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Course
Description:
This series of
courses
is an ELECTIVE opportunity for any BCA student and may be taken during
the sophomore through senior year.
The Mol. Bio. 1-3 sequence
is usually taken as three consecutive trimester independent courses
during
the same year (Tri. 1: Mol. Bio. 1;
Tri. 2: Mol. Bio. 2;
and Tri. 3: Mol. Bio. 3).
Each course will be shown on the student transcript as a separate
course. I will
allow students who have completed trimester 1 of Anatomy and Physiology
to enroll in Mol. Bio. 3, 4 or 5 without prior enrollment in Mol. Bio.
1 and
2 because the A&P, trimester 1 curriculum is an introduction to
biochemistry. Mol.
Bio. 4
is offered during Trimester 1 with only one section
offered. Mol. Bio. 5, runs
during trimester 2.
At
any Mol.
Bio. website, you will find a symbol for the SiteMAP 
which if clicked will take you to a very useful index for all of the
Mol.
Bio. courses and any part within each course. Try it, use it, be
happy!
Warning:
Thes are very demanding courses and should be taken by students who are
very serious about the following topics.
The material presented in these courses are explored at a level of
sophistication
equal to that found in college. It is advisable that all pre-pre-med
/ vet / dental students take these courses to enable them to be
comfortable
with the topics when they are required to study them in college.
In addition, any student who is interested in cellular or molecular
biology,
biochemistry or genetic engineering should take this sequence.
DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE JUST BECAUSE IT LOOKS GOOD ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT
OR
YOU THINK THE INSTRUCTOR IS A GOOD TEACHER.
The
most valuable
aspect of the Molecular Biology Experience, according to BCA
alumni,
has been the comfort level that it gives the student when they meet the
material again. Instead of panicking, these students relate that the
college
course has been much easier to withstand. Many of them have
become
teachers for their clueless fellow students.
The Molecular
Biology Experience is offered as shown below:
Pre-requisites:
- Mol.
Bio. 1:
At least concurrent enrollment in 10th grade Biology (AAST / AEDT
students)
or satisfactory completion of a one year 9th grade biology course (ABF
/ ACAHA /
ATCS / AMST / AVPA) is required. The completion of at least one year of
chemistry is highly recommended.
- Mol.
Bio. 2:
Mol. Bio. 1
- Mol.
Bio. 3:
Mol. Bio. 1 and 2 ... or A&P
Trimester 1
- Mol.
Bio. 4:
Mol. Bio. 1 and 2, or 3, or A&P
Trimester 1, or Biochemistry
- Mol.
Bio. 5:
Mol. Bio. 2, 3, or A&P
Trimester 1, or Biochemistry
Course
Foci:
- carbohydrates (Mol. Bio.
1)
- proteins (Mol. Bio.
1 & 2)
- nucleic
acids (Mol. Bio. 1 & 2)
- lipids (Mol. Bio.
2)
Although
it is
possible for a student to drop out of the Mol. Bio Experience
after
Mol. Bio 1, it is recommended that Mol. Bio. 2 be completed. Mol.
Bio 1 has as its focus, carbohydrates and proteins. Assessment
procedures
are listed in the following section about Assessments.
- Mol.
Bio.
3 is a dramatic change from learning about
structure of molecules to their role in metabolism. The study of
metabolism
makes this course a different course because it deals less with
descriptive
biochemistry and more with how the molecules are used in energy
processing.
Therefore, Mol. Bio. 3 has, as a focus, the metabolic pathways needed
to
convert food to a useable form (ATP) that cells
can
use to do their work. This effort thus requires the study of
anaerobic and aerobic metabolism. The assessment process
includes
take-home and in-class exams. (See Assessments
below.) Photosynthesis is not covered in
this course. Those students who wish to study this topic, should
plan to take Advanced Placement Biology in their senior year where the
same textbook is used (although a never edition.)
- the
digestion and absorption of food (Gastrointestinal System) and
- human
Reproductive System.
The
endocrine system uses protein, peptide and steroid hormones to control
the activities of these two complex systems. An understanding of
amino acids, proteins and steroids is therefore an essential foundation
for this course.
- Mol
Bio 5: The Life and Death of Proteins
The addition
of this course is a result of shadowing students in college biology
programs
who have recently graduated from BCA. The topics covered in Mol. Bio. 5
focus on difficult material which I feel should
be introduced at BCA
in order to minimize the discomfort that may come if a student is
required
to wrestle with these topics for a first time in college. Mol. Bio. 5
is open to anyone
- a)
who has taken Mol. Bio. 3,
or
has
completed
- b)
Anatomy
and Physiology,
- c)
Anatomy and Physiology (trimester 1), or
- d)
Biochemistry (GLE) with Dr. DeWitt.
In Mol. Bio. 2, (or A&P or Bio.
Chem.) we explored proteins and protein synthesis is cells, but we did
not dwell on what happens to proteins after they are initially made at
ribosomes. Mol. Bio. 5 explores the multifaceted lives of
proteins, and finally the deaths of proteins in lysosomes or
proteasomes.
Assessments:
- During Mol.
Bio. 1 and Mol.
Bio. 2, each student will be required to
write
three ten-page research papers: A
Useful
Carbohydrate, One of Life's Great Proteins
and A Most Awesome Lipid. In addition, three major examinations
will be taken. Assorted smaller projects will complete the
assignments
including a textbook chapter outline, and crossword puzzles. Although
the material about proteins and nucleic acids is
covered late in Mol. Bio. 1, the assessment is not given
until early in Mol. Bio 2.
- In Mol.
Bio. 3, no research papers are required.
Three
major in-class examinations will be taken, three take-home exams will
be
worked on and one crossword puzzle will be attempted.
-
In Mol.
Bio. 4, assessments include in-class and
take-home exams, current event reviews, and a research paper on a
disease of choice.
- In Mol. Bio. 5, assessments
include a research paper entitled, My Favorite Nobel Prize, current
events reviews, one in-class exam, one take-home exam, and a teaching
project.
Resources:
Paper
Textbooks:
1. For Mol. Bio. 1-3 we
are using:
Biology,
4th
ed.
by Neil Campbell, 1996
This
book
is an older edition of a standard freshman biology college textbook. We
only use one chapter in the book. Most of the resources for
assessments comes from in class notes known as "panels".
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2. For Mol. Bio. 4 we
are using:
Human
Physiology: The Mechanisms of Body Function,
8th
ed. by
Vander, Sherman and Luciano, 2002
This book is a classic college level physiology text used by 1000s of
students since the first edition was published in 1977. The
authors were Dr. DeWitt's graduate program teachers who taught him how
to teach physiology.
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3. For Mol. Bio. 5 we
are using:
Essential
Cell Biology:
An Introduction
to the Molecular Biology of the Cell
by
Bruce
Alberts, Ph.D., Dennis Bray, PhD, Alexander Johnson, Ph.D., Julian
Lewis,
D. Phil., Martin Raff, M.D., Keith Roberts, Ph.D. and
Peter
Walter,
Ph.D.
For
information
about them: AUTHORS
The
book is written
especially for undergraduates in biological sciences, but its content
can
be easily understood and absorbed by advanced secondary school students
who need a basic introduction to the essential topics in modern biology.
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Click
on the book for more
information
from the publisher
including
the Table of Contents.
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Digital
textbook (eTexts):
Your
most important resource is the special computer-based digital textbook
(eText) written especially for this course:
The Biochemistry
and Functions
of the
Molecules of Life
by Don
DeWitt, PhD
For this first
course, you will be responsible for chapters 1-4 which cover the
chemistry
and function of carbohydrates and proteins.
These chapters
are available individually on CD obtained from the instructor.
They are also available on every Macintosh computer in
room 227.
These chapters
can be viewed by using Adobe Persuasion on Mac or PC platforms. A
Persuasion
Player program must also be used to run these chapters.
Persuasion
is an older program that is similar in format to Microsoft's
PowerPoint.
It was originally developed by Aldus but Adobe bought Aldus and then
ceased
development of Persuasion. In the meantime, PowerPoint gained
supremacy.
Unfortunately there is no Persuasion-to-PowerPoint converter program
so
we continue to use Persuasion which still works on both platforms.
FOR ALL ASSESSMENTS
in this course, it is ASSUMED that you have digested the contents of
the
associated chapters.
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Chapter
1: Carb Chem
Chapter
2: Carb Function
Chapter
3: Protein Chem
Chapter
4: Protein Function
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For Mol. Bio
. 2, you will be responsible for chapters 3 - 9 on Proteins,
Nucleic
Acids and Lipids.
In the study
of proteins, the process of protein synthesis is intimately linked to
the
third class of molecules known as nucleic acids which include DNA and
RNA.
Chapters 5 and 6 are under development at this time but are also
available
in webpage format which may be found at the Download Center. Most of
this
material will be tested during the first month of Mol. Bio. 2 on the
Proteins/Nucleic
Acids Exam.
The major topic
of study in Mol. Bio. 2 is about the fourth type of Molecule of Life:
the
Lipids class of molecules. This class is subdivided into:
Chapter 7: Fats, Membrane Lipids, and Waxes,
Chapter 8: Terpenes
Chapter 9: Steroids
Our focus
will be on chapters 7 and 8. The steroid information in chapter 9
can be useful for the Lipids Research Paper however.
In general,
there can be more than 100 pages per chapter and there is more
information
in these programs than is expected on an in-class exam. However the
advanced
information will be useful for your take-home questions, research
papers,
and the in-class crossword puzzles which are taken open-book
style.
These programs
are available for student use ONLY and should not be given to any other
person.
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Chapter
7: Lipids: Fats, etc
Chapter
8: Lipids: Terpenes
Chapter
9: Lipids: Steroids
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During Mol.
Bio. 3, no eTexts will be used.
During
this
advanced course, class notes and the paper textbook are THE essential
resources.
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Useful eTexts for this course are the Lipids (Chapters
9) chapter on Steroids.
However, your
textbooks and class notes are your major survival resources.
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Chapter
9: Lipids: Steroids
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Useful eTexts for this course are the Proteins
(Chapters 3-4) chapters.
They are available through the MolBio
Download Center.
However, your
textbooks and class notes are your major survival resources.
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Chapter
3: Protein Chem
Chapter
4: Protein Function
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Internet
resources:
A
multitude
of information can be found on the webpage for each trimester as listed
below. It is easier to access those resources via the Mol.
Bio. Website Map.
For
more information
about the course, including assignments and due dates, please click on
one of the choices listed below:
|
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below to go somewhere
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To
access
Assignment Due Dates,
move
to
the appropriate course (1
- 5) shown above.
To
obtain
a black on white PRINTABLE version of this page,
click on the upper right Printable Version button in the menu
above.
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