• Offered by Biology Teaching and Learning Centre
  • ANU College ANU Joint Colleges of Science
  • Course subject Biology
  • Areas of interest Biology
  • Academic career PGRD
  • Course convener
    • Dr Andras Keszei
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Co-taught Course
  • Offered in Second Semester 2018
    See Future Offerings

This course provides an introduction to the molecular and cellular aspects of modern biology, drawing examples from plants, animals and microbes. It introduces the molecules that play a key role in biology, including DNA, proteins, and carbohydrates, then goes on to describe their functions in the cell, and the function of cells at the organismal level. Cell specialisation will be introduced in terms of multicellular organisms and interacting cell networks. Topics to be covered include: the molecules of life; membranes and the uptake of nutrients; proteins, enzymes and metabolism; cellular structure and function; cell specialisation; the control of cell division; The applications of molecular biology will be presented through the importance of model organisms for experimental biology; the regulation of gene experession in model organisms and biotechnological applications such as molecular cloning, sequencing and transgenics. As a capstone unit, the concepts from biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology will be applied to problems in current cancer biology.

Note: Graduate students attend joint classes with undergraduates but will be assessed separately

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
  1. Discuss in depth the elementary biochemistry of the molecules of life and describe in detail the relationship between the structure and function of biomolecules.
  2. Compare the structure and function of cells from different domains.
  3. Discuss the development of cells and the role of cell specialisation in multicellular organisms.
  4. Acquire knowledge and understanding of the processes and application of molecular genetics, including transcription, translation, DNA replication, sequencing, PCR and molecular cloning.
  5. Accurately record raw experimental data and use this to synthesise written reports to present data meaningfully and discuss the significance of results.
  6. Gain experience in biological sequence manipulation in-silico using public sequence databases and manual and automated analysis tools.

Indicative Assessment

Assessment will be based on:
  • Practical Reports and Lab Book (39%; LO 1, 2, 3, 5)
  • Sequence Analysis Project (11%; LO 4, 5, 6)
  • Final Exam (50%; LO 1, 2, 3, 4)

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

Three lectures per week and up to 30 hours of practical classes and tutorial sessions and 8h of online lectures.

Requisite and Incompatibility

You will need to contact the Biology Teaching and Learning Centre to request a permission code to enrol in this course.

Prescribed Texts

Campbell, Reece and Meyers Biology 11th Edition Australian Version. PLEASE NOTE: the text
available at the ANU Co-Op Bookshop contains an access code for Mastering Biology software
that will give you access to supplementary support.

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
2
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2018 $3660
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2018 $5160
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
9828 23 Jul 2018 30 Jul 2018 31 Aug 2018 26 Oct 2018 In Person N/A

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