Teaching code

4S00997

Academic staff

Maria Romanelli, Cristina Bombieri

Coordinator

Maria Romanelli

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

BIO/13 - EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY

Period

FARMACIA 1° semestre dal Oct 1, 2024 al Dec 20, 2024.

Courses Single

Not Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course aims to bring students to: understanding of the diversity between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and the different levels of organization of these cellular models; understanding of cell behaviors such as the cell cycle and its checkpoints, cell proliferation and mitosis, differentiation, stemness, and cell death; describing the cell reproduction of the sexual type (meiosis) and the general principles of fertilization and development of the animal cell; understand and interpret the flow of gene information within the cell, the control of gene expression and epigenetic mechanisms. Finally, the student will acquire the ability to describe the main concepts of Mendelian genetics and to understand and recognize the modes of transmission of hereditary traits with hints of genetic disorders.

Prerequisites and basic notions

There are no specific prerequisites beyond the basic knowledge required to access the degree course, verified at the same time as the admission test. Students, who do not reach the minimum score threshold, set out in the call for admission, in the discipline of Biology, will be assigned additional educational obligations (OFA), to be fulfilled in the first year of the Course.

Program

Introduction to the study of biology - The cell: Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes - Unicellular and multicellular organisms - Biological macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids) - Structure and function of biological membranes - Selective permeability of membranes - Transport across membranes - The internal membranes: endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, nuclear envelope, lysosomes, peroxisomes - The nucleus: DNA, the organization of chromatin - Chromosomes as carriers of genetic information - DNA replication - Telomeres and telomerases - Repair of replication - Transcription and maturation of RNA - Regulation of transcription - Structure and functions of RNAs - Protein synthesis - Translation of RNA and genetic code - Regulation of gene expression - Sorting of proteins - Vesicular trafficking: exocytosis and endocytosis - The cytoskeleton and cell motility - The extracellular matrix - Cell junctions - The cell surface and intercellular communications - Receptors and signal transduction mechanisms - The cell cycle and its control - Mitosis - Cell differentiation - Apoptosis (programmed cell death ) - Cell staminality - Meiosis - Gametogenesis and fertilization - Elements of human genetics - Human karyotype and chromosomal abnormalities - Mendel's laws. Relationship between genes and chromosomes: independence and association; gene recombination - Construction and interpretation of pedigrees. - Methods of transmission of genetic information: autosomal (dominant and recessive) and sex-linked (dominant and recessive) inheritance - Mitochondrial inheritance - Extensions of Mendelian genetics (penetrance, expressivity, incomplete dominance and codominance, multiple alleles, epistasis) – Epigenetics (methylation, imprinting). Inactivation of the X chromosome in mammals - Polygenic and multifactorial inheritance - Genetics of ABO and Rh blood groups - DNA mutations - Somatic mutations and cancer - Fundamentals of population genetics, evolution and natural selection - Basics of gene therapy and pharmacogenomics - Biology of aging.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Attendance to lessons is mandatory as specified in the teaching regulations. The didactic methods consist of frontal lessons dedicated to the student acquiring knowledge and skills in the biological field. An interpretative rather than descriptive key will be used to present the contents, referring also to some fundamental biological experiments, to develop the student's ability to interpret experimental data and critically re-elaborate on the acquired knowledge. Furthermore, discussions, group work, and interactive activities will be offered to students, both in the classroom and for individual study, using the range of innovative and multimedia tools at the service of teaching, especially integrated into the University's Moodle platform and accessible to all the students of the course (videos, animations, self-assessment quizzes, links to multimedia resources, Wooclap, Jove and other interactive software, etc.).
Students can use one of the recommended textbooks of their own choice. Further insights may be made available on the Moodle platform.
During the whole Academic Year, students may request personal reception from the teachers by e-mail, as indicated on the teachers' web pages.

Learning assessment procedures

The exam consists of a written test followed by an interview to verify the acquisition of theoretical knowledge, the assessment of reasoning ability and individual re-elaboration of the knowledge acquired, the ability to apply what has been learned to the resolution of experimental questions or the interpretation of photographic images.
The written test is propaedeutics to the oral test and is structured into 30 quizzes (single answer, true/false, multiple choice, completion tests, with identification of causal or temporal relationships) covering all the topics on the program + 1 open question that verifies the student’s ability to synthesise, analyse and use adequate terminology. Duration of the written test: 1 hour.
Upon passing the written test, an oral interview will follow, in which some questions will be asked to ascertain the level of knowledge of the theoretical contents and the ability to analyze and connect biological processes to each other.

Evaluation criteria

In the written test, the students must demonstrate:
- the comprehension of the role of molecular and cellular processes and the correlations between biological structures and functions
- the understanding of inheritable disease transmission in humans and the ability to analyse and interpret and analyse genetic pedigrees;
- the level of in-depth knowledge of the topics covered in the teaching
- the ability to focus the argument posed by the open-ended questions responding synthetically, exposing their arguments accurately
The oral interview will evaluate the following:
- the skills of explaining the acquired knowledge clearly and accurately, summarizing the key elements, with critical evaluation and using the appropriate scientific language
– the ability to connect the various topics covered and apply the acquired knowledge to interpret, compare and analyse biological processes.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

If passed positively, the oral interview will contribute to determining the final grade; if it is insufficient, it will also cancel the score acquired in the written test.
The exam will be considered passed if the student gains a minimum final score of 18/30.
Students can withdraw from the examination at any time (written or oral): partial credits will be cancelled in this case.

Exam language

Italiano

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