Syllabus

Post Baccalaureate in Pre-Health

BIOL 1055: Molecular Biology – 6-week – Summer 2 – 2023

Credits - 3

Description

This course will introduce and emphasize on the basic concepts of molecular biology and the application of these concepts in the medical field. The knowledge attained in the course will be used to understand human diseases. Topics include knowing about biomolecules like DNA, RNA and proteins, central dogma, DNA replication, DNA repair and regulation of gene expression. Each of these topics will be explored through course readings, video lectures, case studies, journal clubs, discussions forums and digital concept mapping. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of molecular biology concepts through quizzes and a cumulative final exam.

Materials

Textbooks

Molecular Biology of the Cell by Alberts, 6th edition. (Recommended Book)

Resources

Buttons and ribbons for Hands on DNA activity.

Webcam

An external webcam is required for proctored exams. If you do not have one, you may order one here: External Webcam.

Dry-Erase Whiteboard with Marker and Eraser (Optional But Highly Recommended for Proctored Exams)

This course permits the use of an 8″ x 11″ dry-erase whiteboard for scratch work during one or more of your proctored exams. No scratch paper is permitted. 

 

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Program Outcomes

In lecture courses, students should be able to:

  • Communicate scientific concepts and information clearly.
  • Illustrate fundamental laws, theories, and principles of scientific disciplines.
  • Apply knowledge and critical thinking skills to scientific problems.

Course Objectives

After completing this course, students will be able to:

  1. Describe the structure and function of biomolecules like DNA, RNA and proteins.
  2. Illustrate how the information flows from DNA to RNA to proteins in prokaryotic and eukaryotic system.
  3. Explain how alterations/ mutations at genetic level affect proteins and causes human disease.
  4. Describe and illustrate the significance of DNA replication process for cell division.
  5. Explain the importance of fidelity of the process of DNA replication.
  6. Identify the protein machinery involved in DNA replication process in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
  7. Describe the involvement of DNA repair mechanisms in response to the effect of DNA mismatch and DNA damage both in prokaryotic and eukaryotic system.
  8. Discuss different kinds of genetic recombination processes and their significance.
  9. Describe and illustrate regulation of gene expression at different levels in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic system.
  10. Describe how molecular biology techniques like PCR, sequencing, microarrays, DNA fingerprinting and CRISPR etc.are used in the medical field.

Assignments

The assignments will include weekly quizzes and 4 tests. Before taking quizzes and tests students can get an experience by making use of provided practice questions. There are assignments associated with weekly online activities which include Ted Talks, case studies, concept maps, discussion forums, journal club and virtual lab. At the end of the course there will be a proctored final exam. The duration of exam is 30 minutes and no resources will be allowed during the exam.

This Final Exam must be taken through ProctorU. See UNE’s ProctorU page for information about signing up and scheduling your exam. A UNE-compliant external camera is required.

 

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignment CategoryPoints
Quizzes420 points
Tests225 points
Activities (Concept Mapping, Case Studies, Ted Talk Reflections, Journal Club, Virtual Lab, DNA hands-on activity)255 points
Virtual Exam100
Total1,000 points

Grade Scale

Grade Points Grade Point Average (GPA)
A 94 – 100% 4.00
A- 90 – 93% 3.75
B+ 87 – 89% 3.50
B 84 – 86% 3.00
B- 80 – 83% 2.75
C+ 77 – 79% 2.50
C 74 – 76% 2.00
C- 70 – 73% 1.75
D 64 – 69% 1.00
F 00 – 63% 0.00

Schedule

Course Schedule:

Week 1: short week – Jul 5 – Jul 9
Week 2: Jul 10 – Jul 16
Week 3: Jul 17 – Jul 23
Week 4: Jul 24 – Jul 30
Week 5: Jul 31 – Aug 6
Week 6: short week – Aug 7 – Aug 11

Week

Topic

Readings/Resources

Assignments

Due

1

Module 1: DNA and RNA

Module 2: Proteins

Chapter 4, Chapter 3

Supplemental Material

Videos

TED Talk Reflections

Online DNA activity

Hands-on DNA model activity

Homology Modeling

Game Foldit

Quizzes

TED Talk Reflection is due Friday at 11:59 PM.

All other assignments due Sunday at 11:59 PM. 

2

Module 3: Central Dogma: Fundamentals

Module 4: Central Dogma: Transcription

Module 5: Central Dogma: Translation

Module 6: Mutations

 

Chapters 6, 23

Supplemental Material

Videos

TED Talk Reflections

Central Dogma Online Activity

Genetic Code Discussion

Concept Map

Gleevec Case Study

Quizzes

Test

Initial discussion post due Friday at 11:59 PM. Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM. All other assignments due Sunday at 11:59 PM. 

3

Module 7: DNA Replication

Module 8: Fidelity of Replication

Modules 9 and

10: DNA Replication

Chapters 17, 5

Supplemental Material

Videos

Online Interphase Matching Activity

Quiz

TED Talk Reflections

Discussion Forum

Concept Map

Case Study

Test

Initial discussion post due Friday at 11:59 PM. Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM. All other assignments due Sunday at 11:59 PM. 

4

Module 11: DNA Repair

Module 12: DNA Recombination

Chapter 5

 Videos

TED Talk Reflection

Case Study

Concept Map

Quiz

Test

All assignments due Sunday at 11:59 PM.

5

Module 13: Regulation of Gene Expression

Module 14: Regulation of Gene Expression

Module 15: Molecular Biology Techniques

Chapter 7, other provide materials

 

Videos

Concept Map

TED Talk Reflections

Journal Club Discussion

Microarray virtial lab

Quizzes

Initial discussion post due Friday at 11:59 PM. Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM. All other assignments due Sunday at 11:59 PM. 

6

Finals Week

 

Test 4

Final Exam

All assignments due Friday at 11:59 PM. 

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies. Questions? Email: prehealth@une.edu.

Instructor and Support Contact Information

Check Brightspace for specific instructor and support specialist contact information.

UNE Libraries

Further Assistance

Your student service advisor monitors course progression and provides assistance or guidance when needed. They can assist questions regarding ordering course materials, University policies, billing, navigating the course in Brightspace, and more.

Policies

Attendance Policy

Online students are required to submit a graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. If a student does not submit a posting to the graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET, the student will be automatically dropped from the course for non-participation. Review the full attendance policy.

Assignments

Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted. Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded. Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Proctored Examinations

The University of New England has contracted with ProctorU to provide students with the most convenient online exam proctoring system. This system provides a simple, no cost to the student, secure, online proctor for exams and allows the student to take all the exams at home and on their own schedule.

Upon enrollment into the course, each student will register with ProctorU and establish a login name and password. This will give the student access to all of ProctorU's services. When ready, students will schedule each of their proctored exams with ProctorU. Exams must be scheduled at least 72 hours in advance to avoid fees. Prior to taking their exams, students must be sure that they have downloaded the ProctorU Chrome or Firefox extension and are using the most current version of Chrome or Firefox. They must also be sure their testing site's connection meets the minimum requirements by using ProctorU's "Test It Out" utility.

Upon the exam day and hour, students will log in to ProctorU and click on "exams". After following the procedures outlined at ProctorU's website, the student will log in to Brightspace and locate their correct exam. The proctor will then allow student access to that exam.

Students must use ProctorU and must follow all proctoring requirements for their exams to be credited.

Information about exam attempts can be found in your course.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Programs: Technical Requirements

Course Length

A schedule of lectures and assignments is included in this syllabus.

Courses in the program are equivalent to one-semester courses designed to be completed in 6 or 8 weeks

  1. Enrollment in the course begins the day your section opens which is listed in the Academic Calendar found on the Student Success Portal.
  2. Course due dates, start and end dates are in respect to Eastern Time.

Withdrawal and Refund Policies

Please review the policies in your confirmation email. Contact PreHealth@une.edu with any questions.

Grade Policy

Students are expected to attempt and complete all graded assignments and proctored exams by the end date of the course. Contact support with any questions.

Transcripts

Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, only the student may request official transcripts. This may be done online by going to the University of New England Registrar website and following the directions on the page.

To view your unofficial UNE student transcript:

  1. Log into uonline at http://uonline.une.edu
  2. Select Student Services
  3. Select Student Records
  4. Select Academic Transcript

To request your official UNE student transcript:

Please review your Unofficial Transcript prior to requesting an Official Transcript.

  1. Log into uonline at http://uonline.une.edu
  2. Select Student Services
  3. Select Student Records
  4. Select Request Printed/Official Transcript
  5. Follow the prompts

After you click Submit Request, your official transcript will be put into the queue to be printed in the Registrar's Office.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

  1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
  2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
  3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
  4. Multiple submission of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
  5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.