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This module is designed to introduce students to specialized topics in biomedical research, to relate biochemical event at the cellular level to physiological processes occurring in the body to cite examples of disease processes where genetic and biochemical bases have been well established.
Content
Water and life on earth. Water molecule. Molecular structure, Keq, Kw, and pH, Acids & bases, pKa, Relation between pH and pKa, Buffers. Blood buffering, Ampholytes, polyampholytes, pI and Zwitterion, Role of kidney in acid- base balance.
Biological thermodynamics: Definition and The four laws of thermodynamics
- Zeroth law, first law, second law and third law of thermodynamics (Gibbs law), Standard state in biological reactions. G, G°, G°’, High energy compounds
Photosynthesis/ Energy harvest by producers: (Just a reminder), Definition. Photosynthesis apparatus, The electromagnetic spectrum, nature of light, The structure of chloroplast and photosynthetic membrane, Chlorophyll and accessory pigment, Chlorophyll a (structure).Other types of chlorophyll, The thylakoid membrane and photosystems, Chemiosmosis in chloroplasts, Light and dark reactions, C3 and C4 plants, Photosynthesis versus aerobic respiration.
Organs & tissue/ Cell communication: Introduction, Types, stage of cell signaling. Signal receptors, Second messengers. cAMP, Calcium ions, inositol triphoshate, Lipid mediators. Metabolic pathway of arachidonic acid.
Intermediate metabolic pathways: Digestion, from mouth to intestine, Overview of carbohydrate metabolic, Glycolysis (anaerobic degradation of glucose), Reactions in the matochodrion matrix/ Krebs cycle. Respiratory chain reactions, Redox complex and Electron transfer in respiratory chain, Net yield in ATP (complete degradation of one molecule of glucose), Pentose phosphate shunt, Definition and its importance, Reactions involved , Fermentation process, Definition and its importance, Fermentation of glucose
Fatty acid degradation: Definition and its importance, Mobilization of fat stores, Activation and transfer of fatty acid, Reactions sequence in β-oxidation, Alternative oxidation pathway and regulation of fatty acid metabolism
Gluconeogenesis: Definition and its importance, Glycolysis versus gluconeogenesis, Coli cycl e and glucogenic amino acids
Urea cycle: Fate of amino acids degradation / Transamination and oxidative deamination, Urea formation (Citrulline and ornithine involvement),
Mechanism of Diseases:
Urea cycle defects, Atherosclerosis and Heart Diseases, Definition of Atherosclerosis, Overview of blood lipids, Heart attack and Stroke, Obesity and its causes, Cancer and Malignancy, Types of Cancer, Cancer treatment