Biology and Physiology
Full course description
This course introduces the field of biology and physiology. Understanding the basics of biology and physiology is crucial in systems biology. During this course, human physiology, the cell, cellular processes, genetics and evolution will be discussed. You will get acquainted with the different cellular compartments and functions as well as the molecular processes within cells in relation to genetics/genomics and metabolism. Moreover, you will receive hands on experience with basic molecular biological experiments.
Course objectives
The overall aim of this course is to introduce the basic concepts of (molecular) biology and physiology to students with a limited biology background. The student gets an
overview of the basic biological concepts and laboratory experiments important within the field of systems biology.
The topics within this course include:
- Human physiology
- Basic cell biology and cellular organelles
- Genetics and Genomics
- Evolution and Phylogenetics
- Regulation of gene expression (eg epigenetics)
- Membranes and cellular transport
- Cellular Metabolism and Respiration
Intended learning outcomes:
- ILO1002.1 – Describe basic biological concepts discussed in the tutorials and lectures
- ILO1002.2 – Describe basic molecular techniques to analyze DNA, RNA, protein and metabolites
- ILO1002.3 – Identify experimental approaches to generate data needed to answer specific research questions in the field of systems biology
- ILO1002.4 – Perform basic molecular genetic experiments, including Immuno stainings, DNA isolation and PCR
- ILO1002.5 – Analyze and explain data obtained from experiments described in ILO1002.2
- ILO1002.6 – Critically assess experimental procedures used in scientific papers
Recommended reading
Mandatory Literature:
Campbell, Urry, Cain, Wasserman, Minorsky, Reece. Biology: a Global Approach. 11th
edition. Pearson, 2017.
**this is the main book for this course, copies are available at the MaCSBio
library. However, these copies should not leave the MaCSBio department**
Additional Literature:
- Alberts, B. Molecular Biology of the cell
- Edda Klipp, Wolfram Liebermeister, Christoph Wierling, Axel Kowald. Systems Biology: A Textbook, 2nd Edition, ISBN: 978-3-527-33636-4, Wiley-Blackwell, 2016.
Journal Clubs:
Journal club 1: A subcellular map of the human proteome https://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6340/eaal3321
Journal club 2: Genetic diagnosis of Mendelian disorders via RNA sequencing https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15824
Journal club 3: A Genome-wide CRISPR Death Screen Identifies Genes Essential for Oxidative Phosphorylation https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413116304338?via%3Dihub
Online resources:
In this course, Padlet is used as a platform for references to course relevant video and web material. The Padlets provide a convenient way to organize weblinks. To help things started, a few links that contain explanations of the important concepts have been added. We highly recommend you to add materials yourself if you come across
something useful on the web to share with other students. The following walls are available (arranged on topics). Just double click on the wall to add URL’s to the wall.
https://padlet.com/MSB4102/Physiology
https://padlet.com/MSB4102/cell_biology
https://padlet.com/MSB4102/Genetics
https://padlet.com/MSB4102/Evolution
https://padlet.com/MSB4102/membranes_Transport
https://padlet.com/MSB4102/Metabolism_Respiration
- M. Gerards