ASC2646

Biochemistry

Next offered by distance in 2000

Mrs Jenny Mosse

8 points - First semester - 4 hours of lectures and 4 hours of practical work per week - Gippsland - Prerequisites: ASC1626 or GAS1185, CHM1011 or GAS1281 - Prohibitions: BCH2011, BCH2031, BTH2746, GAS2141

Objectives On completion of this subject, students will be able to appreciate the role of water as the primary solvent in living systems; understand the buffering mechanisms which operate in biological systems; categorise biological molecules according to their structural and chemical characteristics; appreciate the role of non-covalent interactions in the maintenance of tertiary and quaternary conformation of biological macromolecules; discuss the biological actions of macromolecules, singly or as components of aggregates; measure and interpret parameters such as Km and Vmax of the Michaelis Menten equation; discuss the principles of storage and transmission of genetic information; understand the control mechanisms which operate at the level of gene expression; acquire advanced skills in the measurement of parameters such as volume, mass and time and use spectrophotometric methods to assay biological molecules in solution.

Synopsis Biochemistry begins with an introduction to the chemistry of aqueous solutions, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, lipids and proteins, the catalytic role of enzymes and the structure and function of biological membranes. Next the packaging of DNA within cells and viral particles is considered. This is followed by a study of the mechanisms of synthesis, modification and degradation of nucleic acids and proteins. The subject concludes with a detailed study of the control of gene expression.

Assessment Mid-semester test and final examination: 70% - Practical work: 30% - A pass in both the theory and practical components is mandatory.

Prescribed texts

Garrett R H and Grisham C M Biochemistry Saunders, 1995

Recommended texts

Holme D J and Peck H Analytical biochemistry 2nd edn, Longman Scientific, 1993
Kirkup L Experimental methods: An introduction to the presentation of data Wiley, 1994
Moorthy K Fundamentals of biochemical calculations DLM, 1994

Back to the 1999 Science Handbook