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Undergraduate Program Course Listings Advanced Undergraduate Seminars
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| Home Undergraduate Program Course Listings Advanced Undergraduate Seminars |
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These small seminar courses for advanced undergraduates focus on the primary research literature, with the goal of introducing students to the methods of contemporary biological research and the logic of experimental design and interpretation. These seminars are taught by postdoctoral scientists who are practicing researchers. They expose students to the kind of thinking that is central to contemporary biological research and also impart specific knowledge in particular areas of biology. They are intellectually stimulating and provide excellent preparation for a variety of future careers that require an understanding both of what modern biology is and of how it is done.
The courses offer a number of special features:
Each course is graded pass/fail, carries six units, and meets for two hours weekly. In the case of oversubscription, preference is given to Biology majors: first seniors, then juniors, and to those who haven't already taken one of these seminars. There is no limit on the number of these courses that can be taken if space is available.
Prerequisites for taking any Advanced Seminar: 7.03, 7.05, 7.06, or 7.28.
For additional information, contact either the instructor of the particular course or the Biology Education Office, 68-120.
Please NOTE: The days and times listed below for these seminars are those of the first organizational meetings. If, for any course, another day and time would be better for the students and possible for the instructor(s), and if a room is available, the meeting time of a seminar can be changed.
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ADVANCED UNDERGRADUATE SEMINARS Spring 2008 |  |
| Course # and Title | Description |
7.341
Instructors:Gijsbert Grotenbreg |
Why are infectious diseases such as HIV, mycobacterium tuberculosis, malaria or influenza thriving today and killing millions of people each year? These diseases are threats because our immune system sometimes fails. Although we are equipped to effectively counter most attacks from the microbial world, some pathogens have developed ways to evade both our innate and adaptive immune barriers to ensure their own survival. The strategies used by these viruses, bacteria or parasites are numerous, but all target specific branches and pathways of our immune defenses. In this course, we will explore the specific ways by which microbes defeat our immune system and the molecular mechanisms that are under attack (Toll-like receptors, the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway, MHC I/II antigen presentation). Through our discussion and dissection of the primary research literature, we will analyze numerous aspects of host-pathogen interactions. We will particularly emphasize the experimental techniques used in the field and how to read and understand research data. Technological advances in the fight against microbes will also be discussed, with specific examples. These sessions will highlight the interplay among different disciplines of biology and the fact that much can be learned about the fundamental properties of our immune system through the study of immune evasion.
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7.342
Instructor:Christian Petersen |
Regeneration is widespread throughout the animal kingdom. Remarkably, planarian flatworms and hydra can regenerate an entirely new body. Salamanders can regenerate entirely new limbs, and fish can regenerate fins, spinal cords, and even heart tissue. Mammals can regenerate digit tips, liver, and hair. Mammals also maintain blood, skin and gut throughout adulthood. How does a regenerating animal “know” what is missing? How are stem cells or differentiated cells used to create new tissues during regeneration? We will take a comparative approach to explore this fascinating problem by critically examining classic and modern scientific literature about the developmental and molecular biology of regeneration. We will learn about conserved developmental pathways that are necessary for regeneration, and we will discuss the relevance of these findings for human medicine.
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7.343
Instructor:Adrienne Dolberry |
The ability of bacterial cells to acclimate to unfavorable growth conditions has allowed such “simple” microorganisms to thrive in environments uninhabitable by more complicated forms of life. By studying bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and others under conditions of extreme heat, artic temperatures, high light and acidic surroundings, researchers have identified and characterized genes involved in the acclimation of such microorganisms to and survival under stressful environments. How might organisms that are experts in cold acclimation, such as species of Psychrobacter bacteria from the Artic, help us to identify life on Mars? What types of cellular morphologies do pathogenic Escherichia coli assume when they contaminate your apple cider? How do starvation and light stresses control primary energy production in lakes and ponds? In this course, we will discuss the microbial physiology and genetics of stress responses in aquatic ecosystems, astrobiology, bacterial pathogenesis and the food industry. We will learn about classical and novel methods utilized by researchers to uncover bacterial mechanisms induced under both general and environment-specific stresses. Finally, we will compare and contrast models for bacterial stress responses to gain an understanding of distinct mechanisms of survival and of why there are differences among bacterial genera.
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7.344
Instructor:Kerry Love(klove [at] wi.mit.edu), 4-2081 (Ploegh lab) |
Enzymes, nature’s catalysts, are remarkable biomolecules capable of extraordinary specificity and selectivity. These characteristics have made enzymes particularly attractive as an alternative to conventional catalysts in numerous industrial processes. Oftentimes, however, the properties of an enzyme do not meet the criteria of the application of interest. While biological evolution of an enzyme’s properties can take several million years, directed evolution in the laboratory is a powerful and rapid alternative for tailoring enzymes for a particular purpose. Directed evolution has been used to produce enzymes with many unique properties, including altered substrate specificity, thermal stability, organic solvent resistance and enantioselectivity – selectivity of one stereoisomer over another. One example is the improvement of the catalytic efficiency of glutaryl acylase, an important enzyme in the manufacturing of semi-synthetic penicillin and cephalosporin. The technique of directed evolution comprises two essential steps: mutagenesis of the gene encoding the enzyme to produce a library of variants, and selection of a particular variant based on its desirable catalytic properties. In this course, we will examine what kinds of enzymes are worth evolving and the strategies used for library generation and enzyme selection. We will focus on those enzymes that are used in the synthesis of drugs and in biotechnological applications.
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7.345
Instructors:Caroline Koehrer |
The lethal poison Ricin (best known as a weapon of bioterrorism), Diphtheria toxin (the causative agent of a highly contagious bacterial disease), and the widely used antibiotic tetracycline have one thing in common: they specifically target the cell’s translational apparatus and disrupt protein synthesis. The ribosome, the function of which is to synthesize all proteins within a cell, has emerged as a prime drug target. Over the past decade, we have gained new and fundamental insight into the molecular workings of the ribosome, an amazing macromolecular machine. In this course, we will explore the structure and function of the ribosome. We will discuss the various mechanisms of action of toxins and antibiotics, their roles in everyday medicine, and the emergence and spread of drug resistance. We will also talk about the identification of new drug targets and how we can manipulate the protein synthesis machinery to provide powerful tools for protein engineering and potential new treatments for patients with devastating diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy.
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