GENERAL BIOLOGY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2019/2020
- Teacher
- MILVIA CHICCA
- Credits
- 6
- Curriculum
- BIOTECNOLOGIE PER L'AMBIENTE
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/13
Training objectives
- The course in General Biology provides the basic information about the general principles of life sciences.
The main educational purposes of the course are the following:
- a knowledge of chemical and molecular fundaments of life
- the study of cell structure and function
- a knowledge of the basic mechanisms of transmission of the genetic information
- the study of the principles of development and differentiation
- a basic knowledge of the biological Kingdoms and of the most relevant model organisms in biotechnology and biomedicine
The main abilities the students should develop are the following:
- understanding and learning the chemical and molecular bases of life, applying them to the study of structures and functions of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
- acquiring the basic information about the mechanisms of replication, transmission and expression of genetic information
- understanding and learning the basic principles of energy production and transformation in living cells
- understanding the basic mechanisms of development and differentiation, applying them to more advanced studies of cell biology and biotechnology
- acquiring basic information about living Kingdoms and on the most relevant model organisms in biotechnology and biomedicine
- develop an ability to communicate the acquired information using a correct terminology
- develop the ability to synthesize the relevant data and to analyse in a logic and critical way the acquired information Prerequisites
- No formal preparatory courses are required, but the student must have acquired the basic knowledge provided in any senior high school course in Biology.
Course programme
- The course is composed of 48 hours of lectures dealing with the following topics:
Introduction to Biology and methods in life sciences. Origin of life and living kingdoms. Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. Origin of the eukaryotic cell by endosymbiosis: animal and plant cells. Chemical and molecular bases of life: carbohydrates, lipids, aminoacids and proteins, nucleotides and nucleic acids. Eukaryote compartments and organelles: biological entities of uncertain classification. Cell membranes and membrane transport. Eukaryotic nucleus and structure of chromosomes. Structure and replication of DNA. Transmission of genetic information: the genetic code and the transcription. Ribosomes, translation and protein synthesis. Control of gene expression: post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications. DNA and RNA virus, retrovirus and prions. Cell cycle, mitosis, meiosis and gametogenesis. Embryo development and developmental stages in animals. Cytoskeleton and cell communication. Metabolism and production of energy in living cells. Mitochondria, oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial genome. Photosynthesis and chloroplast genome. Kingdom Eubacteria and Archea. Kingdom Protista. Kingdom Fungi and Kingdom Plantae. Biological bases of the extreme diversity of Kingdom Animalia and main animal phyla. The most relevant model organisms in biotechnology and biomedicine. Didactic methods
- The course is composed of 48 hours of lectures, delivered by Power Point and other audiovisual supports such as videos, animations, documents and science papers in pdf.
Learning assessment procedures
- The exam at the end of the course has the purpose to verify the level of acquisition of the educational aims.
For students enrolled in the first year in the academic year 2019-2020, the final exam is a written test consisting of 5 open-ended questions (2 graded 3 points each and 3 graded 2 points each), and of 8 multiple choice questions, graded 0.5 points each, for a total of 31 points (corresponding to a maximum score of 30/30 magna cum laude). To pass the exam the student must obtain a minimum score of 18 points. If the final score is less than 18 points, the student must repeat the written test.
Overall, the exam will evaluate:
- the degree of knowledge of chemical and molecular bases of life
- the degree of knowledge of structures and functions of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
- the knowledge of the basic mechanisms of transmission of the genetic information and of the basic principles of development and differentiation
- the acquisition of the basic knowledge concerning the living Kingdoms and the most relevant model organisms in biotechnology and biomedicine
- the ability to use a correct terminology and to synthesize and analyse the acquired information in a logic and critical way. Reference texts
- D. Sadava, D.M. Hillis, H.C. Heller, S. Hacker - Biologia - Edizioni Zanichelli, 2019.
Volume 1 - La cellula - Pages 256 ISBN: 978-88-08-33859-4
Volume 2 - L'ereditarietà e il genoma - Pages 264 ISBN: 978-88-08-95528-9
Volume 3- L'evoluzione e la biodiversità - Pages 352 ISBN: 978-88-08-289650 (optional textbook)
The previous editions of the same textbook (2014 and 2013), as well as other university textbooks of Biology, are equally acceptable, preferably published not earlier than 2012. The lectures will be made available to the students in pdf format after they have been held, together with other handouts in Italian and English, including references to published papers and/or reviews related to the lecture topics.
Warning: there are NO handouts and/or course notes authorized or verified by the teacher at any copy shop.
