CORE 019: Introduction to Molecular Biology
Syllabus

The topic list for this project is: cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, molecular genetics, and genetic engineering.

Prerequisite: CORE 012 or the equivalent.

Instructor: George E. Hrabovsky, george@madscitech.org, 608-276-6832.

Task #1: Start and keep a notebook for your study. This should be bound and have at least 300 sheets. You may need more than one notebook of this size. Smaller notebooks than 300-sheets can be used, but the total number of sheets should be at least 300. Each set of 300 pages started and completed is worth a point towards your final total of 4. To begin your notebook you will need a list of topics. The one listed below is only one possible choice. This choice is the default. Any choice other than this one must be approved by your instructor.

Procedure for the Course

If a topic from the list below is underscored that means there is some resource material for it. If there is no resource material for it then you must develop that for yourself.

It is expected that you will develop one or more questions for each topic. Questions can be of the form who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Once you have written down a set of questions for a topic, you either answer each of these qurestions or you explain how you attempted to answer the question and failed. Don't be alarmed; even some elementary questions resist answering. You can learn a lot just by making the effort.

The next step is to ask a set of new questions based on your previous attempts at answering your first set of questions (this can include those questions you were unable to answer before). Answer each of those questions as best you can and create another set of questions for each answer. Answer each of those to the best of your ability and ask another set of questios for each, but do not answer them right away. If you are really interested in one or more of these questions attempt to answer them in a, "topic of personal interest," session; or you may answer them in a personal research project.

Wherever possible give at least three examples of any definition, principle, or procedure.

This course will require about two and one third pages of notes for each topic to fill a 300 page notebook.

  1. The nature of molecular biology
  2. Experimental molecular biology
  3. Theoretical molecular biology
  4. Computational molecular biology
  5. The first cells
  6. Topic of Personal Interest (including, but not limited to prokaryotes, eucaryotes, chromosomal complement of eucaryotes, asexual and sexual reproduction, mitosis, meiosis, the cell nucleus, cell membrane, intracellular compartments, the cytoskeleton, cell-cycle, cell division, cell junction, cell adhesion)
  7. Topic of Personal Interest.
  8. Topic of Personal Interest.
  9. Review of topics to date
  10. Carbohydrates
  11. Amino acids and peptides
  12. Proteins
  13. Protein structure
  14. Protein function
  15. Protein folding
  16. Lipids
  17. Membranes
  18. Membrane transport
  19. Nucleotides
  20. Nucleic acids
  21. Bioenergetics
  22. Enzymes
  23. Enzyme catalysis
  24. Enzyme kinetics
  25. Metabolism
  26. Carbohydrate metabolism
  27. Glycolysis
  28. Citric acid cycle
  29. Lipid metabolism
  30. Oxidative phosphorylation
  31. Pentose phosphate pathway
  32. Glycogen metabolism
  33. Nitrogen metabolism
  34. Molecular recognition
  35. Protein synthesis
  36. Signal transduction
  37. Molecular motors
  38. Biosynthesis of membranes
  39. Biosynthesis of amino acids
  40. Biosynthesis of nucleotides
  41. Strategy of metabolism
  42. Topic of Personal Interest (including, but not limited to proteins as catalysts, protein formation, assembly of proteins, death of proteins, membrane proteins, carrier proteins, ion channels, electrical properties of membranes, secretory pathways, endocytic pathways, electron-transport chains, enzyme structure, glucose, sequence homology, enzyme inhibition)
  43. Topic of Personal Interest.
  44. Topic of Personal Interest.
  45. Review of topics 10-45
  46. Review of topics to date
  47. Mendelian genetics
  48. Chromosomes
  49. Sex determination
  50. Genes and alleles
  51. Genetic linkage
  52. Bacteria and bacteriophages
  53. Chromosomal DNA
  54. Chromosome structure
  55. Chromosome replication
  56. Extranuclear genetics
  57. Quantitative genetics
  58. Population genetics
  59. Topic of Personal Interest (including, but not limited to sexual cycles, genotypes, variation, polymorphism, phenotypes, multiple alleles, dominance relationships, poygenic inheritance, Hardy-Weinberg law)
  60. Topic of Personal Interest.
  61. Topic of Personal Interest.
  62. Review of topics 47-61
  63. Review of topics to date
  64. RNA synthesis
  65. Genes
  66. Gene mutation
  67. Chromosomal mutation
  68. Transposable elements
  69. Transformation
  70. DNA repair
  71. DNA replication
  72. Conjugation
  73. Recombination
  74. Fine structure
  75. Transcription
  76. RNA translation
  77. The genetic code
  78. Genetic RNA
  79. DNA replication mechanisms
  80. DNA transactions
  81. Hybridization
  82. Regulation of gene function
  83. DNA binding in gene regulatory proteins
  84. Genetic switches
  85. Chromatin
  86. Topic of Personal Interest (including, but not limited to temperature sensitive mutants, gene-protein relations, heterozygotes, the cistron, mutagens, robosomes, mRNA, tRNA, polyribosomes, catabolite repression)
  87. Topic of Personal Interest.
  88. Topic of Personal Interest.
  89. Review of topics 64-88
  90. Review of topics to date
  91. Viruses
  92. Lysogeny and transduction
  93. DNA cloning
  94. DNA engineering
  95. Oncogenes
  96. Topic of Personal Interest (including, but not limited to plasmids, Hershey-Chase experiment, phage precursors, the prophage)
  97. Topic of Personal Interest.
  98. Topic of Personal Interest.
  99. Review of topics 91-98
  100. Review of topics to date

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