BMB544: Fundamental cell biology

Students taking this course are expected to:

• Have knowledge of math corresponding to Danish high school A-level
• Have knowledge of chemistry corresponding to Danish high school B-level

The overall aim of BMB544 is to introduce the student to the structure and function of cells, from the basics, including different groups of macromolecules through the structure of the cell, metabolic pathways and respiration to genetics and cell communication. Altogether, this will create a strong foundation for the students, and give them a broad general knowledge of the important concepts and theories within biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology.

In addition, it is the aim for course to bridge high school and university teaching, to provide a good start for the students both academically as well as ensuring the right level of competencies.

The course builds on the general admission requirements for a the bachelor programs Biochemistry and molecular biology, Biomedicine and chemistry. The course is a prerequisite for subsequent courses in biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB531, BMB532, BMB533) for biochemistry and molecular biology students. It is a prerequisite for the courses in bioorganic chemistry and chemical biology  (KE546, KE547) for chemistry students.

In relation to the competence profile of the degree it is the explicit focus of the course to:

• Understand how scientific knowledge is obtained through interactions between theory and experiment
• Use a number of laboratory techniques, including techniques within the field og biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, anatomy, histology, and immunological techniques
• Have knowledge of theories and experimental methods  within the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology
• Have knowledge of the scientific terminology used in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology
• Be able to approach and take part in scientific and cross-disciplinary collaborations professionally.
• Handle complex and development orientated situations in both studies and future employment
• Identify own learning need, and structure self learning in different learning environment
• Evaluate theoretical and practical scientific problems and use relevant analysis and solutions, and make and justify science based decisions
• Describe, formulate and disseminate scientific problems and results to colleagues, other scientists, collaborators and users.
• Knowledge of current environmental challenges and the chemical methods used to model an evaluate these, as well as knwoledge of fundamental biochemistry
• Knowledge of safety aspects of laboratory work

The learning objectives of the course is that the student demonstrates the ability to:

• Describe the structure of cells and he function of essential organelles
• Describe cell division and how it relates to inheritance
• Account for the basic genetic laws, and carry out simple inheritance calculations based on these
• Recognize and name functional groups in biological macromolecules and account for there chemical structure
• Outline the mechanism behind non covalent forces acting on biomolecules and explain the significance of these in determining the structure
• List central metabolic pathways and explain their importance for the energy and matter turnover of the cell
• Recognize common chemical reactions in metabolic pathways
• Account for the flow of genetic information in a cell, including regulation of gene expression
• Consider experimental design and control experiments from the theory of science perspective
• Relate theoretical knowledge to practical experiments and observations
• Work independently and safely in a laboratory, including safe handling of chemicals
• Take notes, work reproducibly  and use standard curves in connection to laboratory work

The following main topics are contained in the course:

• Cell structure and function, including the function of different intracellular organelles and biomembranes
• Cell cycle, meiosis and mitosis
• Genetics
• The structure and function of biomolecular macromolecules
• Metabolism
• Photosynthesis
• The flow of information from gene to protein

• Intro phase: 26 hours
• Skills training phase: 34 hours, including: tutorials: 26 hours and laboratory exercises: 8 hours

• Work in study groups, using cooperative learning
• Preparation for tutorials
• Writing repots based on lab exercises