St. Gregory’s University Syllabus: Fall 2000 LS 3313-1: Cell Biology Instructor: Patty B. Smith Cell Biology --- LS 3313 Patty B. Smith Office: 406C Telephone: 878-5430 E-mail: pbsmith@sgc.edu Office Hours: by appointment only. Course Description This course is the study of cell structure and function and the fundamentals of molecular biology. Topics include cell chemistry, organelle structure and function, metabolism, genetics and reproduction, tissue differentiation, and biotechnology. Three hours lecture. Recommended for health science and natural science majors. Prerequisites: Principles of Biology 1114 and General Chemistry 1364. Text and Materials Required The required text is Essential Cell Biology by Alberts et al. A folder will be needed to organize illustrations, informational handouts, and reading assignments distributed in lecture. Lecture Policies A tentative schedule of lecture topics is attached. Lecture presentations will be summaries of the important aspects of each topic; it is impossible to cover all aspects of cell biology in this course. Class will meet in room 414. Attendance is required in lecture sessions. Only in extenuating circumstances, such as family crisis, illness, birth, etc., will makeup examinations be provided and late assignments be accepted. Advise your instructor in advance of absences as a result of such matters. Missed examinations and assignments cannot be made up unless justification for being absent is provided before the assignment is due. If a student is permitted to makeup an assignment, the assignment must be completed within one week of the due date, or the student receives a zero on the assignment. In addition, any makeup examinations will be strictly essay format only! Class attendance and participation are essential! If a student has missed three lectures, a notice will be sent to the Registrar’s Office. After five absences, the student is automatically dropped from the course. Any form of academic dishonesty or misconduct (plagiarism, cheating on exams, etc.) will result in a failing grade for the course. The required discipline in accordance with university guidelines will be made. The instructor reserves the right to modify the requirements of the course, the schedule of the examinations, and the arrangement of topics to enhance the learning process. Research Papers Each student will compile information for a cell biology research paper. Research proposals are due on September 13 at lecture session. The research proposal should be a brief paragraph of the project. The research paper will only include valid references. Valid references may include both library materials, especially journal articles, and information from the Internet. The research paper will be neatly typed with the following format. Composition including references should be 8 - 10 pages, double-spaced, line height of 10 or 12 point, and one-inch margins. The research paper should contain the sections of title page, abstract, introduction, main body of text, conclusions/summary, and literature cited. In addition, copies of all references will be attached to the research paper. Research papers will not be accepted without the appropriate reference copies! Total value of the research project is 200 points. Research projects are due on November 10 at lecture session. Each student will present his or her research topic to the class during the week of November 13 - 17. Presentations should be computer generated using Power Point or other presentation software. Presentations should be approximately 10 minutes. Research presentations are valued at 50 points each. Examinations and Grading Lecture Examinations and Final Examination. Two lecture exams valued at 100 points each will be given. Each exam is comprehensive, that is, covering all material presented in lecture. Lecture exams are scheduled for September 25 and October 30. The final exam is comprehensive and valued at 150 points. The final exam is scheduled for December 14 at 1:00 – 2:40 p.m. Reading Assignments and Class Discussions. Five reading assignments of current and hopefully interesting topics in biology will be given. Each student is required to read, understand, and discuss the manuscript. Quizzes covering the reading materials will be given during the specified lecture sessions. Each quiz is valued at 20 points; the total value of the quizzes is 100 points. Grading. Grades Assigned from Total Points Earned: A = 630 - 700, B = 560 - 629, C = 490 - 559, D = 420 - 489, and F = 0 - 419 Disabilities If any member of this class has a disability and needs special accommodations, please advise the instructor of such disability and the desired accommodations during the first scheduled class period. Cell Biology --- LS 3313 Lecture Schedule
Dates	Course Objectives	Chapter(s)
August 23 and 25	Course requirements; Introduction to the Cell	1
August 28 and 30, September 1	Tools in Cell Biology; Cellular Chemistry	2
September 6 and 8	Protein Structure and Function	5
September 11	Quiz 1 and Reading Discussion on HIV and AIDS
September 13	DNA	6
September 13	Research Proposals Due
September 15	No Class
Sept. 18, 20 and 22	DNA, RNA, and Protein Synthesis	7
September 25	Lecture Exam
Sept. 27 and 29	Chromosomes and Gene Regulation	8
October 2	Quiz 2 and Reading Discussion on Human Genome Project
October 4 and 6	Nucleus; Biotechnology	10
October 9, 11, and 13	Membrane Structure and Transport	11 – 12
October 16 and 18	Metabolism; Chloroplasts and Mitochondria	13
October 19 – 22	Fall Break
Oct. 23 and 25	Intracellular Compartments and Transport	14
October 27	Quiz 3 and Reading Discussion on Cellular Respiration and ATP
October 30	Lecture Exam
November 1 and 3	Cell Communication	15
November 6	Quiz 4 and Reading Discussion on Human Diseases
November 8 and 10	Cytoskeleton	16
November 10	Research Papers Due
November 13, 15, and 17	Research Presentations
November 20 and 22	Cell Division	17
November 23 - 26	Thanksgiving Holiday
November 27 and 29, December 1	Cell Cycle	18
December 4	Quiz 5 and Reading Discussion on Gene Therapy
December 6 and 8	Tissues and Cancer	19
December 14 (1:00 p.m.)	Final Examination