Knowledge and understanding: the student should have acquired basic knowledge of the concepts inherent to Biological Sciences that will be addressed in the 3 modules.

Applying knowledge and understanding: the student should have acquired the ability to grasp the interconnections that exist between the various contents addressed in the 3 modules that make up the course.

Autonomy of judgement: the student should be able to critically discuss different aspects concerning Biological Sciences.

Communication skills: the student should be able to use scientific vocabulary consistent with the subject matter.

Learning skills: the student must demonstrate that he/she has independently and profitably tackled the systematic study of Biological Sciences and that he/she is able to transfer the theoretical notions learnt to real application situations.

For the Biochemistry module, basic knowledge of General and Organic Chemistry is required.
Basic concepts of biochemistry, biology and genetics are required for the Microbiology module.

The course in Biological Sciences (528ME) consists of 3 modules:

1) 066ME-1 - Biochemistry. The module aims to provide the student with an overview of biological macromolecules and how they are metabolized within the cell; examples of macromolecules, particularly proteins, of biochemical interest will also be discussed.

2) 066ME-2 - Applied Biology. The module aims to provide the student with the basics of cell and molecular biology, basic knowledge of the processes of duplication and expression of genetic information, and the organization and functioning of the cell.

3) 066ME-3 - Microbiology. The module provides a comprehensive overview of the biology of microorganisms, with a focus on prokaryotes and eukaryotes, the different bacterial forms and the structure and function of the basic components of the bacterial cell, including spore formation. The processes of cell division, growth curves and bacterial genetics will be explored, including mechanisms such as DNA replication, transformation, transduction, conjugation, plasmids and transposons. The course also covers antibiotics, with a focus on their structure, function and resistance. The microbiota and its relationship to the host will be explored, as well as the structure of viruses and their modes of reproduction. The clinical microbiology part will analyze the main human pathogenic bacteria and viruses, examining their genotypic, phenotypic, epidemiological, toxic and pro-carcinogenic characteristics. Finally, laboratory diagnostic techniques and therapeutic strategies for infection control will be illustrated.

Berg, Tymoczko, Gatto, Stryer – Biochimica. Zanichelli editore

Denise R Ferrier - Le basi della Biochimica. Zanichelli editore.

H. Curtis, N.S. Barnes, A. Schnek, A. Massarini. Elementi di biologia (Cellula – Genetica) Zanichelli editore, 2017

R. Roberti, G. Alunni Bistocchi, C. Antonelli, V.N. Talesa. Biochimica e Biologia per le professioni sanitarie. Mc Graw-Hill, 2013

Biologia e genetica. C. Donati, M. Stefani, N. Taddei. ZANICHELLI 2019.
Fondamenti di Biologia. E. P. Solomon, C. E. Martin, D. W. Martin, L. R. Berg. EDISES 2022.
Basi molecolari e cellulari della vita. A. Bevilacqua, P. Chieffi, L. Speranza, S. Canterini, M. Pesce, M. Montorsi. PICCIN 2020.

Materiale fornito dal Docente

066ME-1 - Biochemistry:
1) Description of major macromolecules of biological interest.
2) Structure and function of hemoglobin and myoglobin.
3) Enzymes as biological catalysts.
4) Insulin, glucagon and signal transduction.
5) Introduction to metabolism.
6) Glucose metabolism.
7) Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation.
8) Gluconeogenesis.
9) Metabolism of glycogen.
10) Lipid metabolism.
11) Metabolism of amino acids.

066ME-2 - Applied Biology:
1) The cell, the fundamental unit of life, eukaryotes, prokaryotes and viruses.
2) Cell structure and functions of organelles.
3) Cytoskeleton, the microtubules, intermediate filaments and microfilaments.
4) Cell membranes, structure, functions and membrane transport processes.
5) The cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis.
6) Cell cycle regulation, necrosis, apoptosis, and neoplastic transformation.
7) DNA and RNA: replication, repair, and transcription.
8) The genetic code, ribosome structure and function, and protein synthesis.
9) Regulation of gene expression.
10) Genetic variability and mutations.
11) Post-translational modifications of proteins.
12) The cellular response to the environment, signal transduction pathways, signal molecules and their receptors.

066ME-3 - Microbiology:
1) General Microbiology.
2) Prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
3) Bacterial forms.
4) Structure and function of the fundamental components of the bacterial cell.
5) Spores and their formation.
6) Bacterial cell division and growth curves.
7) Bacterial genetics (chromosomal and plasmid DNA replication, transformation, transduction, conjugation, plasmids, and transposons).
8) Antibiotics (structure, function, resistance).
9) Microbiota/me: concepts and its relationship with the host.
10) Structure of viruses and their modes of reproduction.
11) Clinical Microbiology.
12) The course will cover the main bacterial and viral pathogens in humans (such as staphylococci, streptococci, Enterobacteriaceae, herpesviruses, orthomyxoviruses, etc.), focusing on their genotypic, phenotypic, epidemiological, toxic, and pro-carcinogenic characteristics. Laboratory diagnostic techniques and therapeutic approaches will be analyzed.

Lectures with PowerPoint presentation of the different topics and classroom discussion

Material to support teaching will be uploaded to Microsoft Teams or Moodle in the class dedicated to the course.

The assessment of the attainment of the envisaged objectives envisages the carrying out of partial tests, the results of which must be published using the “Partial tests” computer tool provided by the Esse3 platform, and a single final appeal in which the Commission verifies the overall results of the teaching and records them.
In the case of the partial tests, the student must obtain a mark of ≥ 18 in each of the partial tests in order to pass the examination relating to the course; he/she will not be able to reject the result of the partial test, but only the mark for the entire course, in which case he/she will have to repeat all the partial tests.
The grade for the partial examination is valid until the extraordinary session of the academic year in question.
The final mark for the integrated course examination is derived from the weighted average, thus weighted on the CFUs of each module, obtained in the individual partial examinations. For the purposes of defining the average, any honors obtained in the partial examinations will be assigned the value of 1 point, i.e. a mark of 30 cum laude in the partial examinations corresponds numerically to a mark of 31. In order to assign honors to the final examination mark, it will be necessary for the weighted average obtained by the student in the partial examinations relating to the various modules to be > 30.5.

Grading of the assessment:
- Excellent (30-30 with distinction): very good knowledge of the subject matter, very good ownership of language, very good analytical ability; the student is able to apply theoretical knowledge brilliantly to concrete cases.
- Very good (27-29): good knowledge of the subject matter, remarkable command of language, good analytical ability; the student is able to apply theoretical knowledge correctly to concrete cases.
- Good (24-26): good knowledge of the main topics, fair properties of language; the student shows an adequate ability to apply theoretical knowledge to concrete cases.
- Satisfactory (21-23): the student does not show full mastery of the main topics of the course, although he/she possesses the fundamental knowledge; however, he/she shows satisfactory language skills and sufficient ability to apply theoretical knowledge to concrete cases.
- Sufficient (18-20): minimal knowledge of the main topics of the teaching and of the technical language, limited ability to adequately apply theoretical knowledge to concrete cases.
- Insufficient (<18): unacceptable knowledge of the content of the various syllabus topics.