Undergraduate Course: Membrane Biology (BICH10009)

Course Outline
School	School of Biological Sciences	College	College of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	10	ECTS Credits	5
Summary	Approximately one third of all known genes encode either membrane proteins or enzymes involved in the synthesis of membrane lipids, reflecting the fundamental importance of membrane-based processes in every living cell. However, despite their importance in cell biology and biomedicine, the structures of membrane proteins have been difficult to determine, and it is only in the last few years that the mechanisms of membrane-bound transporters and channels have become fully accessible at the molecular level. This segment of the course starts with four orientation lectures to revise the principles of membrane structure and the principles of solute - particularly ion - transport. We then explore the emerging structures and often quite remarkable mechanisms of specific membrane proteins, including fusion proteins, ion channels, co-transporters, the mitochondrial ATP synthase and proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation.
Course description	Not entered

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites	Students MUST have passed: Structures and Functions of Proteins 3 (BILG09015) OR Molecular Cell Biology 3 (BILG09001)	Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None
Additional Costs	Lab Coates, Notepads, Marker Pens

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 20, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Other Study Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 74 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 80 %, Coursework 20 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Exam
Feedback	Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)	Membrane Biology		2:00

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: Relate the diverse range of lipid functions from cellular compartmentalisation to signalling in context of lipid biochemistry. Understand the interface of lipid rafts with signalling mechanisms and how they are disrupted in human disease. Be able to interpret experiments gauging transmembrane protein structure and function and properties of channel proteins. Develop scientific presentation skills from the literature assessment exercise along with an understanding of experimental techniques and disease mechanisms. Appreciate how lipids and proteins interface to achieve membrane fusion for exchange of materials between cells e.g. exocytosis, endocytosis, synaptic transmission.