Cell and Molecular Biology 310
Winter 2015
Course description
From the course catalog: “Cellular processes and molecular interactions, including
transport, chemical signaling, cell-cell adhesion, intercellular communication,
support and movement, energy conversions, digestion, assembly of macromolecules and organelles, gene control in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.”
--additional items: training in experimental logic, reading primary literature, and
exposure to critical techniques for cell biology.
Instructor
Andrew Steele, PhD
Office: Building 8-126 (note that I will often have office hours in my lab, 8-142)
Lab: Building 8-142
Please note that my office is a little difficult to find because it's in a narrow corridor of
faculty offices on the first floor of building 8. The corridor has a door on either end
labeled "faculty offices". Within this narrow corridor you will find room for room 126.
Phone: x2480; (909) 869 2480 from off campus
Email: adsteele@csupomona.edu
Office hours: Tuesdays 1:30-3:00; Wednesdays 1:30-3:00, and Fridays 1:30-2:30;
and by appointment.
I’m glad to meet with student outside of my office hours as I realize that many of you
will be scheduled during these times.
Class Sessions
Class Mon/Wed/Fri 11:45-12:50
Building 162 room 1002
Classes consist of lectures and some time will be devoted to problem solving.
Attendance and participation are required. Please do your best to read the assigned
material prior to class and watch any introductory videos that will be posted.
iclickers are required for this course. If you do not already own an iclicker then
please purchase or borrow an iclicker2. Older version of the iclicker will work fine
for our purposes.
Extra credit quizzes will be administered using iclickers and you will not be
awarded points if you do not have one. There are two types of clicker questions:
“quizzes” which are done independently and “discussion questions” where you are
allowed to discuss with your peers (and me!) before answering.
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Note: use of cell phones is not permitted during class. If you need to use your phone
please leave class. I will take away your extra credit points if I am distracted by your
phone use during lecture.
Readings and Textbook
Textbook: Essential Cell Biology (4th Edition). Alberts et al.
Note: ESB is a condensed version of Molecular Biology of the Cell by the same
authors. If you already have Molecular Biology of the Cell then it is not necessary to
purchase ESB.
Additional sources: There will also be four research articles assigned and posted
under course documents on the blackboard site. For immunology reading I will
upload two immunology chapters from Molecular Biology of the Cell to the
blackboard site (Chapters 24 and 25).
Digital Resources
All lecture slides, videos, and problem sets will be posted on the Blackboard website
for Bio 310. Lecture slides will be posted before class whenever possible. I will email
the class from time to time so please check your email daily.
Problem Sets
Suggested problems are given 7-10 days before exams. It is essential that you
complete the problem sets before the exam review session, which are scheduled by
voting. Similar—even identical—problems will appear on exams. Please do the
problem sets in small groups or with a study partner. Also, come to office hours to
make sure you have the correct answers or if you need help.
Exams
There are two exams and one final in the course; they will cover material from
lectures, problem sets, and assigned reading (including primary research articles).
The final exam will be comprehensive but weigh most heavily on the last third of the
course. There are no ‘make up’ exams. For exams we will use scantron® 882-E for
multiple-choice questions. There will also be essay and short answer questions on
exams. Exams are about 50% multiple choice and 50% short answer questions.
Writing assignment
There is one writing assignments due on 3/9/15 (indicated in the course schedule
below). The goal of this assignment is to help you learn how to convey cell biological
research to the general public, as if you were writing for a newspaper or a magazine.
There is a 2-page limit to this assignment (single spaced). More information on the
writing assignments, including an example, will be distributed during class and
posted on blackboard.
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Grading
Point distribution in the course
200 Exams (100 points each)
200 Final Exam
100 “science in the news” article
500 Total
Grading: Grading will be on a traditional scale where >93% is an A, 90-92% is an A-,
87-89% is a B+, and so on. <65% is failing.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism, cheating, copying, and the like will not be tolerated and will be reported
to judicial affairs. Please ask if you have any questions about what constitutes
plagiarism in science. Please review the info at the following link:
http://dsa.csupomona.edu/judicialaffairs/academicintegrity.asp
Course Schedule
1
2
Date
1/5/15
1/7/15
Topic
Introduction
Microscopic Methods; Model
Systems; Proteins
Proteins; Molecular chaperones;
heat shock response
Chromosomes and regulation of
gene expression
Central dogma; Protein turnover
3
1/9/15
4
1/12/15
5
1/14/15
6
1/16/15
Circadian rhythm: transcriptional
and translational feedback loops
7
8
9
1/21/15
1/23/15
1/26/15
10
1/28/15
Membranes
Membrane proteins
Membrane transport and electrical
properties
Exam #1
11
1/30/15
12
13
2/2/15
2/4/15
Intracellular compartments/protein
sorting
Secretory pathway
Secretory pathway II
14
15
16
17
2/6/15
2/9/15
2/11/15
2/16/15
Cell Signaling
Cell Signaling II
Cytoskeleton
Cell Adhesion and ECM
Reading
Chapter 1 p. 1-12, 19-21, 26-34
Chapter 2 p. 47-48, 62-63, 68, 74-75, 78-79
Chapter 4 p. 121-141,162-63, 167
Chapters 5 p. 179-192
Chapters 7 p. 223-250<-skim; 250-252
Chapter 8 p. 262-273, 280-84
McDearmon et al., (2006) “Dissecting the
functions of the mammalian clock protein
BMAL1…” Science
Chapter 11 p. 359-368
Chapter 11 p. 369-380
Chapter 12 p. 383-392; 396-399; 403-411; 41415
Chapter 15 p. 487-511; 517-519
Chapter 15 p. 487-511; 517-519
Block et al. “Purification of an Nethylmaleimide-sensitive protein…”(1988)
PNAS
Chapter 16 p. 525-547; 552-553
Chapter 16 p. 525-547; 552-553
Chapter 17 p. 565-579; 583-590
Chapter 20 p. 688-704
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18
19
20
21
2/18/15
2/20/15
2/23/15
2/25/15
Cell Cycle
Cell Cycle II
Exam #2
Apoptosis
Chapter 18 p. 603-617
Chapter 18 p. 603-617
22
2/27/15
Apoptosis and Cancer
23
24
3/2/15
3/4/15
Cancer II
Cancer Metabolism
25
3/6/15
26
3/9/15
Stem Cells; Publication in
biosciences
Innate immunity
Writing assignment due
Paper: Kuida et al (1998) Reduced apoptosis
and cytochrome…” Cell 94: 325
Chapter 20 p. 712-724
Chapter 20 p. 712-724
Paper: Flavahan et al (2013) “Brain tumor
initiating cells…” Nature Neuroscience
Chapter 20 p. 705-712
27
3/11/15
Adaptive immune system
28
3/13/15
Adaptive immune system II; Wrap
up
29
TBD
Final Exam
Chapter 18 p. 634-640
Molecular Biology of the Cell Ch 24 p. 1485-86;
1504-12; 1524-36
Available on blackboard
Molecular Biology of the Cell Chapter 25 153976
Available on blackboard
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