Like most introductory science textbooks, this one opens with a discussion of scientific method. A key feature is its focus on experimental support for what we know about cell and molecular biology. Understanding how science is practiced and how investigators think about experimental results is essential to understanding the relationship of cell structure and function…, not to mention our relationship to the natural world. This is a free Open Education Resource (OER), covered by a Creative Commons CCBY license (check out the Preface!). Every chapter begins with learning objectives and links to relevant recorded lectures. As used by the author, the iText engages students with embedded “just-in-time” learning tools. These include instructor’s annotations (comments) directing students to animations or text of interest, as well as links to writing assignments and quizzes. These interactive features aim to strengthen critical thinking and writing skills necessary to understand cell and molecular biology, not to mention science as a way of thinking in general. Please excuse the marketing terms, but you can choose between Bronze, Silver, or Gold versions, reflecting increasing potential for student interaction with the iText. Download your choice of the iText or the sample chapter at one of the links below.

Cellular respiration is the process by which our bodies convert glucose from food into energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Start by exploring the ATP molecule in 3D, then use molecular models to take a step-by-step tour of the chemical reactants and products in the complex biological processes of glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, the Electron Transport Chain, and ATP synthesis. Follow atoms as they rearrange and become parts of other molecules and witness the production of high-energy ATP molecules.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The skin is the interface between the human body and the environment, and the different features in distinct skin regions, such as different temperatures, humidity levels, gland densities, and pH values, create a variety of niches that can support a diverse skin microbiome. This microbiome includes bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and even mites. A healthy skin microbiome helps maintain skin homeostasis, protects against pathogens, communicates with and trains the immune system, and affects wound healing. However, the skin microbiome can be influenced by many factors, including intrinsic factors like aging and extrinsic factors like cosmetic. Recent advances in molecular biology techniques and next-generation sequencing have drastically increased our understanding of the microorganisms that live on our skin, but the microbes are often still difficult to culture and study..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This genomics education lesson plan was formulated and tested on some year 6 students with the help of their teacher Michelle Pardini at the Hong Kong ICS School. Using the example of the ongoing citizen science Bahinia Genome project from Hong Kong it hopes to serve as a model to inspire and inform other national genome projects, and aid the development of crucial genomic literacy and skills across the globe. Inspiring and training a new generation of scientists to use these tools to tackle the biggest threats to mankind: climate change, disease, and food security. It is released under a CC-BY SA 4.0 license, and utilised the following slide deck and final quiz. Promoting open science, all of the data and resources produced from the project is immediately put into the public domain. Please feel free to utilise, adapt and build upon any of these as you wish. The open licence makes these open education resources usable just with attribution and posting of modified resources under a similar manner. Contact BauhiniaGenome if you have any questions or feedback.Bauhinia Genome overviewFor a slidedeck for the lesson plan laid out here you can use the set in slideshare here.

Short Description:
A book created by students to learn about this unique microbe...

Word Count: 4024

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

How a cell can use a molecule's electrochemical gradient to power secondary active transport.

Common elemental building blocks of biological molecules: Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Phosphorus.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Insulin resistance and its progression to type 2 diabetes mellitus is an important public health concern. Both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and reduced levels of the regulatory protein PGC-1α have been implicated in insulin resistance, but little is known about any interactions between them in this context. A recent study used cultured human skeletal muscle cells and mouse experiments to examine these potential interactions. In both cultured cells and mice, induced ER stress led to a decrease in PGC-1α and an increase in expression of ATF4, a transcription factor. To see if ATF4 was influencing PGC-1α expression, researchers increased ATF4 expression without ER stress, which also decreased PGC-1α expression, and reducing ATF4 before inducing ER stress blocked the drop in PGC-1α. ER stress activated mTOR, a major regulatory protein, and reduced levels of CRTC2, which is a transcription co-activator that increases PGC-1α transcription..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This project-based laboratory course provides students with in-depth experience in experimental molecular genetics, using modern methods of molecular biology and genetics to conduct original research. The course is geared towards students (including sophomores) who have a strong interest in a future career in biomedical research. This semester will focus on chemical genetics using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system. Students will gain experience in research rationale and methods, as well as training in the planning, execution, and communication of experimental biology.
WARNING NOTICE
The experiments described in these materials are potentially hazardous and require a high level of safety training, special facilities and equipment, and supervision by appropriate individuals. You bear the sole responsibility, liability, and risk for the implementation of such safety procedures and measures. MIT shall have no responsibility, liability, or risk for the content or implementation of any of the material presented.
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Designed for students without previous experience in techniques of cellular and molecular biology, this class teaches basic experimental techniques in cellular and molecular neurobiology. Experimental approaches covered include tissue culture of neuronal cell lines, dissection and culture of brain cells, DNA manipulation, synaptic protein analysis, immunocytochemistry, and fluorescent microscopy.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"A new method for identifying post-translational modifications in proteins promises to cut biomedical researchers’ workload in half. Enabling multiple affinity enrichment procedures to be run in parallel, the one-pot method yields the same search results as traditional methods in less time and from less tissue. As proteomics researchers know well, identifying post-translational modifications in biological samples can be tedious. Enriching samples with target modifications, such as the attachment of acetyl , succinyl or methyl groups to amino acid residues, and matching experimental data with catalogued results involves numerous steps. And the work load is only getting bigger. With exploding interest in how multiple modifications are linked across the vast proteome , the amount of time and the amount of sample required for exploration are skyrocketing in proportion. But with the new one-pot enrichment method, that could soon change..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This course introduces the basic driving forces for electric current, fluid flow, and mass transport, plus their application to a variety of biological systems. Basic mathematical and engineering tools will be introduced, in the context of biology and physiology. Various electrokinetic phenomena are also considered as an example of coupled nature of chemical-electro-mechanical driving forces. Applications include transport in biological tissues and across membranes, manipulation of cells and biomolecules, and microfluidics.

Instructional video on the formation of catenane after replication of circular bacterial chromosome.

Although textbooks describe this process and show illustrations, it is difficult to grasp without seeing a live demonstration.

Created for Biology 41 General Genetics at Tufts University.

Since the discovery of the structure of the DNA double helix in 1953 by Watson and Crick, the information on detailed molecular structures of DNA and RNA, namely, the foundation of genetic material, has expanded rapidly. This discovery is the beginning of the "Big Bang" of molecular biology and biotechnology. In this seminar, students discuss, from a historical perspective and current developments, the importance of pursuing the detailed structural basis of genetic materials.

This problem challenges students to design experiments using techniques measuring gene expression (reverse transcriptase PCR, microarrays, in situ hybridization).

An integrated course stressing the principles of biology. Life processes are examined primarily at the molecular and cellular levels. Intended for students majoring in biology or for non-majors who wish to take advanced biology courses.

In this lab activity students isolate genomic DNA from their cheek cells on the inside of their mouths. Students then remove the DNA from those cheek cells. It shows the DNA is in every cell in the body and can be extracted easily. Students use their DNA necklace which they proudly wear around school the rest of the day.

Students are given a problem about a relatively new treatment for cancer, Gleevec, and asked to apply and synthesize what they have learned about cell signaling and the eukaryotic cell cycle to explain why this targeted treatment works to prevent cell division with fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapeutic agents.

GEM Vision
GEM has brought together researchers and professionals in major institutions across the globe with distinctly different, but complementary, expertise and facilities to address significant problems at the intersections of select topics of engineering, life sciences, technology, medicine and public health.
GEM creates new models for interactions across scientific disciplinary boundaries whereby problems spanning the range of fundamental science to clinical studies and public health can be addressed on a global scale through strategic international partnerships.
Through initial focus areas in cell and molecular biomechanics, and environmental health, in the context of select human diseases, GEM creates a global forum for the definition and exploration of grand challenges and scientific studies, for the cross-fertilization of ideas among engineers, life scientists and medical professionals, and for the development of novel educational tools.
GEM Activities
GEM enables the brokering of engineers, life scientists and medical professionals with shared facilities and joint students and post-doctoral fellows to tackle major problems in the context of human health and diseases that call for state-of-the-art experimental and computational tools in cell and molecular mechanics, biology and medicine. Broad examples of problems addressed include:

infectious diseases such as malaria,
cancer,
cardiovascular diseases,
biomechanical origins of inflammation.

In each of these areas, the initial emphasis has included (but will not be limited to) molecular, subcellular and cellular mechanics applied to biomedicine, where a single investigator or institution is not likely to have the full spectrum of expertise, infrastructure or resources available to cover fundamental molecular science all the way to clinical studies and societal implications. Currently, twelve institutions in North America, Europe and Asia participate in this effort as Core institutions, focusing on mechanistic studies, as well as novel methods for diagnostics, vaccines or drug development and delivery.
Funds have been raised to provide a structure for coordinated studies from major organizations under the umbrella of GEM. These funds are being used for:

organization of major symposia/conferences specifically targeted at the theme areas of the initiative,
training grants for student fellowships for the partner institutions,
summer schools to develop teaching materials,
the exchange of students and researchers,
operations of a central secretariat for handling the administrative and infrastructure details for such interactions,
maintenance of a web site for dissemination of information.

GEM Online

Instructional video on how DNA binding proteins recognize their target sequences in DNA.

Although textbooks describe this process and show illustrations, it is difficult to grasp without seeing a live demonstration.

Created for Biology 41 General Genetics at Tufts University.