Learning objectives
<br /><br />The course is intended to provide a basic knowledge in general chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry, to enable the students to understand the chemical bases of life, the structural and functional principles of molecules of biological interest; the metabolic pathways, their connexions and regulations.<br />The course is structured so as to provide students with fondamentals on structure and function of the cell and its components, modes of reproduction of organisms, and evolution in general. <br />The course is thought as an introduction to genetics starting from the mendelian theory of inheritance to molecular genetics. The purpose of the course is to gain understanding of the principles of heredity, the relationships between the genes and normal or disease traits and the current advances in genetics applied to humans.
Course unit content
<br />Elements and compounds. Atoms and molecules. Chemical bonds. Mole and chemical reactions. Solutions, acid and basis. Organic compounds and their characteristics. Carbohydrates, lipids, aminoacids and proteins. Enzymes, coenzymes. Hemoglobin. Hormones and vitamins. Bioenergetics. Metabolism and general rules of metabolism control. Anabolism and catabolism. Glucidic, lipidic and aminoacidic metabolism. History and development of the theory of evolution. Natural and Sexual selection. Genetic bases of heredity, mutations and evolutionary processess. Evolution of man. Living organisms: basic concepts and components (proteins, lipids, glucids and nucleic acids).Viruses e Bacteria. Structure, function and evolution of the eukariotic cell and its components. Asexual and sexual reproduction (mitosis ans meiosis) . Gametogenesys and fertilization. Biology of reproductive behaviour and its hormonal regulation. Mitotis, meiosis. Principles of mendelian inheritance (Mendel’s laws), crossing over and linkage, mapping, biochemical nature of genetic material, replication and repair of DNA, the genetic code, the “central dogma” of molecular genetics, mutation. Mitochondrial heredity. Polymorphisms, multiple alleles (ABO and MHC systems). Mechanisms of genetic transmission in humans. Gene structure and function. Mechanisms of gene regulation. Human cytogenetics and chromosomal abnormalities. Polygenic inheritance. Principles of population genetics. Principles of genetic manipulation and recent developments in molecular genetics diagnosis<br /><br />
Bibliography
<br /><br />Campbell: Principi di biologia (Zanichelli, 1998)<br />Novelli G - Giardina E : Genetica medica pratica, Aracne editrice, Roma<br />
