GENERAL BIOLOGY AND BIOLOGY OF MICROORGANISMS A - L

Module APPLIED BIOLOGY

The course aims to provide information to understand the general principles on which life is based. The main educational purposes of the course are the following:
-a knowledge of chemical and molecular fundaments of life
-the study of cell structure and function
-a knowledge of the basic mechanisms of transmission of the genetic information
-the study of the principles of development and differentiation
-a basic knowledge of the biological Kingdoms and of the most relevant model organisms in biotechnology and biomedicine

The main abilities the students should obtain are the following:
- understanding and learning the chemical and molecular bases of life, applying them to the study
of structures and functions of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
- acquiring the basic information about the mechanisms of replication, transmission and expression of genetic information
- understanding and learning the basic principles of energy production and transformation in living cells
- understanding the basic mechanisms of development and differentiation, applying them to more advanced studies of cell biology and biotechnology
- acquiring basic information about living Kingdoms and on the most relevant model organisms in biotechnology and biomedicine
- develop an ability to communicate the acquired information using a correct terminology
- develop the ability to synthesize the relevant information and to analyse in a logic and critical way the acquired information

The course is organized in 35 hours of frontal teaching through lectures with the aid of slides and videos, and 12 hours of practice exercises

If the teaching is given in mixed or remote mode, some necessary changes could be introduced with respect to what was previously stated, in order to comply the program foreseen and reported in the syllabus.

The student must have acquired the basic knowledge in the field of Biology provided by the normal high school curricula.

Mandatory attendance. Attendance of the course is required for at least 70% of the lessons to be admitted to the final exam of the course.

Introduction to biology and methods in the Life Sciences. Origin of life and living kingdoms. Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. General information on the chemistry of living things: carbohydrates and lipids, amino acids and proteins, nucleotides and nucleic acids. Eubacteria and Archeobacteria. Origin of the eukaryotic cell: the animal and plant cell. Eukaryote compartments and organelles: biological entities of uncertain classification. Cell membranes and membrane transport. The eukaryotic nucleus and the structure of the eukaryotic chromosome. Structure and replication of DNA. Transmission of genetic information: the genetic code and the transcription. Ribosomes, translation and protein synthesis. Control of gene expression: post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications. The cytoskeleton and cellular communication. Cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis. Mitochondria and their origin. Elements of cell plant biology. Signal transduction. Apoptosis. Stem cells. Blood cells.

Hillis et al., Fondamenti di Biologia - Zanichelli

Savada et al., Elementi di Biologia e Genetica

It is important to use last issue/edition of the indicated volumes.

Verification of learning will take place with an oral exam at the end of the course.

For the assignment of the final grade, the following parameters will be taken into account: Grade 29-30 laude: the student has an in-depth knowledge of General Biology, can promptly and correctly integrate and critically analyze the situations presented, independently solving problems even of high complexity; has excellent communication skills and masters scientific language. Grade 26-28: the student has a good knowledge of General Biology, manages to integrate and analyze in a critical and linear way the situations presented, manages to solve complex problems quite autonomously and exposes the topics clearly using an appropriate scientific language; Grade 22-25: the student has a good knowledge of General Biology, although limited to the main topics; manages to integrate and analyze in a critical but not always linear way the situations presented and exposes the arguments in a fairly clear way with a discrete language property; Grade 18-21: the student has the minimum knowledge of General Biology, has a modest ability to integrate and critically analyze the situations presented and exposes the topics in a sufficiently clear way although the property of language is poorly developed; Exam not passed: the student does not have the minimum required knowledge of the main contents of the course. The ability to use the specific language is very little or nothing and is not able to independently apply the acquired knowledge. The assessment of learning can also be carried out electronically, if the conditions require it.

Information for students with disabilities and / or SLD

To guarantee equal opportunities and in compliance with the laws in force, interested students can ask for a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and / or dispensatory measures, based on the didactic objectives and specific needs. It is also possible to contact the CInAP contact person (Center for Active and Participatory Integration - Services for Disabilities and / or SLD) of the Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences.

Structure and function of membranes

Role of mitochondria

structure of the genetic code

Structure of the human genome