Biochemistry

Owner	Bachelor Scheikunde (joint degree)
Coordinator	Seino Jongkees
Part of	Exchange Programme Faculty of Science, specialisation BSc Chemistry, year 1Bachelor Chemistry (Joint Degree), year 2Bachelor Bèta-gamma, major Scheikunde, year 3

Course manual 2022/2023

Course content

The course Chemistry of Life in the first year of the bachelor focused on the fundamentals of the chemistry of life and cell function. In this course the emphasis lies on the dynamics of biomolecules in the living cell. The process by which genetic information is copied and interconverted will be discussed in more detail, including regulation and checks in the processes of replication, transcription and translation. The mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed reactions will be explored, as well as inhibition and control of enzymatic activity. Enzyme kinetics will be introduced as a tool to explore these. The small molecule interconversions catalyzed by enzymes in metabolism that were introduced in the first year will be expanded upon, with a focus on carbohydrates and plant metabolism. Finally, the course will close with an overview of drug mechanisms of action and the drug-discovery process. This course contains a substantial practical component, where the focus will be on developing a strong fundamental biochemical skillset as well as experimental design and reporting.

Study materials

Literature

• Berg, Tymoczko, Gatto and Stryer, Biochemistry, 8th edition, 2015.

Other

• Lecture slides

• Homework assignments

• Seminar exercises

• Lectures notes

Objectives

• the student can explain the mechanisms of DNA replication, repair, proofreading and recombination
• the student can describe transcription, RNA processing and (the regulation of) protein synthesis
• the student can describe the structure-function relationships of nucleic acids
• the student can explain the mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed reactions using general chemical knowledge
• the student can explain the mechanisms of enzyme regulation
• the student can Illustrate how enzyme kinetics can be used to study function and regulation
• The student is able to perform synthesis of building blocks of biomolecules in a practical setting
• the student can describe the processes by which plants absorb light and store this as chemical potential energy
• the student can outline processes by which new drug molecules can be discovered and developed
• the student can explain drug action based on knowledge of protein function

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Seminar

Learning activities

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):

• Active participation is expected of each student in the course for which he is registered.
• If a student cannot attend an obligatory part of a programme's component due to circumstances beyond his control, he must report in writing to the teacher in question as soon as possible. The teacher, if necessary after consulting the study adviser, may decide to issue the student a replacing assignment.
• It is not allowed to miss obligatory parts of the programme's component if there is no case of circumstances beyond one's control.
• In case of participating qualitatively or quantitatively insufficiently, the examiner can expel a student from further participation in the programme's component or a part of that component. Conditions for sufficient participation are fixed in advance in the study guide and/or on Canvas.

Assessment

Item and weight	Details
Final grade
1 (100%) Tentamen 1

There is one exam at the end of the course. The students can obtain a bonus to their final grade of max 0.5 points by handing in homework on time. Per submitted homework assignment (11 in total), the students can earn 0.5/11=0.045 bonus points. As this bonus cannot be used to let students pass if they fail the final exam, no bonus points will be added if students score 5.0 or lower for the final exam.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Additional information

Recommended prior knowledge
Chemical Reactivity and Biomolecules (year 1 of the bachelor Chemistry)

The course will be partly taught in English.

Processed student feedback

Below you will find the adjustments in the course design in response to the course evaluations.

Contact information

Coordinator

• Seino Jongkees