Overview
Metabolism provides the fuels and molecules for life. How metabolic processes are regulated and coordinated in animals. Human disease states that arise from metabolic imbalances.
All living organisms require energy. Plants absorb light energy which is the basis for almost all of the food that animals eat. But what happens to the food once it gets into the organism? BIOC 223 gives insights into how nutrients are processed and energy stored, how energy is utilised under different conditions, and the excretory pathways by which waste is eventually eliminated. There is a particular focus on the way in which these pathways are interconnected and controlled and how cells "talk" to one another and disease states that occur when controls go awry. BIOC 223 will complement and enhance programmes such as human nutrition, physiology and neurobiology.
About this paper
| Paper title | Cellular Biochemistry and Metabolism |
|---|---|
| Subject | Biochemistry |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Semester 2 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) | $1,243.65 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- BIOC 192
- Restriction
- BIOC 230, MELS 230 and PHCY 231 passed before 2019
- Schedule C
- Science
- Eligibility
- BIOC 223 is particularly relevant for students majoring in Human Nutrition.
- Contact
- biochem200.tf@otago.ac.nz
- Teaching staff
Course Coordinators: Professor Stephanie Hughes and Senior Teaching Fellow Shar Snoeck
- Paper Structure
The lecture course is divided into 5 modules
- A day in the life of a student
- Maintaining Energy Balance - Diet and Metabolism.
- Biochemistry and metabolism in the heart.
- Following energy through the ecosystem: Carbon and nitrogen metabolism, including photosynthesis and plant biochemistry.
- Cellular waste disposal systems - lysosomes and disease.
The lecture course is complemented by a laboratory course, which provides training in relevant biochemical methods including enzymatic assays for quantifying biological molecules. Students have the opportunity to design experiments which analyse their own blood and urine samples.
- Teaching Arrangements
There are 6 weeks of laboratory classes split into two 3-week modules. Students are streamed into one of 2 or 3 lab streams.
- Textbooks
- Voet, D., Voet, J. G., and Pratt, C. W. Fundamentals of Biochemistry, John Wiley & Sons.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation, Teamwork.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
- Work effectively both independently and as a team
- Describe, using the language of biochemistry, the fundamental processes of biological systems using examples primarily from human metabolism
- Describe the inter-relationships and regulation of the major biochemical processes in the whole organism
- Explain the principles underlying the common experimental techniques and instrumentation used in acquiring biochemical information
- Design and carry out experiments that use basic techniques to address biochemical and metabolic problems
- Obtain experimental data using these techniques, and discuss and communicate the interpretation of such data in the context of overall knowledge of biochemistry
- Illustrate how biochemical knowledge can be applied to biological problems of human metabolism
- Acquire new information from textbooks, review articles, and from biological databases via the Internet and integrate this with fundamental biochemical knowledge
- Assessment details
30% Internal assessments
70% Final examination