Roosevelt Academy Middelburg - Science

SCI 231 Molecular Biology and Cell Biology

Content

Knowledge and understanding of processes in organisms at the molecular and cellular level is indispensable for all biological research fields. Development and improvement of an increasing number of practical applications in agriculture, biotechnology, and medicine, benefit from the science of molecular cell biology. In this course focus will be on the molecular biology of cells as a unifying theme, with specialized topics as examples of general principles. Central in this is how knowledge on molecular cell biological processes is obtained or: how to do research.

The course is divided into five parts:

Part 1 is an introduction in which a general overview of cells and the diversity of genomes is given, as well as a chemistry part in which the small and large molecules in cells are discussed. Focus in this part will be on protein structure and function.
Part 2 will deal with genetic mechanisms ranging from chromosomes to proteins. An important topic will be control of gene expression.
Part 3 is about methods used in molecular and cell biological research. In particular manipulating large biomolecules and visualization of cells. These topics will form the basis for the paper to be written.
Part 4 will give insight in the internal organization of the cell. Important topics are cell communication, the cell cycle, and programmed cell death.
Part 5 places cells in their context. Emphasis will be on cell-cell contact and cancer