Life Sciences

Biomolecular Mechanisms serves two main functions. First, to introduce a range of core concepts in cell biology and biochemistry. Second, to provide a foundation of knowledge and understanding of basic physical processes that will support further learning in a range of Life Science subjects, including biology, physiology and biomechanics.

Major topics covered include: the cell and cell structure; biological membranes and associated phenomena; proteins and enzymes and, finally, energy production, utilization and transformation in plants and animals. The physics component complements these topics and also provides an introduction to biomechanics.

Environmental Biology is a multidisciplinary module that presents an introductory overview of biology from an ecological perspective. The major topics covered include ecological principles, the biophysical world, ecosystems and human environmental influences. Environmental Biology is suitable for students with little previous knowledge of biology.

This is a multidisciplinary module that presents an introduction to how genetic information is encoded in genes, expressed and passed from one generation to another. This module covers genetics at the molecular, cellular, viral and whole organismal level with major topics including DNA replication, mitosis and meiosis, the complexities of Mendelian genetics, formation of proteins, the general processes of genetic manipulation & mutation, interaction of cells and formation of tissues and organs, reproduction & development.

Molecular Science 1B introduces and develops some of the fundamental principles and practical applications of Chemistry essential for understanding the structure of molecules and materials and processes in living organisms. The module is presented with the aim of providing a good basic level in the subject sufficient for further study in any of the life or material science modules with significant chemical content.

Genetics explains the mechanism by which living organisms pass on their characteristics to the next generation, provides a basic understanding of the way in which hereditary information is expressed and illustrates how this expression can be regulated. Several examples of the application of genetic techniques to the studies of life sciences and biotechnology are also demonstrated.

Interactions among organisms will provide students with knowledge of the range of beneficial and detrimental interactions that exist between organisms. This module will also given an introduction to plant, animal and host-defence against infection including specific and non-specific defence mechanisms.

Comparative Physiology is a multidisciplinary module that considers the range of structural and functional mechanisms by which multicellular organisms, such as invertebrates, fish, mammals and plants, perform the basic tasks needed to support their own life and perpetuate the species. This module emphasises the importance of control, integration and communication at the whole organism level.

Building on the first year module Molecular Science 1[B], Chemistry 2A provides intermediate level knowledge of chemical principles applicable to the life sciences. This module covers aspects of bonding, main group chemistry, solution chemistry, the chemistry of molecules of life (amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, carbohydrates), kinetics and thermodynamics essential for understanding chemical processes in living cells.

Chemistry 2[B] builds upon Molecular Sciences 1[B] and complements Chemistry 2[A], thus providing an intermediate level knowledge of aspects of molecular structure and bonding, inorganic and main group chemistry, kinetics, chemical energetics and equilibria, spectroscopy and synthetic organic chemistry. These are essential for the understanding of chemical processes in living cells and the structure or synthesis of molecules and materials.

Diversity of Life is a multidisciplinary module that gives students a broad appreciation of the structural diversity of the living world and the way in which it has arisen through evolutionary time. The major topics dealt with in this module include the physical background and methods of describing diversity, the simplest forms of life, early ecosystems, the transition of life from sea to land, sharks to dinosaurs, mammals, grasses and shifting continents, finishing with human evolution and ecology.

Cellular and Molecular Biology introduces the study of biology at the scale from molecules up to that of single cells. It concentrates on the role of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids in cellular function and discusses the features common to all living organisms from archaea and bacteria to animals and plants. Photosynthesis is also considered due to its central importance to life.

This module provides a basic understanding of some of the principles underlying the use and mechanisms of action of drugs. The module will consider the effects of drugs on major physiological systems of the body including the peripheral and central nervous systems, the cardiovascular, renal, endocrine and immune systems. The actions of drugs such as antibacterials, antiviral and anti-cancer agents will be explained and some general principles describing factors which influence the absorption, metabolism and excretion of drugs by the body will be considered.

The structure and function of the key systems (cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, endocrine and digestive systems) of the human body will be studied. The emphasis will be on the relationship of structure to function and on how the systems are controlled in the interests of homeostasis.

• Quantum mechanics
• NMR spectroscopy
• Single crystal X-ray diffraction
• Spectroscopic and chromatographic analysis
• Biochemical thermodynamics
• Protein structure prediction and modelling

• Genetics and behaviour, learning, the adaptive nature of behaviour
• Protection from predators, sharing resources and family groups
• Sexual selection and mate choice, caring for offspring, breeding strategies and parent offspring conflict

Environmental physiology including behavioural and physiological adaptations to:

• Temperature extremes
• Challenging respiratory extremes
• Diving, swimming, running and flying

Parasite and vector biology:

• The dynamic nature of the host parasite interaction
• Life history strategies including behavioural aspects of host finding, parasite migration, synchronisation of host and parasite life cycles
• Parasite behaviour and the development of immunity
• Vector behaviour and the transmission of parasites

• Membrane structure and function
• Fick's law of diffusion
• Selectivity of membrane transfer, transfer kinetics
• Primary active transport, kinetics for substrates, mechanisms involved
• Na+ pump structure and function.
• Secondary active transport, co-transport and counter transport
• Use of ion gradients by cells
• Facilitated diffusion, regulation and implications for cell function
• Ion channels, selectivity
• Calculation of equilibrium potentials (Nernst equation)
• Calculation of the combined effect of ion gradients and permeabilities on potential (Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation)
• Equivalent circuits
• Cable properties of neurones
• Action potentials, Hodgkin-Huxley
• Gating currents, patch clamping
• Action potentials at node of Ranvie
• Calcium and potassium channels: structure-function; activation/inactivation
• Second messengers
• Cell metabolism regulation by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation
• Intracellular probes for measuring ions/metabolites
• E-C coupling
• Linking electrical events to physical responses
• Communication between and within cells, e.g. skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle
• Neurotransmission: ACh synthesis, release, storage and action. Other neurotransmitters compared. Spinal circuitry, nociception, opiates and peptides

The module begins with a brief historical perspective of developmental biology and introduces the basic concepts of development and some of the common nomenclature of the subject. The next section considers the development of several invertebrate model systems and the methods used to analyse them.

The second half of the module continues with descriptions of the development of a number of vertebrate model systems to illustrate how the body axes and the germlayers (endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm) are formed.

The module concludes with an introduction to human development. The lecture series is accompanied by practical exercises that will demonstrate the development of some key organisms described in the lectures and allow the students to do some simple experiments themselves.

• Ecological principles
• Evolutionary and Population Ecology
• Some example systems: Aquatic ecology, Nitrogen cycling in freshwater systems and soils and the edaphic environment
• Introduction to Physiological and Community ecology
• Biological diversity, patterns of species richness and historical biogeography

• Toxicological concepts
• Dose response relationships
• Hazard characterization and risk assessment
• Pollutants: their types, fates, exposure media and exposure routes
• Molecular and cellular effects of pollutants and contaminants
• Effects of pollutants and contaminants on individuals at physiological and organ levels
• Effects of pollutants and contaminants on populations and communities
• Toxins of animal, plant and microbial origin
• Monitoring, analysis and toxicity assessment methods
• Case histories and studies in toxicology
• Countermeasures for the mitigation of toxicological problems

This module will cover the following topics:

• Measurement of microbial biomass and growth
• Characteristics and uses of batch and continuous culture systems
• The prokaryotic cell cycle
• Cellular differentiation in prokaryotes
• Microbial cell-cell interactions and formation of biofilms
• Microbial cell surfaces, mechanisms of adhesion and motility
• Influence of environmental factors on microbial growth and survival
• Aspects of microbial metabolic diversity and relationships with growth in a wide variety of environments
• Microbial control of pollution
• Core molecular technologies
• Microbial genomics
• Applied microbiology

This module will cover:

• Bioinformatics
• DNA Structure and Function
• Transcription – control and regulation
• Structure for Biologists
• Proteins in action
• Control of Protein Action
• Proteomics

On completion, students should be able to discuss in some detail the following:

• Ligand-gated ion channels
• Second messenger systems
• Behavioural pharmacology

On completion, students should be able to:

• Use isolated tissue preparations to determine sites of drug action
• Explain Radioligand binding analysis
• Discuss the influence of drugs on dopamine release from superfused brain slices
• Understand the pharmacological characterisation of dopamine uptake and metabolism in the brain

On completion, students should be able to discuss in some detail the following:

• The kinetics of drug-receptor interaction
• Drug metabolism
• Pharmacokinetics
• Molecular pharmacology

On completion, students should be able to discuss in some detail the following:

• The Chemistry of drug-receptor interaction
• Drug metabolism in model systems
• Receptor expression systems

Human Systems Physiology will:

• provide the student with an understanding of the regulation of normal body function and the physiological control principles underlying this,
• show how our current understanding of whole body function has been arrived at using examples from current literature and by experimental procedures,
• provide an understanding of some basic whole body physiology techniques and their application to investigate physiology and function in the human
• show how the scientific method is used in discovering new facts, mechanisms and principles and to provide practice in how this is done using data acquired from experiment
• enable the acquisition of skills, attitudes and techniques useful in the pursuit of modern biology.

The module will cover the following topics:

• Dynamics in cell biology
• The cytoskeleton
• Cell Junctions
• Extracellular Matrix
• Nuclear Structure and function
• Membrane Proteins and their Biogenesis
• Protein Targetting
• Cell Signalling
• Cell Cycle
• Neoplasia

This module will cover the following topics:

• Normal human microbiota and agents of infection
• The immune response to infection
• Molecular virology
• Bacterial molecular pathogenesis
• Molecular diagnostics
• Antibacterial chemotherapy
• Protozoal immune evasion and modulation
• Antiprotozoal chemotherapy
• Autoimmune disease
• Innate immunity / receptor recognition
• Inherited immunodeficiences

This module will cover the following:

• Synthetic Methods
• Reaction Mechanisms and Reactivity
• Stereochemistry
• Amino acid and peptide chemistry
• Aromatic and Heterocyclic Chemistry

This module will cover the following:

• Brief listing of syllabus topics
• Mechanistic Enzymology
• Drug targets and drug leads
• Pharmaceutical developement
• Metabolism and drug interactions