• Offered by Biology Teaching and Learning Centre and the John Curtin School of Medical Research
  • ANU College ANU Joint Colleges of Science
  • Course subject Biology
  • Areas of interest Cell and Molecular Biology, Plant Science
  • Academic career UGRD
  • Course convener
    • AsPr Tamas Fischer
    • Dr Kai Xun Chan
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Co-taught Course
  • Offered in First Semester 2024
    See Future Offerings

Rapid advances in plant and animal biochemistry over recent years have fundamentally changed fields of science ranging from medicine to agriculture and food security. This course will present these recent advances exploring both the specifics and commonalities that exist in biochemistry when comparing mammalian and plant systems. The medical biochemistry stream will cover topics such as cancer metabolism, personalised immunology, molecular mechanisms related to drug development, ion channel function and aspects of translational medicine.  In the plant stream, topics to be covered include plant disease, CO2 fixation, photosynthesis and climate change. Lectures will be presented from experts from both the John Curtin School of Medical Research and the Research School of Biology. This course offers an excellent opportunity for students to understand how biochemistry impacts everyday life, and expand their knowledge of biochemistry across a platform of diverse and important disciplines.

Learning Outcomes

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

  1. Compare and contrast recent advances in plant and mammalian biochemistry.
  2. Understand the biochemical evolution of photosynthesis and the specific signalling and biochemical processes involved in plant-pathogen interactions.
  3. Understand the role that molecules play in a numbers of disease states and analyse the therapies used to combat these disorders.
  4. Research and read the literature critically to assimilate views on new findings.

Indicative Assessment

  1. Mid semester and Final Exam (50) [LO 1,2,3]
  2. Assignments/Projects (20% for medical & 20% for plant) (40) [LO 1,2,3,4]
  3. Tutorial quizes (10) [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

The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the semester including:

  • Face-to face component which may consist of 3 x 1 hour lectures per week and 1 x 1 hours of tutorial per week throughout the semester.
  • Approximately 75 hours of self-study which will include preparation for lectures, presentations and other assessment tasks.


Students are expected to actively participate and contribute towards discussions.

Inherent Requirements

Not yet determined

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must have successfully completed BIOL2171 and CHEM1201. You are not able to enrol in this course if you have completed BIOL6107.

Prescribed Texts

None

Assumed Knowledge

BIOL2161

Fees

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

Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you 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). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees

Student Contribution Band:
2
Unit value:
6 units

If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found 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
2024 $4440
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2024 $6360
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.

First Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
2778 19 Feb 2024 26 Feb 2024 05 Apr 2024 24 May 2024 In Person View

Responsible Officer: Registrar, Student Administration / Page Contact: Website Administrator / Frequently Asked Questions