David Marcey  

Subject Material:

The elaborate interplay of a variety of macromolecules underlies the mechanisms that govern cell function. This course deals with a selection of these mechanisms, those involved in coding and decoding genetic information. Emphasis will be placed on the functional importance of selected protein and nucleic acid structures. It is intended that students emerge from this course with a deep understanding of the molecular machines that control information flow within cells. This course assumes a good understanding of basic molecular genetic mechanisms at the level taught in Biology 7, INTRODUCTION TO GENETICS AND DEVELOPMENT. See DM if you think you might require some remedial reading in this area. Biol 63 is complementary to CELL PHYSIOLOGY, GENETICS, and BIOCHEMISTRY. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY students are encouraged to continue in these classes for a more complete understanding of Molecular and Cellular Biology. 

Texts: 

Supplemental Learning Material:

You will also be provided additional learning aids that are accessable on the WWW or on the local Kenyon network. Many slides and Web pages containing material presented in class can be found online or on the network at p:\data\biology\biol63. Also, there are links on this page to useful supplemental information. See linked resources, below. 

Grading:

Your grade will be determined on a 400 point scale: 

• Three 75 point examinations (take home) 
• One 125 point WWW-based molecular tutorial 
• 50 points of class participation 

Examinations will be designed to test student understanding of concepts, methodologies, and experiments, and will not be based on rote memorization. The three mid-term exams are take-home. Your responses to take home questions must be type-written. You may turn them in as hardcopy or as Wordperfect or Microsoft Word formatted files on 1.44 Mb floppy discs or saved to p:\data\biology\biol63\takehome\name of project. The following criteria are used for assigning grades for written work. 

• "A- to A+": "A" take home exams will demonstrate excellent comprehension of material by lucid explanation, critical analysis, and thorough integration of concepts. "A" exams will have few, if any, grammatical or spelling errors, and will be very well-written. 
• "B- to B+": "B" take home exams will show good to very good comprehension of material and good, but not excellent, integration of concepts and analysis. "B" exams will be well written, but might not have the sparkle of "A" work. "B" work is considered good work in this class. 
• "C- to C+": "C" work is of average to fair caliber, needing improvement in writing style, comprehension, and integration of concepts to be considered "good". "C" work demonstrates partial understanding of important concepts. 
• "D" and "F" work is poorly to very poorly written, and/or shows little to no understanding of concepts. 

The WWW page construction assignment involves building a molecular tutorial in an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) document. You may choose your own molecule, but it must be one of those involved in a central dogma process. You will need to learn RASMOL scripting language to build your tutorial. Handouts on tutorial construction will be provided in the first few weeks of class. You will be required to attend one session outside of class concering web page construction. The project is a WWW-based tutorial on the structure/function relationships of a central dogma or cell-signaling macromolecule of your choice. More information on the project assignment can be found here. 

Your class participation grade will be based on your discussion in class. 

Academic Honesty and Class Conduct:

It is you responsibility to know the guidelines of the college regarding academic honesty and class conduct. READ THE SECTION ON ACADEMIC HONESTY in the 1998-1999 COURSE OF STUDY to familiarize yourself with the college policies, as this course will follow these guidelines. Please be reminded that if you use the words of another person, whether or not you scientifically cite the source in your text, you also must use quotes around those words. It is important to learn to use your own writing to present ideas and syntheses of ideas. 

Learning Disabilities:

If you have a disability and therefore may have need for some type of accommodation(s) in order to participate fully in this class, please feel free to discuss your concerns in private with me AND BE SURE TO CONTACT Dean Martindell at PBX 5145 or via e-mail at MARTINDELLJ.