Cell and Molecular Biology 310Winter 2015

Course description

From the course catalog: “Cellular processes and molecular interactions, including transport, chemical signaling, cell-cell adhesion, intercellular communication, support and movement, energy conversions, digestion, assembly of macro-molecules and organelles, gene control in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.”

--additional items: training in experimental logic, reading primary literature, and exposure to critical techniques for cell biology.

Instructor

Andrew Steele, PhD

Office: Building 8-126 (note that I will often have office hours in my lab, 8-142)

Lab: Building 8-142

Please note that my office is a little difficult to find because it's in a narrow corridor of faculty offices on the first floor of building 8. The corridor has a door on either end labeled "faculty offices". Within this narrow corridor you will find room for room 126.

Phone: x2480; (909) 869 2480 from off campus

Email:

Office hours: Tuesdays 1:30-3:00; Wednesdays 1:30-3:00, and Fridays 1:30-2:30; and by appointment.

I’m glad to meet with student outside of my office hours as I realize that many of you will be scheduled during these times.

Class Sessions

Class Mon/Wed/Fri 11:45-12:50

Building 162room 1002

Classes consist of lectures and some time will be devoted to problem solving. Attendance and participation are required. Please do your best to read the assigned material prior to class and watch any introductory videos that will be posted.

iclickers are required for this course. If you do not already own an iclicker then please purchase or borrow an iclicker2. Older version of the iclicker will work fine for our purposes.

Extra credit quizzes will be administered using iclickers and you will not be awarded points if you do not have one. There are two types of clicker questions: “quizzes” which are done independently and “discussion questions” where you are allowed to discuss with your peers (and me!) before answering.

Note: use of cell phones is not permitted during class. If you need to use your phone please leave class. I will take away your extra credit points if I am distracted by your phone use during lecture.

Readings and Textbook

Textbook:Essential Cell Biology (4th Edition). Alberts et al.

Note: ESB is a condensed version of Molecular Biology of the Cellby the same authors. If you already have Molecular Biology of the Cell then it is not necessary to purchase ESB.

Additional sources: There will also befour research articles assigned and posted under course documents on the blackboard site. For immunology reading I will upload two immunology chapters from Molecular Biology of the Cell to the blackboard site (Chapters 24 and 25).

Digital Resources

All lecture slides, videos, and problem sets will be posted on the Blackboard website for Bio 310. Lecture slides will be posted before class whenever possible. I will email the class from time to time so please check your email daily.

Problem Sets

Suggested problems are given 7-10 days before exams. It is essential that you complete the problem sets before the exam review session, which are scheduled by voting. Similar—even identical—problems will appear on exams. Please do the problem sets in small groups or with a study partner. Also, come to office hours to make sure you have the correct answers or if you need help.

Exams

There are twoexams and one final in the course; they will cover material from lectures, problem sets, and assigned reading (including primary research articles). The final exam will be comprehensive but weigh most heavily on the last third of the course. There are no ‘make up’ exams. For exams we will use scantron® 882-E for multiple-choice questions. There will also be essay and short answer questions on exams. Exams are about 50% multiple choice and 50% short answer questions.

Writing assignment

There is one writing assignments due on 3/9/15 (indicated in the course schedule below). The goal of this assignment is to help you learn how to convey cell biological research to the general public, as if you were writing for a newspaper or a magazine. There is a 2-page limit to this assignment (single spaced). More information on the writing assignments, including an example, will be distributed during class and posted on blackboard.

Grading

Point distribution in the course

200Exams (100 points each)

200Final Exam

100“science in the news” article

500Total

Grading: Grading will be on a traditional scale where >93% is an A, 90-92% is an A-, 87-89% is a B+, and so on.<65% is failing.

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism, cheating, copying, and the like will not be tolerated and will be reported to judicial affairs. Please ask if you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism in science.Please review the info at the following link:

Course Schedule

Date / Topic / Reading
1 / 1/5/15 / Introduction
2 / 1/7/15 / Microscopic Methods; Model Systems;Proteins / Chapter 1 p. 1-12, 19-21, 26-34
3 / 1/9/15 / Proteins; Molecular chaperones; heat shock response / Chapter 2 p. 47-48, 62-63, 68, 74-75, 78-79
Chapter 4 p. 121-141,162-63, 167
4 / 1/12/15 / Chromosomesand regulation of gene expression / Chapters 5p. 179-192
5 / 1/14/15 / Central dogma; Protein turnover / Chapters7p. 223-250<-skim; 250-252
Chapter 8 p. 262-273, 280-84
6 / 1/16/15 / Circadian rhythm: transcriptional and translational feedback loops / McDearmon et al., (2006) “Dissecting the functions of the mammalian clock protein BMAL1…” Science
7 / 1/21/15 / Membranes / Chapter 11 p. 359-368
8 / 1/23/15 / Membrane proteins / Chapter 11 p. 369-380
9 / 1/26/15 / Membrane transport and electrical properties / Chapter 12p. 383-392; 396-399; 403-411; 414-15
10 / 1/28/15 / Exam #1
11 / 1/30/15 / Intracellular compartments/protein sorting / Chapter 15p. 487-511; 517-519
12 / 2/2/15 / Secretory pathway / Chapter 15p. 487-511; 517-519
13 / 2/4/15 / Secretory pathway II / Block et al. “Purification of an N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive protein…”(1988) PNAS
14 / 2/6/15 / Cell Signaling / Chapter 16p. 525-547; 552-553
15 / 2/9/15 / Cell Signaling II / Chapter 16p. 525-547; 552-553
16 / 2/11/15 / Cytoskeleton / Chapter 17p. 565-579; 583-590
17 / 2/16/15 / Cell Adhesion and ECM / Chapter 20 p. 688-704
18 / 2/18/15 / Cell Cycle / Chapter 18p. 603-617
19 / 2/20/15 / Cell Cycle II / Chapter 18p. 603-617
20 / 2/23/15 / Exam #2
21 / 2/25/15 / Apoptosis / Chapter 18 p. 634-640
22 / 2/27/15 / Apoptosis and Cancer / Paper: Kuida et al (1998) Reduced apoptosis and cytochrome…” Cell 94: 325
Chapter 20 p. 712-724
23 / 3/2/15 / Cancer II / Chapter 20 p. 712-724
24 / 3/4/15 / Cancer Metabolism / Paper: Flavahan et al (2013) “Brain tumor initiating cells…” Nature Neuroscience
25 / 3/6/15 / Stem Cells; Publication in biosciences / Chapter 20 p. 705-712
26 / 3/9/15 / Innate immunity
Writing assignment due / Molecular Biology of the Cell Ch 24 p. 1485-86; 1504-12; 1524-36
Available on blackboard
27 / 3/11/15 / Adaptive immune system / Molecular Biology of the Cell Chapter 25 1539-76
Available on blackboard
28 / 3/13/15 / Adaptive immune system II; Wrap up
29 / TBD / Final Exam

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