SCIENCE COMMUNICATION|DESKTOP PUBLISHING (DTP)| WORK-SKILLS| ACTIVE READING| PERSUASIVE WRITING

Can you write a great essay..? Can you be persuasive while remaining factually correct..? The BIOS0006 module draws on core information from Year-1 studies in...

Writing and Presenting Bioscience (BIOS0006)

Can you write a great essay..? Can you be persuasive while remaining factually correct..? The BIOS0006 module draws on core information from Year-1 studies in Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience and introduces the skills and techniques needed to communicate well – not only to the scientific community but also to a wider audience. You will be supervised by a member of staff from the Division of Biosciences or an associated department. The class meets for a number of formal sessions over 2 terms, to introduce core skills and to plan effective writing. Most of the time, students will practice the core skills in their own time, liaising with their supervisor for feedback, and attending Q&A sessions.

Students should gain the following knowledge and skills:

Detailed understanding of a modern theme of scientific research in Physiology, Pharmacology, Neuroscience, or Cell Biology.
	Use of electronic databases to research the literature for information on Bioscience and its related subjects.
	Ability to prepare a scientific dissertation to a specified length and format (as a word-processed document), by a given deadline.
	Ability to give oral and written presentations to both scientific and non-expert audiences.
 

 

GENES|CLONING|MOLECULAR BIOLOGY|GENE EXPRESSION|MOLECULAR MARKERS|GENETICS|DNA SEQUENCING|DNA

“Fundamentals of Molecular Biology” will explain the basic concepts, techniques and uses of modern molecular biology techniques. Practical sessions...

Fundamentals of Molecular Biology (BIOL0008)

“Fundamentals of Molecular Biology” will explain the basic concepts, techniques and uses of modern molecular biology techniques. Practical sessions and associated tutorials will give "hands-on" experience of molecular techniques including electrophoresis, sequencing, cloning and the polymerase chain reaction. The course begins with lectures that introduce molecular biology concepts, or serve as a refresher for students who already have some experience. It then moves into a description of contemporary tools and then applications. Lecturers will explain some of the diverse applications of these techniques, with reference to their own research in fields including metagenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, cell and developmental biology and forensic anthropology.

Indicative lecture topics – based on module content in 2021/22

Introduction to DNA (2 lectures)
	Manipulating DNA (2 lectures)
	DNA analysis (3 lectures)
	Sequencing, and the polymerase chain reaction (3 Tutorials)
	DNA Cloning and libraries (2 lectures)
	Applications of DNA technology (8 lectures)
Learning Objectives

Give students a broad understanding of the principles and applications of modern molecular biological techniques.
	Learn about the structure and properties of DNA, with an emphasis on the practical aspects of DNA manipulation.
	Learn about the properties of the enzymes used in in vitro DNA manipulation and the properties of cloning vectors and the principles of gene library construction.
	Learn about the fundamental techniques of molecular biology: electrophoresis, blotting, sequencing, cloning and the polymerase chain reaction. Practicals will give “hands-on” experience of these techniques.
	Learn about a range of current applications of DNA technology, such as Next Generation Sequencing, to illustrate how the techniques can be applied in very diverse areas of biology, biotechnology, ecology, evolution and medicine.