Molecular Biology (saylor.org)

Molecular Biology (saylor.org)
Free Course
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Have completed the following courses: Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology, General Chemistry I, General Chemistry II, Organic Chemistry I, Organic Chemistry II and Cell Biology.
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Molecular Biology (saylor.org)
Molecular biology studies the molecular mechanisms of life, particularly those responsible for genes and their expression. In the center of molecular biology are the nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, and how they contribute to the synthesis of proteins.

Molecular biology studies the molecular mechanisms of life, particularly those responsible for genes and their expression. In the center of molecular biology are the nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, and how they contribute to the synthesis of proteins.


After a historical introduction (Unit 1), this course describes the basic types of DNA and RNA structure and the molecular interactions that shape them (Unit 2). Unit 3 describes how DNA is packaged within the cellular nucleus as chromosomes; in eukaryotes the DNA coils around histones to form nucleosomes that comprise the chromatin of the chromosomes. The next three units describe the core processes of molecular biology: replication of DNA (Unit 4), transcription of DNA into messenger RNA (Unit 5), and translation of messenger RNA into a protein (Unit 6). These are followed by modifications of these basic processes: regulation of gene expression (Unit 7), DNA mutation and repair (Unit 8), and DNA recombination and transposition (Unit 9). The course concludes with techniques commonly used in molecular biology (Unit 10, 11). These final units are important for anyone evaluating the power of molecular biology.


Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:


Discuss the experimental findings that lead to the discovery of inheritance laws.

Discuss the experimental findings that lead to the identification of DNA as the hereditary material.

Compare and contrast the structure and function of mRNA, rRNA, tRNA, and DNA.

Identify the characteristics of catalyzed reactions; compare and contrast enzyme and ribozyme catalyzed reactions.

Discuss the structure of the chromosome and the consequence of histone modifications in eukaryotes.

Discuss the stages of transcription, differential splicing, and RNA turnover.

Predict the translation product of an mRNA using the genetic code.

Compare and contrast transcription and translation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

Identify codon bias and variations of the standard genetic code.

Compare and contrast the regulation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic gene expression.

Predict the activation of an operon and tissue specific gene expression based on the availability of regulators.

Compare and contrast mutations based on their effect on the gene product; discuss DNA repair mechanisms

Discuss DNA recombination, transposition, and the consequence of exon shuffling.

Design custom-made recombinant DNA using PCR, restriction enzymes, and site-directed mutagenesis.

Compare and contrast the uses of model organisms; discuss the uses of model organisms in specific molecular biology applications.



Free Course
Have completed the following courses: Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology, General Chemistry I, General Chemistry II, Organic Chemistry I, Organic Chemistry II and Cell Biology.