Undergraduate Course: Membrane Biology (BICH10009)
Course Outline
| School | School of Biological Sciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | Approximately one third of all known genes encode either membrane proteins or enzymes involved in the synthesis of membrane lipids, reflecting the fundamental importance of membrane-based processes in every living cell. However, despite their importance in cell biology and biomedicine, the structures of membrane proteins have been difficult to determine, and it is only in the last few years that the mechanisms of membrane-bound transporters and channels have become fully accessible at the molecular level. This segment of the course starts with four orientation lectures to revise the principles of membrane structure and the principles of solute - particularly ion - transport. We then explore the emerging structures and often quite remarkable mechanisms of specific membrane proteins, including fusion proteins, ion channels, co-transporters, the mitochondrial ATP synthase and proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Other Study Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
74 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
80 %,
Coursework
20 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Exam |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Membrane Biology | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Relate the diverse range of lipid functions from cellular compartmentalisation to signalling in context of lipid biochemistry.
- Understand the interface of lipid rafts with signalling mechanisms and how they are disrupted in human disease.
- Be able to interpret experiments gauging transmembrane protein structure and function and properties of channel proteins.
- Develop scientific presentation skills from the literature assessment exercise along with an understanding of experimental techniques and disease mechanisms.
- Appreciate how lipids and proteins interface to achieve membrane fusion for exchange of materials between cells e.g. exocytosis, endocytosis, synaptic transmission.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | BIOCHEMMemB |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Eric Schirmer
Tel: (0131 6)50 7090
Email: E.Schirmer@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Linda Goodall
Tel: (0131 6)50 5521
Email: Linda.Goodall@ed.ac.uk |
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