cell and Molecular Biology (C7004)

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The Cell and Molecular Biology (C7004) course is offered to the students who have registered for the following UG programmes. and it will run in autumn as well as spring term.

• Biochemistry (BSc)
• Biochemistry (with a sandwich year) (BSc)
• Molecular Genetics (BSc)
• Molecular Genetics (with a sandwich year) (BSc)
• Molecular Medicine (with a sandwich year) (BSc)
• Molecular Medicine (BSc)

Therefore number of students attending the lectures on Cell and Molecular Biology is very high (nearly 200-250) and the lectures are held in the Lecture Theater. All the courses offered are coded. The Cell and Molecular Biology Course code number is C7004. For every course, the course details are mentioned under the following heads.

• Core
• Outline
• Resources
• Assessment
• Teaching
• Contacts

When we click on core it will provide us the information about-

Level 1 (means it is offered for the First Year)
24 credits
Autumn and spring terms
If we click on outline it will provide us the information on-

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, a successful student should be able to: 1. Summarise basic aspects of nucleic acid structure and function and describe fundamental mechanisms of transcription and translation in bacteria and eukaryotes. 2. Describe the basic principles of how gene expression is regulated. 3. Summarise the basic principles of protein structure and function. 4. Identify key structures in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and demonstrate knowledge of the functions of organelles and cells and the biological process to which they contribute. 5. Demonstrate understanding of the regulation of basic cellular processes. 6. Demonstrate a variety of laboratory methods and basic practical skills to study cells and biomolecules and the ability to process and analyse data.

Course Outline

Autumn term topics include: (1) The origin of life and the basic chemistry of life; (2) Nucleic Acids: basic structure and abundance of nucleic acids; primary and secondary structures; DNA replication and repair; (3) Gene structure, transcription and translation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; (4) The genetic code and the effect of mutations; (5) Gene regulation by repressors and activators of transcription; (6) Structure and function of proteins including primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures, protein conformation and its relation to biological activity, protein folding and denaturation; (7) Enzymes and the molecular basis of their activity; (8) Laboratory classes: nucleic acid isolation; gene regulation in bacteria; protein properties. Spring term topics include: (1) The basic organization of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells; (2) The organization and structure of chromatin, the nucleus, nuclear envelope, and nuclear inport/export; (3) Protein sorting and transport, the secretory apparatus, and mechanisms of exo- and endo-cytosis; (4) The origin, structure and function of mitochondria and chloroplasts; (5) Components and function of the cytoskeleton; (6) The plasma membrane, permeability and transport; (7) The extracellular matrix and cell interactions; (8) the cell cycle. (9) Laboratory classes: microscopy; cell biology.

If we click on Resources, we find-

Study Direct: C7004
View timetable

 Study Direct permits only the students who have offered for the course (user has to log in with PIN and password) and it will allow to view/download the course out line including lectures, practicals, tutorials and quizzes. Most important is power point presentation of the lectures and its podcast is also available for students. Dr. Mark Paget, Prof. Trevor Beebee, Dr. Louise Serpell are teaching this course.

Timetable:

Course	Year	Activity	Tutor	Day	Start	End	Room	Week Pattern
C7004	10/11	1y Cell and Molecular Biology (L1)/01		Tue	15:00	16:00	CHI-LT	111111111
C7004	10/11	1y Cell and Molecular Biology (L2)/01		Wed	9:00	10:00	CHI-LT	1111111111
C7004	10/11	1y Cell and Molecular Biology (L3)/01		Mon	17:00	18:00	CHI-LT	010101000
C7004	10/11	1y Cell and Molecular Biology (Lab1)/01	ARMSTRONG, J.I; BEEBEE, T.J.C; TITHERADGE, M.A	Thu	9:00	12:00	JMS-3B5	1011111100
C7004	10/11	1y Cell and Molecular Biology (Lab1)/02	ARMSTRONG, J.I; BEEBEE, T.J.C; TITHERADGE, M.A	Thu	14:00	18:00	JMS-3B5	1011111100
C7004	10/11	1y Cell and Molecular Biology (Prelab1)/01		Thu	16:00	17:00	CHI-LT	0100000000
C7004	10/11	1y Cell and Molecular Biology (X1)/01		Mon	13:00	14:00	PEV1-1A7	0000000001
C7004	10/11	1y Cell and Molecular Biology (X1)/01		Mon	13:00	14:00	RICH-AS3	0000000001
C7004	10/11	1y Cell and Molecular Biology (X1)/02		Thu	11:00	12:00	PEV1-1A7	0000000001
C7004	10/11	1y Cell and Molecular Biology (X1)/02		Thu	11:00	12:00	RICH-AS3	0000000001

Assessment:  The assessment for this course is going to be

Type	Timing	Weighting
Coursework		100.00%
Practical Report	Autumn Week 9	15.00%
Test	Autumn Week 10 (1 hour)	35.00%
Practical Report	Spring Week 9	15.00%
Test	Spring Week 10 (1 hour)	35.00%

Resit mode of assessment

Type	Timing	Weighting
Unseen Examination	Summer Vacation (2 hours)	100.00%

Timing

Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.

Weighting

Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.


Teaching:
The teaching programme for this is going to be-

Term	Method	Duration	Week pattern
Spring Term	CLASS	2 hours	0000000001
Autumn Term	LECTURE	1 hour	0010101000
Autumn+Spring Terms	LECTURE	1 hour	2222222222
Autumn Term	TUTORIAL	1 hour	0010010010
Spring Term	LECTURE	1 hour	1000010100
Spring Term	TUTORIAL	1 hour	0100100100
Autumn Term	LABORATORY	4 hours	0000000001
Spring Term	CLASS	2 hours	0000000001
Spring Term	LABORATORY	4 hours	2200022220

How to read the week pattern

The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.
Contacts:

Dr Robert Ray

Assess convenor, Convenor
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/profiles/146095

Dr Mark Paget

Assess convenor, Convenor
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/profiles/117009

Reading. The essential text for the course (autumn and spring terms) is:

Essential Cell Biology

3rd Edition (2009)

Bruce Alberts, Dennis Bray, Karen Hopkin, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, Peter Walter

Garland Sciences

ISBN: 978-0-8153-4130-7

Autumn Term Lectures

Tuesday lectures: 3-4pm, CHI-LT. 

Wednesday lectures: 9-10am, CHI-LT.

Monday lectures: 5-6pm.

Reading: Essential Cell Biology (Alberts et al)

Week	Date	Lecture	Reading
1
	Tues 5 Oct	Course Introduction (MP)	26-33
	Wed 6 Oct	The chemistry of life (MP)	39-50;58-63
2
	Tues 12 Oct	Nucleic acids - the basics (TB)	74-75; 172-175; 232-236
	Wed 13 Oct	Primary and secondary structures of nucleic acids (TB)	316-317; 177-178; 332-333.
3
	Mon 18 Oct	Nucleic acids - Practical introduction (TB)	330-331
	Tues 19 Oct	Tertiary and Quaternary Structures of nucleic acids (TB)	184-188; 251-254.
	Wed 20 Oct	DNA replication – the basics (TB)	200-209
4
	Tues 26 Oct	DNA replication – regulation and repair (TB)	212-216
	Wed 27 Oct	Introduction to proteins (LS)	55-56; 119-120
5
	Mon 1 Nov	Protein properties - Practical introduction (AvA)
	Tues 2 Nov	Transcription (MP)	232-240
	Wed 3 Nov	Protein Primary Structure (LS)	72-73;121-127
6
	Tues 9 Nov	Gene structure and mRNA processing (MP)	240-246
	Wed 10 Nov	Protein Secondary and Tertiary Structure (LS)	127-135
7
	Mon 15 Nov	The Lac operon – Practical introduction (NC)	275-277
	Tues 16 Nov	Transcriptional regulation in bacteria (MP)	269-277
	Wed 17 Nov	Protein Quaternary Structure (LS)	135-143
8
	Tues 23 Nov	Transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes (MP)	278-286
	Wed 24 Nov	Protein Folding and Function (LS)	124-125
9
	Tues 30 Nov	The genetic code (MP)	246-251
	Wed 1 Dec	Translation (MP)	251-260
10
	Thur 9 Dec	End of term test – time and venue to be announced

(TB) Prof Trevor Beebee    (LS) Dr Louise Serpell    (MP) Dr Mark Paget 

(AvA) Dr Alexander Van Aken        (NC) Dr Neil Crickmore

Lecture Synopses

Lecture	Synopsis
Course Introduction (MP)	Overview of course structure; prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells; model organisms.
The chemistry of life (MP)	Chemical bonds – ionic and covalent; chemical composition of cells; small organic molecules; macromolecules.
Nucleic acids - the basics (TB)	Cellular DNA and RNA contents; nucleotides, phosphodiester bonds, differences between DNA and RNA
Primary and secondary structures of nucleic acids (TB)	Primary structure – DNA nucleotide sequences. Gene numbers. Secondary structures: DNA double helix; RNA stem-loops. Denaturation of DNA.
Nucleic acids - Practical introduction (TB)	DNA purification - investigating size, quantity and purity of DNA samples.
Tertiary and Quaternary Structures of nucleic acids (TB)	Tertiary structure of DNA – supercoiling. Quaternary structures - RNA and proteins in ribosomes; DNA and proteins in chromosomes.
DNA replication – the basics (TB)	Semi-conservative DNA replication; molecular machinery of replication; organization of replication forks
DNA replication – regulation and repair (TB)	Timing and start-points of DNA replication; problem of DNA “ends”; major DNA repair mechanisms – mismatch, base-excision, nucleotide-excision.
Introduction to proteins (LS)	Proteins in cells; R groups; introduction to structure; functions of proteins; transmembrane, globular and fibrous proteins
Protein properties - Practical introduction (AvA)	Biuret reaction for detecting peptide bonds; Ninhydrin assay for detecting free amino groups; reactive side chains and protein denaturation.
Transcription (MP)	The transcription cycle; RNA polymerase; Bacterial promoters and terminators; eukaryotic promoters.
Protein Primary Structure (LS)	Chemical composition amino-acids; classification of amino acids according to R group; peptide bond; effect of amino acid changes on protein function.
Gene structure and mRNA processing (MP)	Differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic gene structure; capping of mRNA; polyA tails; pre-mRNA splicing.

Secondary and Tertiary Structure (LS)	Secondary and supersecondary structure (e.g. a-helices, b-sheets); hydrogen bonding and other interactions; globular protein structure
The Lac operon – Practical introduction (NC)	Use of spectrophotometric assays to study the control of gene expression; enzyme specific activity; measurement of b-galactosidase activity; mechanisms that underlie the induction of the lac operon
Transcriptional regulation in bacteria (MP)	DNA binding proteins; repressors and activators; allosteric control; attenuation.
Quaternary Structure (LS)	Protein structural classes; non-covalent interactions; hydrophobic effect; protein-protein interactions.
Transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes (MP)	Gene expression underlies differentiation; Regulation from a distance; chromatin modification; combinatorial control of gene expression.
Protein Folding and Function (LS)	Anfinsen’s experiments; Factors that influence protein folding; chaperones; protein aggregation and disease; infectious proteins; techniques for studying protein structure.
The genetic code (MP)	Deciphering the code; Features of the code; the effect of mutations;
Translation (MP)	tRNA synthetases; Ribosome structure and function; initiation; elongation; termination; key differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

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