APPLIED BIOLOGY M - Z

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 42 hours of frontal teaching through lectures with the aid of slides and videos

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.

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.