- UCAS course code
- C100
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
BSc Biology
Duration: 3 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: C100 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
Field trips
Accredited course
- Typical A-level offer: AAA-AAB including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: AAB-ABC including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ABB-ABC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 36-35 points overall with 6,6,6 to 6,6,5 at HL, including specific requirements
Course unit details:
Molecules and Cells in Human Disease
| Unit code | BIOL21351 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 10 |
| Unit level | Level 2 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
You will learn about the basic cellular mechanisms underlying common human diseases and understand how drugs act on cellular and tissue dysfunctions to treat these diseases. You will study topics including autoimmune disease, cancer and arthritis.
Pre/co-requisites
| Unit title | Unit code | Requirement type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| From Molecules to Cells | BIOL10232 | Pre-Requisite | Recommended |
| Drugs: From Molecules to Man | BIOL10822 | Pre-Requisite | Recommended |
Aims
To introduce cellular and molecular mechanisms of human disease.
Learning outcomes
Students will acquire knowledge of the basic cellular mechanisms underlying common human diseases and will understand how drugs act on cellular and tissue dysfunctions to ameliorate these diseases.
Syllabus
The course examines the cellular and molecular causes of a wide variety of human diseases such as fibrosis, inflammation and cancer. It aims to show how understanding a disease at the molecular level explains its pathology and allows the design of therapeutic strategies. Specific topics will include:
• Cell death mechanisms and disease
• Cell adhesion and its pathological defects of connective tissues
• Inflammation and anti-inflammatory drugs
• Molecular pathology of cancer
• Cancer chemotherapy
eLearning Activity
Each set of lectures will be followed by an online quiz to provide formative feedback on your understanding of the material.
Teaching and learning methods
Each set of lectures will be followed by an online quiz to provide formative feedback on your understanding of the material.
Employability skills
- Research
- Students have to carry out additional reading for each lecture.
- Other
- Meeting multiple deadlines. Students have a number of on line activities to completes, with fixed deadlines. Students have to manage these deadlines.
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Written exam | 100% |
A two hour in person exam with a mix of short answers to assess factual knowledge and longer questions to test depth/conceptual understanding.
Feedback methods
The eLearning activities will provide online feedback. Advice on the example exam questions on the eLearning resource will be provided if requested. Post-exam guidance will be provided. There will be four in person Q&A sessions spaced throughout the unit for feedback.
Recommended reading
The following general texts will provide useful background include. However, no one textbook will cover all the material presented in the lectures, due to the diverse nature of the course. Each lecturer will therefore provide specific reference articles for their lecture material.
Recommended Reading
1. Alberts B, Johnson A, Lewis J, Raff M, Roberts K & Walter P, Molecular Biology of the Cell (7th edition), Garland Science, 2015, Recommended
2. Rang HP, Ritter JM & Flower, R, and Henderson Rang & Dale’s Pharmacology (8th Edition), Elsevier, Recommended
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Assessment written exam | 2 |
| Lectures | 22 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 76 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Andrew Gilmore | Unit coordinator |