Stockholm university
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Methods and Concepts in Molecular Life Sciences

This course teaches basic and advanced techniques in Molecular Biology allowing students to apply some of them. The students will also encounter the changes in our view of biological systems from the molecular to the organismal and ecological levels.

Cells, plants, mice, fruit flies
Picture by Marie Öhman

This course teaches students to use molecular techniques to answer questions concerning cell and molecular biology. The methods and concepts taught explore the function of both bacteria and eukaryotes. The course describes the theoretical foundations and research applications of several methods, including Cryo-electron microscopy, analysis of ancient DNA and gene-modifying methods.  The course covers several model species (plants, flies and yeast), but also more exotic organisms such as Dictyostelium. During a comprehensive lab exercise, the students isolate yeast strains resistant to a fungal drug, extract and sequence the DNA of their own yeast mutant using next-generation sequencing (NGS). Finally, under the close supervision of computational tutors the students perform advanced bioinformatics to identify and characterize the mutations of their particular yeast strain.

  • Course structure

    The course is given during the period March-June.

    Teaching format

    The course contains lectures by active researchers on modern concepts and methods in Life Sciences, group discussions of methods, a presentation of key papers and a practical project that includes screening and bioinformatics.

    Learning outcomes

    A list of the learning outcomes can be found in the syllabus. Please find the link to the syllabus on the right side of this page.

    Assessment

    The practical part has to be passed, the theoretical part consists of a written exam and a case study, which are graded based on a 7-grade scale.

    Examiner

    Questions can be sent to Stefan Åström, stefan.astrom@su.se.

  • Schedule

    The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course.
  • Course literature

    Note that the course literature can be changed up to two months before the start of the course.

    Wilson & Walker: Principles and Techniques of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 8:th ed. 2018. Cambridge Press. ISBN 9781316614761.

     

  • Course reports

  • Contact

    Student office
    Study counsellor for basic level