| CODE | ABS5004 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Molecular Biology | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Applied Biomedical Science | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit includes both a lecture based component as well as a small laboratory component. The lecture based component will cover various aspects of Molecular Biology: 1) Cell Biology; 2) An introduction to Genetics, genetic principles and methods; 3) Modes of inheritance - Mendelian, non-Mendelian and Complex Disease models; 4) Chromosomal, somatic and mitochondrial disorders; 5) Linkage disequilibrium and linkage analysis; 6) High Throughput sequencing - generating and understanding data; 7) Gene editing; 8) Model systems. The laboratory based component will cover: 1) Experimental Design; 2) DNA extraction; 3) The Polymerase Chair Reaction; 4) Genotyping. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit will: 1) introduce students from a non-biological background to the concepts and principles of Molecular Biology and Genetics which are essential for Bioinformaticians who will handle biological data; 2) provide insight into the design of molecular biology experiments; 3) give a practical introduction to molecular biology and genetic techniques. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Define key terms related to molecular biology and population genetics; - Describe, discuss and explain concepts of cell biology and genetics; - Recognise and define different models of genetic inheritance; - Distinguish between monogenic/digenic/polygenic disorders and complex disease models and be able to design different testing approaches accordingly; - Classify pathogenic and benign genetic variants and those of unknown significance. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Understand and evaluate current research through reading published papers in recommended journals; - Decide appropriate scientific methods and techniques for designing and executing a genetic experiment; - Interpret genetic data in the context of large scale studies (association studies, family studies, microarray and high throughput sequencing data); - Carry out simple genetic laboratory techniques. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Hartl, D.L. & Cochrane, B.J. 2017, Genetics: Analysis of Genes and Genomes, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Burlington Massachusetts. ISBN 978-0-470-84380-2 - Sudbery P & Sudbery I. 2009, Human Molecular Genetics, Pearson/Benjamin Cummings,Harlow, England. ISBN-13: 978-0132051576 - Lodish HF. et al., 2016, Molecular Cell Biology, W.H. Freeman-Macmillan Learning, New York. ISBN: 9781464183393 |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Independent Study, Lecture, Practical & Tutorials | ||||||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Ritienne Attard Joseph Borg Rosienne Farrugia Melissa Marie Formosa Laura Grech David Saliba Brendon Scicluna |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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