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CELL BIOLOGY 03-240 SPRING
2011 |
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Cell Biology 03240 Goals
and Expectations The
basic goal of this class is for the student to gain an understanding of how
cells operate, communicate, and control their activities. The level of
understanding that will be pursued spans the spectrum from the
structure/function analysis of single molecules to tissue organization within
a complex organism. Nevertheless, the emphasis will be on how molecules and
their interactions carry out specific cellular processes in six broad areas
of cell biology: membrane function, protein targeting, signaling,
cytoskeletal function, cell division, and cell interaction. Of
course, there is much more to the study of molecular cell biology than the
understanding of how cellular processes are thought to work. There is also
the experimental basis for that understanding. This incorporates diverse
disciplines such as biochemistry, genetics, microscopy and physiology, and
diverse model systems including bacteria, yeast, flies, and cultured
mammalian cells. There is also the clinical relevance of the understanding.
For example, from a molecular understanding of how a process works, we can
see how it fails in disease and how it may be corrected by medical
intervention. Finally, there is also an evolutionary view of how a given
process came to be. Therefore a secondary goal of this class is to impart
some knowledge, as it relates to cell biology, of experimental inquiry, human
disease, and evolutionary thought. The
key expectation of the students follows directly from the basic goal of the
class. Successful students will be able to describe how certain key cellular
processes work. For this the students will use their knowledge of the
essential features of the required molecules and their knowledge of the basic
regulatory mechanisms that govern the interactions of these molecules. This
information will be obtained from the lecture material and it is described in
detail in the text. Most of the exam questions will test this type of
understanding. A
secondary expectation is that the student will begin to understand the
experimental basis of our understanding and, to some extent, be able to
suggest experimental strategies and techniques that might be used to extend
our knowledge in certain areas. Again, this information will be obtained from
lecture and the text, but it will be tested primarily in weekly "open
book" problem sets. Therefore, the problem sets are expected to deepen
the students understanding through the use of analytical and quantitative
skills applied to the cellular processes of interest. This will directly aid
the students understanding of how scientific understanding is achieved and
indirectly bolster the students understanding of the material covered in the
exams. |
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---------------------------------last modified: 9/24/10----------------------------