Biology 330 - Biochemistry I

(Offered as CHEM 330, BIOL 330, and BCBP 330) What are the molecular underpinnings of processes central to life? We will explore the chemical and structural properties of biological molecules and learn the logic used by the cell to build complex structures from a few basic raw materials. Some of these complex structures have evolved to catalyze chemical reactions with an enormous degree of selectivity and specificity, and we seek to discover these enzymatic strategies. We will consider the detailed balance sheet that shows how living things harvest energy from their environment to fuel metabolic processes and to reproduce and grow. Examples of the exquisite control that permits a cell to be responsive and adapt its responses based on input from the environment will be considered. We will also consider some of the means by which cells respond to change and to stress.

Lecture - 2 meetings per week, 75 minutes per meeting. Discussion - 1 meeting per week, 50 minutes per meeting

Prerequisite: Required Coursework - completion of BIOL 191 and CHEM  221. Limited to 45 students. Fall Semester, Professors Anthony Bishop and Mona Wu Orr. Spring Semester, TBA.

How to handle overenrollment: Preference will be given to seniors of any major, followed by juniors majoring in Biology, Biochemistry & Biophysics, Chemistry, or Neuroscience, and then to juniors of any major.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on keeping up with content through textbook reading, active engagement during lecture and discussion meetings, exams, collaborative group work, quantitative reasoning, and independent research in the literature culminating with the design and oral presentation of a poster.