10.37 Chemical and Biological Reaction Engineering (MIT)
This course applies the concepts of reaction rate, stoichiometry and equilibrium to the analysis of chemical and biological reacting systems, derivation of rate expressions from reaction mechanisms and equilibrium or steady state assumptions, design of chemical and biochemical reactors via synthesis of chemical kinetics, transport phenomena, and mass and energy balances. Topics covered include: chemical/biochemical pathways; enzymatic, pathway, and cell growth kinetics; batch, plug flow and well
5.33 Advanced Chemical Experimentation and Instrumentation (MIT)
5.33 focuses on advanced experimentation, with particular emphasis on chemical synthesis and the fundamentals of quantum chemistry, illustrated through molecular spectroscopy. The written and oral presentation of experimental results is also emphasized in the course.
Acknowledgements
The materials for 5.33 reflect the work of many faculty members associated with this course over the years.
WARNING NOTICE
The experiments described in these materials are potentially hazardous and require a high
HST.161 Molecular Biology and Genetics in Modern Medicine (MIT)
This course provides a foundation for understanding the relationship between molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, and medicine. It develops explicit connections between basic research, medical understanding, and the perspective of patients. Principles of human genetics are reviewed. We translate clinical understanding into analysis at the level of the gene, chromosome and molecule; we cover the concepts and techniques of molecular biology and genomics, an
7.346 Synaptic Plasticity and Memory, from Molecules to Behavior (MIT)
In this course we will discover how innovative technologies combined with profound hypotheses have given rise to our current understanding of neuroscience. We will study both new and classical primary research papers with a focus on the plasticity between synapses in a brain structure called the hippocampus, which is believed to underlie the ability to create and retrieve certain classes of memories. We will discuss the basic electrical properties of neurons and how they fire. We will see how fi
5.72 Statistical Mechanics (MIT)
This course discusses the principles and methods of statistical mechanics. Topics covered include classical and quantum statistics, grand ensembles, fluctuations, molecular distribution functions, other concepts in equilibrium statistical mechanics, and topics in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics of irreversible processes.
7.342 Systems Biology: Stochastic Processes and Biological Robustness (MIT)
In this seminar, we will discuss some of the main themes that have arisen in the field of systems biology, including the concepts of robustness, stochastic cell-to-cell variability, and the evolution of molecular interactions within complex networks.
This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological researc
9.013J Cell and Molecular Neurobiology (MIT)
This course explores the major areas of cellular and molecular neurobiology, including excitable cells and membranes, ion channels and receptors, synaptic transmission, cell-type determination, axon guidance, neuronal cell biology, neurotrophin signaling and cell survival, synapse formation and neural plasticity. Material includes lectures and exams, and involves presentation and discussion of primary literature. It focuses on major concepts and recent advances in experimental neuroscience.
3.22 Mechanical Behavior of Materials (MIT)
Here we will learn about the mechanical behavior of structures and materials, from the continuum description of properties to the atomistic and molecular mechanisms that confer those properties to all materials. We will cover elastic and plastic deformation, creep, fracture and fatigue of materials including crystalline and amorphous metals, semiconductors, ceramics, and (bio)polymers, and will focus on the design and processing of materials from the atomic to the macroscale to achieve desired m
5.111 Principles of Chemical Science (MIT)
This course provides an introduction to the chemistry of biological, inorganic, and organic molecules. The emphasis is on basic principles of atomic and molecular electronic structure, thermodynamics, acid-base and redox equilibria, chemical kinetics, and catalysis. In an effort to illuminate connections between chemistry and biology, a list of the biology-, medicine-, and MIT research-related examples used in 5.111 is provided in Biology-Related Examples. Acknowledgements Develop
1.061 Transport Processes in the Environment (MIT)
This class serves as an introduction to mass transport in environmental flows, with emphasis given to river and lake systems. The class will cover the derivation and solutions to the differential form of mass conservation equations. Class topics to be covered will include: molecular and turbulent diffusion, boundary layers, dissolution, bed-water exchange, air-water exchange and particle transport.
6.642 Continuum Electromechanics (MIT)
This course focuses on laws, approximations and relations of continuum electromechanics. Topics include mechanical and electromechanical transfer relations, statics and dynamics of electromechanical systems having a static equilibrium, electromechanical flows, and field coupling with thermal and molecular diffusion. Also covered are electrokinetics, streaming interactions, application to materials processing, magnetohydrodynamic and electrohydrodynamic pumps and generators, ferrohydrodynamics, p
21A.355J The Anthropology of Biology (MIT)
If the twentieth century was the century of physics, the twenty-first promises to be the century of biology. This subject examines the cultural, political, and economic dimensions of biology in the age of genomics, biotechnological enterprise, biodiversity conservation, pharmaceutical bioprospecting, and synthetic biology. Although we examine such social concerns as bioterrorism, genetic modification, and cloning, this is not a class in bioethics, but rather an anthropological inquiry into how t
STS.330J History and Anthropology of Medicine and Biology (MIT)
This course explores recent historical and anthropological approaches to the study of life, in both medicine and biology. After grounding our conversation in accounts of natural history and medicine that predate the rise of biology as a discipline, we explore modes of theorizing historical and contemporary bioscience. Drawing on the work of historian William Coleman, we examine the forms, functions, and transformations of biological and medical objects of study. Along the way we treat the histor
What goes up must come down
Falling demand for oil is not just an immediate reaction to the current financial crisis but a response to the structural impact of five years of very high oil prices, says Dr Pierre Noel, an expert in energy economics and policy, who notes that oil prices will rise again due to the cyclical nature of the business. However, Dr Noel believes that OPEC exacerbates these ups and downs by overshooting in both directions and considers the long term implications as the OPEC cartel gathers strength.
7.340 Learning and Memory: Activity-Controlled Gene Expression in the Nervous System (MIT)
The mammalian brain easily outperforms any computer. It adapts and changes constantly. Most importantly, the brain enables us to continuously learn and remember. What are the molecular mechanisms that lead to learning and memory? What are the cellular roles that activity-regulated gene products play to implement changes in the brain?How do nerve cells, their connections (synapses), and brain circuits change over time to store information? We will discuss the molecular mechanisms of neuronal plas
Douglas Melton, Harvard University: "Stem Cell Challenges in Biology and Public Policy" - April 10,
Douglas Melton will discuss the biology and public policy challenges
surrounding stem cell research. The potential of human embryonic stem cells for understanding human development and finding new therapies will be presented.
Dr. Melton is a cell and molecular biologist as well as an advocate of embryonic stem cell research. His research focuses on the developmental biology of the pancreas. One of the primary goals of his work is to understand how human embryonic stem cells differentiate into pa
7.342 Developmental and Molecular Biology of Regeneration (MIT)
How does a regenerating animal "know" what's missing? How are stem cells or differentiated cells used to create new tissues during regeneration? In this class we will take a comparative approach to explore this fascinating problem by critically examining classic and modern scientific literature about the developmental and molecular biology of regeneration. We will learn about conserved developmental pathways that are necessary for regeneration, and we will discuss the relevance of these findings
Virtual laboratories in Molecular and Cell Biology - Immuno-electron-microscopy
A virtual laboratory that includes immuno-gold labelling and transmission electron micrography (immuno-EM). It allows the student to study intracellular-traffic pathways of two cell-surface receptor molecules, following stimulation of the cells with their specific ligand, for different time periods. The programme first introduces the theory underlying the techniques and includes a video of EM work in a real laboratory. The student is then taken through a series of questions which requires them t
Virtual laboratories in Molecular and Cell Biology - SDS-PAGE
A protein analysis laboratory using SDS-PAGE, western-blotting and endoprotease digestion. The programme includes a section on the theory of the techniques, a video demonstration in a real laboratory, and a series of questions which guide the students through the structural analysis of model proteins (3 are included). Students go to the virtual laboratory and devise their own experiments in order to determine the molecular weight, subunit composition etc of the proteins. Results (gels and blots)
7.340 Nano-life: An Introduction to Virus Structure and Assembly (MIT)
Watson and Crick noted that the size of a viral genome was insufficient to encode a protein large enough to encapsidate it and reasoned, therefore that a virus shell must be composed of multiple, but identical subunits. Today, high resolution structures of virus capsids reveal the basis of this genetic economy as a highly symmetrical structure, much like a geodesic dome composed of protein subunits. Crystallographic structures and cryo-electron microscopy reconstructions combined with molecular
