Department of Life Sciences Second Year Biology Handbook 2014-15 Dates of term 2014-2015 Autumn Term: Saturday 4 October to Friday 19 December 2014 Spring Term: Saturday 10 January to Friday 27 March 2015 Summer Term: Saturday 25 April to Friday 26 June 2015 Life Sciences Undergraduate Office Room 201, Sir Ernst Chain Building South Kensington Campus London SW7 2AZ Tel: +44 (0) 20 7594 5399 biology.ug@imperial.ac.uk Disclaimer The information given in these notes is current at the time of distribution/printing, but may be subject to alteration. The Department reserves the right to cancel a course or course component if it is not sufficiently well supported.
Contents Dates of term 2014-2015... 1 Disclaimer... 1 Contents... 2 Introduction... 3 Important Information... 3 Second Year Grid... 4 Examinations... 5 Coursework... 5 Plagiarism... 5 Mitigating Circumstances... 5 Reference Lists... 5 Applied Molecular Biology... 6 Bacterial Physiology... 7 Behavioural Ecology... 8 Cell and Developmental Biology... 9 Computational Biostatistics... 10 Ecology... 11 Genetics... 12 Immunology... 13 Parasitology... 14 Resource Management... 15 Tutored Dissertation... 16 Virology... 17 Humanities Programme... 18 Business School Programme... 18 2
Introduction Applied Molecular Biology, Genetics, and the Tutored Dissertation are compulsory courses taken by all students in the Second Year. Other course selections must be relevant to your final degree and details of these regulations are given in the Scheme for Honours document, which you must consult. If you wish to make a subsequent change to your selection you must inform the UGO by 1pm on the Thursday before the course begins by completing the online form on Blackboard: is not sufficient to notify your Personal Tutor or the convenors. Failure to do this will result in your being omitted from the correct examination list. It will not be possible to change to an alternative course within one week of the commencement of that course except in very special circumstances, and only then with the approval of both the convenors concerned and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. You must also attend and pass a supplementary course with either the Centre for Co-Curricular Studies or the Business School. Important Information Important information regarding your degree can be found in the Life Sciences General Information folder on Blackboard. It includes the Scheme for Honours, Marking Criteria, Placement/Joint Honours Handbooks and the Mitigating Circumstances and Change of Degree forms. There is also information regarding careers, the minutes from the Student Staff Committee meetings, exam timetables and advice on using the college computer systems. 3
Summer Spring Autumn Second Year Grid Term Wk Second Year Biology Degrees Grid 2014-15 Monday's date 1 Applied Molecular Biology Tutored Dissertations (Pietro Spanu) 06/10/2014 2 (Pietro Spanu) (Pietro Spanu) 13/10/2014 3 Topics Issued 20/10/2014 4 Choices Made 27/10/2014 5 Bioinformatics week Allocation published 03/11/2014 6 Reading & Computational biostatistics (Samraat Pawar) TD Meeting 1 10/11/2014 7 Genetics 17/11/2014 8 (Magda Charalambous) 24/11/2014 9 01/12/2014 10 08/12/2014 11 Computational biostatistics (Samraat Pawar) TD Meeting 2 15/12/2014 12 Examinations: AMB (Tuesday am) & Genetics (Thursday am) 12/01/2015 13 Cell & 19/01/2015 Bacterial Resource 14 Developmental Physiology Management 26/01/2015 Biology 15 (Huw Williams) (Andrew Knight) 02/02/2015 (Colin Turnbull) Mi Ec 16 Zo 09/02/2015 17 Reading week TD Meeting 3 16/02/2015 18 23/02/2015 19 Virology Behavioural Ecology 02/03/2015 (Mike Tristem) (Magda Charalambous) 20 09/03/2015 Mi Ec, Zo 21 16/03/2015 22 Reading & Horizons examinations TD Meeting 4 Submit Day 1 Summer Term 23/03/2015 23 27/04/2015 Parasitology Ecology Immunology 24 (Denis Wright) (Rob Ewers) 04/05/2015 (Hugh Brady) Zo Ec 25 11/05/2015 26 18/05/2015 27 25/05/2015 Revision weeks & Personal tutorial (wk 27) 28 01/06/2015 29 Examinations: Monday (am), Wednesday (am) & Friday (am) 08/06/2015 30 Optional subject to sufficient numbers- Marine Ecology & Conservation Biology Field 15/06/2015 31 Course 22/06/2015 Codes for named degrees: Mi = Microbiology, Zo = Zoology, Ec = Ecology and Environmental Biology.
Examinations Examinations for all second year courses will consist of one written paper, and will be held either during the first week of the Spring Term (for courses taken during Autumn term) or at the end of Summer term (for courses taken at the during the Spring and Summer terms). Usually 75% of the marks for the course will come from the exam, and 25% from the in-course coursework. The Applied Molecular Biology course is assessed 60% exam and 40% in-course coursework. Coursework You must submit all your coursework in hard copy to the Life Sciences Undergraduate Office and online to Blackboard (unless otherwise stated), where its arrival will be timed and recorded. The college operates zero tolerance for late coursework and any item submitted after the specified deadline will receive 0%. If you require an extension please submit a mitigating circumstances form to the biology.ug@imperial.ac.uk. Plagiarism Imperial College has explicit rules concerning plagiarism. You are reminded that all work submitted as part of the requirements for any examination (including coursework) of Imperial College must be expressed in your own words and incorporate your own ideas and judgements. All of you who have completed the First Year should be well aware of the rules; however, if you are at all unsure what plagiarism is and the penalties it will incur, you must consult the college web page http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/library/subjectsandsupport/plagiarism/undergrads The research project/literature review is a single item of work that comprises an entire course. If plagiarism is detected in your submission (and especially if you have plagiarised in previous coursework), this could lead to your submission being given 0%, and therefore lead to the most serious possible consequences, including being asked to withdraw from your degree. Mitigating Circumstances If you miss an examination through illness, you must complete a mitigating circumstances form and send it along with a medical certificate to the Life Sciences Undergraduate Office within one week of the missed exam. You should email the Education Office before the start of the exam and see a doctor on the same day to get the medical certificate. If you miss any part of a course, and especially if you can t submit coursework, through illness or other personal issues you must notify the Life Sciences Education Office before the deadline by completing a mitigating circumstances form and emailing it to biology.ug@imperial.ac.uk This information is required to avoid penalties for late hand in of work and importantly for second and third year moderation in cases of more serious disruption to your work. All information will be kept to the minimum number of people within the Life Sciences staff but you must state if the information is to be kept completely confidential. It is also advisable to keep your personal tutor informed of any issues that may affect your performance. Please do not contact the course convenor directly regarding extensions or absence from other sessions. Once you have submitted the form it will be sent to the convenor by the Education Office for a suitable extension to be decided upon. Reference Lists By this stage in your career, all lecturers will expect you to be using primary literature (journals) in preference to textbooks as sources of reliable and up-to=-date information. The reference reading lists in the course descriptions should be taken as guides only. 5
Applied Molecular Biology Convenor: Dr Pietro Spanu Course Aims AMB is a compulsory course. For preparation, students will have taken the First Year Cell Biology and Biological Chemistry courses, or equivalent courses for direct entry/erasmus students. The first aim of this course is to enable all biology students to gain a fundamental understanding of the theoretical and practical basis of modern molecular and cell biology techniques and to appreciate how such techniques are used in a wide range of biological disciplines. The second aim is to ensure that all students gain knowledge of bioinformatics and understand its role in genomics and molecular biology. Running alongside AMB (and Genetics) is a course in Statistical Modelling. Research in biology rarely gives clear-cut answers and biologists have to use statistics to test the strength of support for particular models or compare competing hypotheses. On this course, we will be looking at how to use linear models to do this. Linear models are a very general framework for fitting simple mathematical models to data and assessing the explanatory power of those models. You will have come across specific kinds of linear models - regression and ANOVA - in the first year, but this course will provide a more general background and show how linear models may be used for a wider array of questions. We will be using the statistical language R to explore these models and the course will use practicals extensively to teach you how to use these models in your own projects and dissertations. Learning Outcomes After taking this course students should be able to design suitable strategies for (a) the cloning of cdnas and genes, (b) the manipulation of DNA in order to study the function and regulation of a given protein, and (c) finding, extracting and manipulating biological information derived from sequence databases. Students will also be able to display competence in performing and interpreting basic molecular and cell biology experiments. By the end of the statistical modelling course students should have an understanding of how to fit linear models to data and how to interpret the results of linear models. You should also be able to assess whether the model is appropriate for the data. You will also have continued to gain experience in using the statistical language R for statistical tests and producing graphics. The three computer-based practicals run during AMB will allow you to input, visualise data, transform data and perform t-tests, F-tests and linear regressions. Teaching methods AMB: 19 Lectures, 9 Practicals, Team and Problem Based Learning sessions, Tutorial, Bioinformatics sessions and project, Statistical Modelling: 1 overview lecture, 8 computer-based practical sessions in total with 3 during AMB. AMB: Students will take a 3 hour examination in the Spring Term which carries 60% of the marks: this comprises a multiple choice section and two essays. Of the remaining 40%, 8% will be provided by tutorial essays, 12% by practical write-ups and 20% by a bioinformatics project. Statistical Modelling: There is no formal assessment. This course runs during the AMB and Genetics courses in the first (autumn) term and students will use their knowledge of statistical modeling to analyse a dataset as part of the Genetics Practical write up. http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=books Brown, T. A. (2006). Gene Cloning & DNA Analysis. An Introduction. Blackwell. Watson, J. et al. (1992). Recombinant DNA. W.H. Freeman and Co. Lewin, B. (2007). Genes IX. Oxford University Press. Alberts, B. et al. (2007). Molecular Biology of the Cell. Garland Publishing. Lodish, H. et al. (2007). Molecular Cell Biology. Freeman and Co. Beckerman, A. P. & Petchey, O.L. (2012) Getting Started with R: An introduction for biologists. OUP 6
Bacterial Physiology Convenor: Dr Huw Williams Course Aims The aim of this course is to elucidate the principles of bacterial physiology and the common themes that underpin the biology of all bacteria. This course is a foundation course for the Microbiology stream and is important for students intending to take third year Microbiology Courses. This course starts with the assumption that students have a general familiarity with the main metabolic pathways (Embden-Meyerhof, TCA cycle etc) from their first year courses. The course will also draw extensively on the molecular genetic topics taught in the second year Applied Molecular Biology Course. Learning outcomes At the end of the course, students should be able to explain in general terms the workings of a typical bacterial cell. The student should understand the importance to a bacterium of optimising its growth rate and adapting and controlling its main catabolic pathways to achieve this and what bacteria do when growth can no longer proceed. Students should be able to explain using appropriate examples, the biochemical and molecular genetic detail of what occurs when bacteria adapt to changes in their environment. Students will gain an appreciation of the diversity of physiological processes of bacteria and how these allow bacteria to survive in a wide range of ecological niches. Teaching Methods Teaching will be by a combination of lectures (~ 30), practical classes (15-18 hours), and tutorials/problem solving sessions. Students will be provided with detailed handouts of key biochemical and genetic pathways to leave time in lectures to discuss the underlying principles and important detail of such processes. Particular emphasis will be given to explaining the types of experimental approaches currently used to investigate physiological and genetic processes in bacteria. Tutorials will complement lectures and students progress and understanding of lecture material will be followed by interactive problem sessions. Towards the end of the course students will work in small groups to research the physiology of a specialist group of bacteria. The group will present their research in a short seminar and individuals will then write a short dissertation on the topic. Practicals are designed to expand on the principles studied in lectures, to give students confidence in handling bacteria and give the opportunity for students to plan their own experimental strategies within a flexible practical framework. Student understanding and progress will also be assessed by discussing topics with individuals or small groups of students during practical classes and tutorial sessions. Formal assessment will be by a three-hour exam (75%) and coursework (25%). The coursework consists of 4 or 5 assessments that comprise 2 or 3 practical write-ups, research project and presentation and an end of course test. Reading list Schaechter, M. et al. (2005). Microbe. American Society for Microbiology Press. Madigan, M. T. et al. (2008). Brock Biology of Microorganisms. Pearson Education. Slonczewski, J. W. and Foster, J. L. (2008) Microbiology: An Evolving Science. W. W. Norton & Co. 7
Behavioural Ecology Convenor: Dr Magda Charalambous Course Aim Behavioural Ecology is an evolutionary approach to the study of animal behaviour; the rationale being that behaviour evolves through natural selection to increase fitness within given ecological, social and historical constraints. The course aims to give an understanding of behaviour using a theoretical framework to study the interaction between behaviour, ecology and evolution. Through the lectures, theoretical concepts (such as optimality models, game theory and comparative methods) will be applied to key areas of animal behaviour such as foraging, communication, where to live/dispersal/migration, fighting/competition, reproductive behaviour (including sexual selection, sexual conflict, alternative mating behaviour), parental care and social behaviour. The lectures will be complemented by an emphasis on practical work and experimentation. Students will be taught experimental design in animal behaviour and how to quantify and analyze behaviour using jwatcher software. Practicals using insects, birds and fish will be used to investigate movement, group behaviour, feeding, fighting, communication, and reproductive behavior and a trip to London Zoo will introduce students to the study of primate (social) behavior. Finally, students will be given the opportunity to conduct a mini-project using the organisms used in the lab practicals and to write up their research in the format of a published research paper. Learning Outcomes By the end of the course students should be able to 1) Evaluate key theoretical concepts to discuss the ultimate (evolutionary) causes of, and variation in, animal behaviour, 2) Demonstrate an understanding of experimentation used in animal behaviour by conducting a series of practical experiments, 3) Quantify and analyze animal behaviour using jwatcher event-recording software, 4) Design and conduct experiments to test hypotheses formulated about the behaviour of one animal study system, 5). Evaluate and communicate research in various formats such as writing research papers and giving oral presentations. Teaching Methods 26 lectures, 2 lab practicals, 1 zoo practical, 1 computer practical, 2-day Mini-project, 1-2 tutorials/workshop. A three-hour exam (75%) and course work (25%). The coursework consists of 3 assessments: Primate behaviour practical (25%); Presentation (25%); 2-day MiniProject report (50%). Davies, N. B., Krebs, J.R. & West, S. A. (2012) An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology. Wiley-Blackwell. Martin, P. & Bateson, P. (2007) Measuring Behaviour. Cambridge University Press 8
Cell and Developmental Biology Convenor: Dr Colin Turnbull Course Aims The course aims to provide an integrated understanding of the regulation of development in animals and plants. Studies will focus especially on the underlying physiological, cellular and molecular biology processes. Particular attention will be given to the initiation and regulation of recognisable developmental features of animal and plant body plans during embryogenesis and in later life. Functional aspects of cell physiology will also be emphasised. Selected case studies will consider recent research breakthroughs, the role of the environment in development and how organisms interact to modify each other s development. Cell and Developmental Biology builds upon first year courses in Organisms and Cell Biology. This course is suitable for all students with interests in the functioning of organisms at cellular and molecular levels. The CDB course provides intermediate level understanding, and acts a valuable stepping-stone towards several third year courses. Leaning Outcomes Upon completion of this course you should be able to (a) describe fundamental processes of the cell cycle, and cell growth (b) explain the cellular and molecular regulation of embryogenesis, organogenesis and pattern formation (c) interpret results of experiments using genetics to explore developmental regulation in animals and plants (d) confidently locate, analyse and present information on topics in cell and developmental biology that extend beyond the formally taught materials. Teaching methods The taught components of this course include approx. 30 lectures, together with coursework comprising three assessed elements. Two of these are laboratory practicals. In the third element, students will undertake a guided literature research project that will culminate in group presentations at an end-of-course conference. The marks for this course will come from a 3-hour examination in the Summer Term (75% of the marks) and coursework (25% of the marks: 15% for wet lab practical write-ups, 10% for conference presentation). Lewis Wolpert (2007) Principles of Development, latest edition (3 rd ) Scott Gilbert (2006) Developmental Biology, latest edition (8 th ) Alison Smith et al. (2009) Plant Biology Taiz and Zeiger (2010) Plant Physiology, latest edition (5 th ), Taiz and Zeiger (2010) Plant Physiology, latest edition (5 th ), and on-line resources at 5e.plantphys.net 9
Computational Biostatistics Convenor: Dr Samraat Pawar Course Aim The course is convened by Dr Samraat Pawar, and the teaching will be spread over two blocks in weeks 6 and 11. The main aim of the course is for students to build upon their year 1 statistics training in R and develop a deeper understanding of statistical principles, tests and hypothesis testing for different types of data. By the end of the course students will have covered the main statistical tests and techniques they will require for most of the remaining year 2 and year 3 courses. Learning Outcomes Obtain descriptive statistics of the data, produce meaningful exploratory plots of the data, and perform tests for normality, log-normality, etc. For two samples, be able choose the appropriate test (e.g., t-test, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney u-test, randomization test etc). Understand linear models including linear regression and ANOVA, check model assumptions using QQ plots, residual plots etc. For data with non-normal errors or count data, be able to choose and perform appropriate tests especially generalised linear models (GLMs), and interpret the output. Teaching Methods 2 workshops in week 6 and 4 workshops in week 11. A one hour computer-based stats test will contribute 30% of the course work marks for Genetics exam. It will take place on the final day of the course in week 11. Beckerman, A. P. & Petchey, O.L. (2012) Getting Started with R: An introduction for biologists. OUP Crawley, R. (2013) The R book. 2nd edition. Chichester, Wiley. [The first edition is ok to use also. It is an enormous reference book, with scripts and data available from http://www.bio.ic.ac.uk/research/mjcraw/therbook/index.htm] 10
Ecology Convenor: Dr Rob Ewers Course Aims The syllabus for this course is currently being developed and extended, what is here may be used as guidance, but is not to be considered complete. This course will expose students to the broad diversity of approaches and topics in modern ecology. Major aims are to understand: (a) key ecological issues at different organisational levels: from individuals and populations to communities and ecosystems; (b) the importance of evolutionary and taxonomic insights in ecology; (c) the range of theories that explain how diversity is maintained. Students will also be provided with practical experience of carrying out field ecology during a one week field course held at Silwood Park. The course builds on the very wide but shallow coverage of UG1 Ecology & Evolution by studying certain topics in more detail and by adding new material and deeper analysis. It forms a natural link between EE and the more narrowly focused ecological (Resource Management; Global Change Biology; Population & Community Ecology) and evolutionary courses (Evolutionary Molecular Biodiversity) in Second and Third Year. The course is most suitable for those interested in ecology and whole-organism biology (animals, plants and microbes). Learning Outcomes Students taking the course will achieve a fundamental understanding of the following topics: the ecology and evolution of communities; the maintenance of diversity; patterns of global biodiversity. They will also have gained experience in designing and conducting field data collection. Teaching Methods The course consists of a series of 24 formal lectures, a field course and practical sessions that will analyse the data collected during the field course. Performance will be assessed by a 3-hour written examination paper (75% of the marks) in the Summer Term and by continuous assessment of coursework (25%). The assessed coursework consists of an online practical quiz (5%) and a practical write-up from the field course (20%). Begon, M., Harper, C. A. & Townsend, J. L. (2006) Ecology. From individuals to ecosystems. Blackwell. Mayhew, P. J. (2006) Discovering Evolutionary Ecology. Oxford University Press. Morin, P. J. (2011). Community Ecology. Blackwell 11
Genetics Convenor: Dr Magda Charalambous Course Aim Genetics is a compulsory course. It builds upon (and assumes knowledge of) the First Year Cell Biology and Genetics lectures on transmission genetics, chromosome inheritance, gene linkage & chromosome mapping to provide an intermediate level course that considers a range of topics in a very expansive field of study. The aims of the course are (a) to provide an overview of selected topics in genetics and as such provide a link to a number of third year courses; (b) to stress the increasingly important applied use of genetics in the 21 st Century; and to (c) to provide instruction in standard genetics/molecular biology techniques. Learning Outcomes By the end of the Genetics course students should have an understanding of: (a) the origin and molecular basis of mutations and how they are used to determine biochemical pathways; (b) factors affecting the expression of genes in eukaryotes, epigenetics; (c) the origin of new genes, evolution of genes and factors affecting population gene frequencies in time and space; (d) the inheritance of complex or quantitative traits, identification and use of quantitative trait loci (QTL), QTL mapping; (e) human and medical genetics including the use of gene therapy; (f) how genetic techniques can be applied to natural history, reconstructing relationships (phylogenies) and conservation. Students will gaine experience of a number of standard genetic and molecular biology techniques such as: (a) complementation testing to detect functional allelism in yeast; (b) inducing and scoring mutations in Salmonella; (c) isolating and amplifying DNA, PCR, inverse PCR, agarose gel electrophoresis, genotype scoring, BLAST searches as used in gene therapy; (c) conducting population genetics analysis of a given microsatellite dataset using standard software such as GENEPOP, Finally, students should also be able to write up their practical work in the form of a research paper and critically evaluate and present research to a tutorial group. Teaching Methods Genetics: 27 lectures, 3 lab practicals, 1-2 computer practical, a population genetics problem sheet, a tutorial, seminar on writing and presenting research papers. A three-hour exam (75%) at the start of the Spring term and coursework (25%). The course work consists of 4 assessments: an essay (30%), a practical written up as a research paper (30%), a tutorial presentation of a published research paper (10%) and the Computational biostatistics test (30%). Griffiths, A.J.F et al. (2012). Introduction to Genetics Analysis. 10 th Ed. W.H. Freeman Hartl, D. L. & Ruvolo, E. W. (2012). Genetics. Analysis of Genes and Genomes. 8 th Ed. Jones and Bartlett. Beckerman, A. P. & Petchey, O.L. (2012) Getting Started with R: An introduction for biologists. OUP 12
Immunology Convenor: Dr Hugh Brady Course Aims The course provides a detailed overview of the organisation, development and regulation of the immune system in health and disease. It assumes a basic knowledge of cell biology and immunology. The course builds on aspects of immunology, cell biology, genetics and biochemistry from the first year. It is especially suited to students who may be planning a career in any aspect of medical research and careers involving cellular or molecular biology. Learning Outcomes Students should, by the end of the course, be able: (a) to describe the organisation and development of the immune system in the context of lymphoid tissues and organs, T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, antigen presenting cells and the processing and handling of foreign antigens; (b) to distinguish between the cells and functions of the innate and adaptive immune responses; (c) to describe the structure and function of B and T cell antigen receptors and NK cell regulatory receptors; (d) to explain the mechanisms and pathways of lymphocyte activation, proliferation and differentiation; (e) to describe the structure of products encoded by the MHC locus and to assess their function in immune responsiveness; (f) to explain the mechanisms involved in the regulation of immune responses; (g) to list the main effector mechanisms of immunity and describe how they provide protection for the host against viruses, parasites and intracellular bacteria; (h) to describe the immunological mechanisms underlying allergy, chronic respiratory disease, inflammation, autoimmunity, graft rejection and tumours. Teaching Methods The course consists of about 26 lectures, 1 days of practical work with assessment, an assessed presentation of a state-of the-art research paper and a poster session. The lectures cover all aspects of cellular and molecular immunology. This gives the opportunity for the student to gain a greater depth of up-to-date information and insight into all aspects of immunology. The tutorial involves high profile recently published research papers in the field and is designed to enable the student to exercise critical evaluation of basic immunology-related research work. The poster topics are in selected subjects of current interest in immunology. Students prepare posters in small groups on given immunology-related topics that highlight current areas of interest and/or controversy. Each poster will be assessed for their presentation and coherence and the students questioned on its content and related matters. Student performance is assessed by a combination of coursework and written examination as follows: Written exam (Summer Term) essays, MCQs and short questions (75%), Research paper presentation (10%), Poster presentation (7.5%) and Practical (assessed by computer-based test) (7.5%). Kenneth Murphy, Janeway s Immunobiology (8 th edition, 2011), Garland Publishing Peter Parham, The Immune System (3 rd Edition 2009), Garland Publishing, this book is effectively a cut-down version of the Immunobiology textbook 13
Parasitology Convenor: Prof Denis Wright Course Aims The course aims to provide a broad overview of the various types of associations and life cycle strategies that have evolved within the protozoan, platyhelminth and nematode groups of parasites. The course should provide you with a sound knowledge base for the final year courses in Advanced Topics in Parasitology and Vector Biology and Epidemiology. Learning Outcomes After completing the course, you should have a firm understanding of: (a) the life cycle strategies of major protozoan, platyhelminth and nematode parasites of medical and veterinary importance; (b) their distribution, immunobiology, disease symptoms and treatment; (c) how a knowledge of parasite biology, ecology and epidemiology can be applied to the development of more effective methods of control. Teaching Methods The course will contain approximately 22 lectures, a 2-day computer-based practical, a computer model-based group exercise on developing an aid programme, and a group literature research project. Your performance on the course will be assessed by a 3-hour examination (75% of the marks) in June, which consists of an MCQ section and two essay questions from a choice of four, together with a on-line practical test (7.5% of the marks), an aid programme summary report (7.5% of the marks), and an individual control project oral presentation (10% of the marks, with an individual and a group mark component). Goater, T.M. et al. (2014) Parasitism: the diversity and ecology of animal parasites. Second Edition, Cambridge University Press. Weiser, M.F. (2011) Protozoa and Human Disease. Garland Science. Smyth, J.D. (1994) Introduction to Animal Parasitology. Third Edition. [Remains a useful reference text] Cox, F.E.G. ed. (1993) Modern Parasitology. Second Edition. [Remains a useful reference text] The National Center for Biological Information (NCBI) website has a useful collection of on-line books, some of which are relevant for parasitology, that are searchable with key words. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=books An excellent annual review series is: Advances in Parasitology 14
Resource Management Convenor: Dr Andrew Knight This course is currently being revised and so this outline should be considered general guidance only Course Aims To provide an introduction to the ecosystem services and natural resources used by human societies, and to the theories and practices of how they might be managed sustainably in the face of the challenges currently posed. This course takes an applied approach by integrating the social dimensions of economies and politics with ecology. Students interested in improving their understanding of, or following a career in applied aspects of biology, especially those with an ecological or environmental interest. It is relevant to students who may want to move into a business or management career after their undergraduate degree. Learning Outcomes After completing this course, students should understand the drivers of problems hindering sustainable management of the major natural resource sectors, and be able to apply this knowledge to explore practical resource management contexts. They should be familiar with: human pressures on resources due to population, social and economic demands; the ecology and economics of major resource problems in land use, agriculture, forestry, recreation, conservation, and fresh and marine systems; the ways in which policy can assist in determing management criteria, responses to risk, legal controls and in choosing management options. Teaching Methods The course consists of approximately 30 lectures together with several application-focussed practicals. A series of tutorials examining current resource management problems promote a more nuanced understanding on major challenges. Students are expected to build team-working skills and practise other ways of presenting material through the various course activities. Each student will be expected to prepare and present a talk within the course structure. Lectures form the major course with other sessions providing more practical experience of resource management challenges. Lectures may also involve visiting staff from environmental agencies giving practical examples of the role, duties and objectives of management in an environmental context. Presentation of the results of the various course activities will be required to other members of the class for discussion. Student performance is measured by a 3-hour examination (75% of the marks) in the Summer Term together with coursework comprising two assessed tutorials (2 x 2%), a practical report (6%), plus a practical activity comprising 15% of the assessment. Defra (2012) The Natural Choice: Securing the Value of Nature. Defra, London. http://www.officialdocuments.gov.uk/document/cm80/8082/8082.asp UK National Ecosystem (2011). The UK National Ecosystem : Synthesis of the Key findings. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge. http://uknea.unep-wcmc.org/resources/tabid/82/default.aspx Pretty, J. et al. (2010) The top 100 questions of importance to the future of global agriculture. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 8:219-236. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/earthscan/ijas/2010/00000008/00000004/art00001 15
Tutored Dissertation Convenor: Dr Pietro Spanu Course Aims The Tutored Dissertation is a compulsory course. The aim of this dissertation is to provide you with experience of literature-based projects outside the usual constraints of course modules. The experience gained will be of considerable value for final year coursework (and placement year, if applicable), in particular the final-year project report. Course Components and You are asked to select six dissertation topics, in order of preference during the fourth week of the autumn term. A maximum of five students will do the same general topic and share their tutorial sessions, although each student must carry out the literature research and write the dissertation independently. Within the general topic, the exact title and direction of the dissertation may vary depending on the student s interests and students are encouraged to explore these. Once allocated, students will meet with their Dissertation Tutor on Wednesday morning of week six of term for an initial discussion of the topic. A compulsory Plagiarism and RefWorks workshop will be schedule for the same morning. You should conduct literature searches on the most recent primary research papers rather than reviews or books; use websites sparingly and only where absolutely necessary. Three further formal meetings are timetabled, the dates are below. This work should start immediately after the introductory meeting and will run alongside taught courses until the end of the Spring term. Students must then write a succinct synthesis of the topic of approximately 4 000 words (excluding the main title and the reference list only). References in the text must be cited by author name and year (e.g. Lee 2007; Li and Lee 2007; Lee et al 2007) using the Harvard System. Numberbased reference systems (e.g. 1,5,6-8 ) must not be used. Reports that substantially exceed the word limit will not meet the marking criteria. The completed work must be submitted by 1300 on the first Monday of the summer term (27 th April 2014). Submit two hard copies of the completed Dissertation to the Education Office in Sir Ernst Chain Building (neither copy to be bound but using the coversheet provided, stapled in the top-left hand corner, the front page bearing your name, the dissertation title, your tutor s name, and the number of words contained in your text. Be very wary of attempting to print the dissertation in College that morning. You must also submit an electronic copy of the dissertation, identical to the one submitted in hard copy, by uploading to the Tutored Dissertation site in Blackboard as instructed on the site. A late hand-in penalty of 2% per hour will apply. Plagiarism penalties will apply. It is strongly advised that you do much of the work for the dissertation during term-time. Tutors will provide general guidance as to the structure of your dissertation and may assist you by correcting style and grammar in a sample paragraph. They will not provide detailed comments or any 'corrections' to drafts of students final submission. The meeting dates are as follows: Meeting 1 Wednesday 12 th November Meeting 2 Wednesday 17 th December Meeting 3 Wednesday 18 th February Meeting 4 Wednesday 25 th March 16
Virology Convenor: Dr Mike Tristem Course Aims 1) To provide fundamental understanding of the nature of viruses, how they replicate, interact with their host cells, cause disease, and how virus diseases can be controlled. To illustrate the experimental approaches which have been used to gain our current knowledge and understanding of viruses and to impart skills in the interpretation of experimental data. 2) To identify outstanding problems in virology and to impart skills in experimental design to test hypotheses and develop new concepts and knowledge. To impart practical skills in modern molecular virology, including the writing of practical reports. Students from all branches of biology, who have an interest in viruses, are encouraged to take the course. The number of students on the course is limited to 70 due to laboratory constraints. Learning Outcomes Lectures and tutorials during the course will enable students to understand, describe and critically assess: (a) structure, replication and expression strategies of bacterial, plant and animal viruses with different types of genomes, including control processes and how virus particles are assembled; (b) contrasting interactions of bacterial, plant and animal viruses with their different types of hosts; (c) evolutionary relationships between different types of viruses (d) how viruses cause cancer and the central role of oncogenes in cell biology; (e) differences between viruses and prions; (f) the development of virus vaccines and problems in the control of rapidly evolving viruses. Problems will develop skills in Interpretation of experimental data and testing of hypotheses with examples taken from animal virology. Practical sessions will develop skills in molecular methods in virology. Teaching methods 28 lectures, 3 tutorials, 9 hours practical. A three-hour exam (75%) and coursework (25%). The coursework consists of an Animal Virus essay (7.5%), a Plant Virus essay (7.5%) and a Viral Fingerprinting practical report (10%). Flint, S. J. et al. Principles of Virology American Society for Microbiology Press. 17
Humanities Programme The Centre for Co-Curricular Studies provides Humanities courses that offer you the opportunity to study subjects, which can make important contributions to your general education. The courses aim to give you practice in ways of thinking about human affairs and creative activity that are not always amenable to the quantitative techniques of science and technology. Language courses are designed to enable you to understand, speak, read and write in a foreign language (either extending your ability in a language you have learnt before, or introducing you to a new language). In the more advanced courses you will be introduced to scientific and technical forms of the language, and there is also some study of the modern culture, history and institutions of the country or countries involved. Choosing a course Some students prefer a subject with obvious practical and professional relevance, such as a foreign language, the course on Controversies and Ethical Dilemmas in Science and Technology or the course on Communicating Science. Other students prefer subjects that look at science and technology from a specific disciplinary perspective (History of Science, Global History of Twentieth Century Things, Philosophies of Science or History of Medicine). Others like to take a course which is in complete contrast to their specialised studies (Creative Writing, Art of the Twentieth Century, European History 1870-1989, Philosophy, Music and Western Civilisation, Music Technology, Politics or Film Studies) but which nevertheless addresses issues of fundamental concern to professional people. In choosing a course, it is usually best to go for what you think will interest you most. You are likely to gain more from, and do better in, a course that builds on your enthusiasm than one that you feel you ought to do or which you think will be easiest. Coherence and balance in your personal education must come not from artificially created external frameworks, but rather from your developing intellectual interests. For timetabling & full course information please see the webpages at the link below: http://ww3.imperial.ac.uk/humanities Business School Programme As an alternative to the above, the Imperial College Business School s Business in Engineering, Science & Technology (BEST) Programme provides engineering and science undergraduate students with the opportunity to learn about business and management. A number of these courses are available to you. However, the timetable for each course below differs and can only be undertaken if they are scheduled between 1200h and 1400h to fit in with Biology teaching. Entry is in competition with all college students and you should have superior quantitative skills before considering an application. The courses available are: BS0806 - Entrepreneurship BS0808 - Finance and Financial Management BS0820 - Innovation Management BS0815 - Managerial Economics BS0821 - Project Management For timetabling & full course information please see the webpages at the link below: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/business-school/programmes/undergraduate/studentoptions 18