BIOLOGY, GENETICS AND ENGLISH
Academic year and teacher
If you can't find the course description that you're looking for in the above list,
please see the following instructions >>
- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2018/2019
- Teacher
- MAURO TOGNON
- Credits
- 15
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
Training objectives
- This course follows a formative pathway that leads the student to the understanding of: organization of the life at cellular level and biological macromolecules, cellular and biological macromolecules properties, their reproductive and replicative skills, how the flow of the genetic information passes from the DNA to the RNA and to proteins, how the genetic information in a generalized manner is inherited during the generations and the modalities of gene expression in general, during the time and in the different tissue districts, the result of the mutations.
Understanding of the sequence of pathologic events originating from the acquired mutations of one or more genes and leading to the clinical phenotype in sickle cell anemia and B-cell non Hodgkin's lymphoma
ENGLISH
Students will achieve a level of English equivalent to a B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference, and will gain the necessary confidence in using English grammar and technical vocabulary for oral production and comprehension of scientific English.
Techniques will be taught which will allow the student to access and understand texts of a scientific nature with ease in a second language (English) with attention being paid to the assimilation of vocabulary and expressions relevant to the field of study. Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of chemistry, Physics and mathematics.
ENGLISH
Have a level of English equivalent to A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Course programme
- GENERAL AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY
Chemical composition of living mater. General characteristics and principal techniques to study of the biological macromolecules.
Composition and organization of genomic DNA in the eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells and in viruses. Chromatin. The different classes of eukaryotes DNA and of RNA. Eukaryotic cell: structure and function.
The cellular components. DNA replication. Transcription. Translation. Cell cycle. Mitosis, meiosis and their comparison. Bacterial cell. Viruses. DNA recombinant technology. Cellular transformation. Culture medium. The functions of the growth and the differentiation factors. Modulation of the gene expression. Phenotype of the cancerous cell. The chemical, physical and biological carcinogenic agents. Test of Ames. Multiphase mechanism of the oncogenesis. Viral and cellular oncogenes. Onco-suppressor genes. Chromosomal anomalies in the tumors. The association between human tumors and oncogenic viruses. The stem cells.
GENERAL AND MOLECULAR GENETICS
The experiments of Mendel. Dominant, co-dominant and recessive alleles. Allelic segregation. Independent assortment of the alleles. Cross and test-cross. Genetic markers. Locus, gene and allele. Multiple alleles. Gene mapping. Analysis of the general mechanisms of the heredity. Mono- and multi-factorial characters. Mendelian transmission of inherited characters.
Crossing-over and meiotic recombination. Inactivation of the chromosome X. Genetic imprinting. Pedegree and symbols in human genetics. Databank MIM and OMIM. Karyotype and karyogramme. The chromosomes (autosomal and sexual). The human normal and pathologic karyotype and karyogramme. Mono-factorial genetic diseases: autosomal dominant diseases, autosomal recessive diseases X-linked diseases. Mitochondrial inherited diseases. The nucleic acids and the genetic information. Multiallelic families, ABO, HLA aplotypes and their association with diseases. MN and Rh groups and NED. Gene mapping. Genetic markers. Analysis of linkage and positional cloning. Genetic and physical maps. Recombinant DNA technology. Cloning and expression vectors. DNA and cDNA data banks. DNA recombinant technologies Molecular filter hybridizations (Southern and northern blotting). RFLP analysis. Nucleic acids sequencing. DNA and RNA analyses by the polymerase chain reactions (PCR, RT-PCR, real-time PCR, DNA sequencing). The microsatellite analysis. Cancer genetics.
Chromosomal anomalies in the tumors.
Burkitt’s lymphoma and CML (the Philadelphia chromosome). The human genome project. MicroRNA genes. The gene therapy. Cellular staminality genes.
POPULATION GENETICS
Population genetics, the genetic variance, polymorphisms, allelic and genotypic frequencies. Hardy-Weinberg law, inbreeding, migration, natural selection and genetic drift. Polygenic traits in Humans, major gene, genetic susceptibility, gene modifiers, biomarkers, nutrigenomics and genome environmental interactions, genome wide association studies.
ENGLISH
Grammatical structures required for level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference:
use and non-use of the definite and indefinite articles; personal and possessive pronouns; comparatives and superlatives; verb tenses including present continuous, past simple, present perfect, the future with “will” and “going to”; modal verbs; the passive voice, the use of prepositions and common noun/verb + preposition combinations; conjunctions.
Strategies for reading technical and scientific texts including comprehension of the gist of the text; scanning, skimming, extrapolating information, intensive and extensive reading.
Technical vocabulary to describe research results, graphs and bar charts, quantities, processes and the sequencing of events.
Subject-specific vocabulary. Didactic methods
- GENERAL AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY/ GENERAL AND MOLECULAR GENETICS
Lectures.
ENGLISH
A full-immersion into the English language, with interactive lessons based on the reference text Academic Skills and the use of PowerPoint presentations.
Use of reading, writing and listening skills. Explanation and opportunity to practise new structures and vocabulary. Learning assessment procedures
- BIOLOGY
Oral exam; 2-4 questions addressed to general biology (1-2) and cellular biology (1-2). Exam time: approx. 15-20’. The final evaluation will be based on analytical capability and clarity exposition of subjects, as well as ownership of language.
GENERAL AND MOLECULAR GENETICS
Written exam. A single written exam per each session; there are 70 questions, split in 35 questions of general genetics and 35 questions of molecular genetics. Questions are of the kind multiple choice; per each question there are 5 different answers, only one is the correct answer. The score is calculated with ½ point per each right answer; -1/4 per each wrong answer, and zero point for each no answer. The time of the exam is 1 h. and half.
POPULATION GENETICS AND POLYGENIC AND MULTIFACTORIAL INHERITANCE
Oral examination: one or two questions. Time dedicated to each student: about 15 minutes
ENGLISH
Written exam for a total of 60 points, 5 of which from listening questions and 55 from a variety of question styles (multiple choice, short answer, true or false etc.) on grammar and language at B1 level of the CEFR, use of technical vocabulary and the comprehension of an academic text.
THE FINAL GRADE IS A WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF THE MARKS OBTAINED IN EACH TEST. Reference texts
- BIOLOGY
Autori Vari, Biologia e Genetica, a cura di De Leo, Ginelli, e Fasano, Editore EdiSES, Napoli
B. Alberts, et al., Biologia molecolare della cellula, Ed. Zanichelli, Bologna
W.K.Purves et al., Elementi di Biologia e Genetica. Ed. Zanichelli, Bologna
G.M. Cooper, R.E. Hausman, La Cellula. Un approccio molecolare. Ed. Piccin, Padova
J. D. Watso, et al., Biologia molecolare del gene, Ed. Zanichelli, Bologna
GENETICS
M.R. Cummings, Eredità. EdiSES, Napoli
B. A. Pearce, Genetica, Ed Zanichelli
T. Strachan, A. Read, Genetica umana molecolare, Ed. UTET, Torino
J. D. Watson et al., DNA ricombinante, Ed. Zanichelli, Bologna
Neri-Genuardi, Genetica Umana e Medica,
Elsevier Masson 2008
Alternatively, after consultation with the teacher, any other text of upgraded Biology and Genetics, published after 2010
POPULATION GENETICS AND POLYGENIC AND MULTIFACTORIAL INHERITANCE
Neri-Genuardi, Genetica Umana e Medica, Elsevier Masson 2014
Capitolo 9, 10 e diapositive delle lezioni
dispensa integrativa e diapositive delle lezioni
Materiale didattico su minisito docente
http://www.unife.it/medicina/lm.medicina/insegnamenti/medicina-interna-i/genetica-medica
ENGLISH
Guy Brook-Hart, Vanessa Jakeman, (2012) Complete IELTS Bands 4-5 Student’s Book with Answers, Cambridge University Press.
Handout online “Supplementary Exercises”
