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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2019/2020

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Biological Sciences : Biology

Undergraduate Course: The Dynamic Cell 2 (BILG08009)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Biological Sciences CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis core biology course covers the dynamic nature of cells and the metabolic processes that occur in a regulated manner within cells. The lecture material is complemented by a graphics workshop, tutorials, peer feedback session, laboratory practicals and sessions that follow-up some of the practical classes.
Course description To teach:-
- The molecular basis of the cell's dynamic architecture.
- The molecular basis of information storage, and of its flow within and between cells.
- The synthesis and structure of proteins and their interactions with other cellular components
- An understanding of some key molecular machines in the cell.
- The central metabolic pathways and energy harvesting systems in cells.
- The processes whereby proteins molecules are trafficked into, out of, and around the cell.

To help you develop key 'graduate attributes' as follows:-
- You will deepen your knowledge and understanding of the cell. Your lecturers are research scientists active in the field with cutting-edge knowledge. They will share their enthusiasm for understanding cell biology at a fundamental level.
- You will gain experience of research and enquiry in the graphics workshop, in laboratory sessions, by tackling the in-course assessed problem, by engaging with your tutors and demonstrators, and by reading around the topics in your lectures.
- You will develop the personal and intellectual autonomy needed to enhance your capacity for life-long and independent learning through: preparing for the multiple-choice test that requires you to independently revise material in the course book; attempting previous years¿ exam questions ahead of the tutorials in which answers are discussed; and gathering and processing the prerequisite information and then tackling challenging questions set as part of the assessed problem.
- We encourage you to develop the communication skills essential for every scientist by working as pairs or groups in the workshop, practical sessions and tutorials, through questioning demonstrators, tutors and lecturers whenever clarification is needed, and through participating in the discussion page on the course Learn site when you undertake the assessed problem.
- You will also have the opportunity to hone your writing skills in writing up laboratory practical sessions and when summarising the science in the assessed problem.
- This course has multiple components, some running in parallel, so you will need to work to tight deadlines and organise and summarise your thoughts and material in a flexible and accessible way, thus helping you develop the tools needed to maximise personal effectiveness.
- In the laboratory practical sessions we will teach some modern experimental techniques, how to design good experiments with appropriate controls, skills in the recording, analysis and interpretation of data, an appreciation of the importance of reproducibility and statistical significance, good laboratory practice and awareness of health and safety; we will thus equip you with technical and practical skills that are required for many jobs in a range of sectors.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed ( Introductory Chemistry for Biologists (CHEM07001) OR Biological Chemistry 1A (CHEM08022)) AND Biological Chemistry 1B (CHEM08023)
It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed Quantitative Skills for Biologists 1 (BILG08019) AND Molecules, Genes and Cells 1 (BILG08015)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesEquivalent of the courses listed above
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 30, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 3, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 11, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 4, Summative Assessment Hours 5, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 143 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 65 %, Coursework 35 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Degree examination in December.
Examination 65%,
In-course assessed (ICA) components 35%
The ICA work consists of 10% for a multiple choice test, 25% for an assessed problem.
Feedback Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Resit Exam Diet (August)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand the molecular basis of the cell's dynamic architecture.
  2. An understanding of some key molecular machines in the cell.
  3. The processes whereby proteins molecules are trafficked into, out of, and around the cell.
  4. The molecular basis of information storage, and of its flow within and between cells.
  5. How cells respond to the environment and behave in a multicellular context.
Reading List
Do not buy any of these until you have looked at them and decided which, if any, is suitable for you. You should probably own at least Berg, Tymoczko and Stryer and one from each category. Make sure you get the latest edition. Nearly all these books are bundled with CDs and dedicated websites.
No textbook will include all of the material covered in lectures. It is essential you attend lectures.

Molecular/biochemical aspects:-
W.H. Elliott and D.C. Elliott Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Oxford.
T. McKee and J.R. McKee Biochemistry: the Molecular Basis of Life McGraw¿Hill.
Nelson DL and Cox MM Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry.Freeman.
J.M. Berg, J.L. Tymoczko and L. Stryer Biochemistry Freeman. A classic - the ¿Bible of Biochemistry undergraduates¿.
C. Branden and J. Tooze Introduction to Protein Structure Garland.

Cellular aspects:-
T.D. Pollard and W.C. Earnshaw Cell Biology Saunders.
B. Alberts, et al. The Molecular Biology of the Cell Garland Science.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills To help you develop key graduate attributes as follows:
You will deepen your knowledge and understanding of the cell as detailed above. Your lecturers are research scientists active in the field with cutting-edge knowledge of the material they deliver. They will share their enthusiasm for understanding biology at a fundamental level.
You will gain experience of research and enquiry in the practical sessions, by tackling the assessed problem, by engaging with your tutors and demonstrators, and by reading around the topics in your lectures.
You will develop personal and intellectual autonomy that will enhance your capacity for life-long and independent learning through studying for the multiple-choice test based on the self-taught material in the Appendix of this course book, through preparing for tutorials, and through the work involved in successfully addressing question set as part of the assessed problem.
We encourage you to develop the communication skills essential for every scientist via working as pairs or groups in practical sessions or tutorials, and through participating in the discussion page on the course Learn site when you undertake the assessed problem.
You will also have the opportunity to hone your writing skills when summarising the science in the assessed problem.
This course has multiple components, some running in parallel, and you will need to organise and summarise your thoughts and material in a flexible and accessible way thus helping you developing the tools needed to maximise your personal effectiveness.
In the practical sessions we will teach you modern experimental methods, the rudiments of experimental design, data recording and analysis and interpretation skills, good laboratory practice and awareness of health and safety; thus equipping you with technical and practical skills that are required by many employers.
Special Arrangements It is possible, upon request, for TDC students to avoid being assigned to TDC classes after 13.50 on Weds.
Note: it is NOT possible for TDC students to have any commitments between 10.00 and 13.00 on Weds.
Additional Class Delivery Information Practical W 1000-1300, 1400-1700 or F 1400-1700 alt. weeks
Tutorial (90 mins) W 1115 or 1430 some weeks only.
Peer feedback session (90 minutes) 1115 or 1430 some weeks only
Workshop (75 minutes) W 1000, 1115, 1400 or 1515 some weeks only
Follow-ups 1000-1050 alt. weeks

First lecture in Swann LT 12:00-12:50 Monday 16th Sep.
KeywordsTDC2,biochemistry,molecular biology,protein structure,cell biology
Contacts
Course organiserProf Paul Barlow
Tel: (0131 6)50 4727
Email: Paul.Barlow@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryDr Caroline Aspinwall
Tel: (0131 6)50 5521
Email: Caroline.Aspinwall@ed.ac.uk
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