BIOL2010 The Biology of Development (previously B250)
2nd year half-course-unit Jan-March 2008
[Important: the information on this page is definitive
and supersedes any conflicting information you might find elsewhere -
e.g. the Faculty of Life Sciences course information pages. Check
this page regularly as any changes will be posted here (last
updated 17/3/2008)]
Lectures are held on Mondays 12-1pm and on Wednesdays 9-10am in the Gavin de Beer Lecture Theatre, Anatomy Building.
Organiser: Dr Hazel Smith, Dept
of Biology. (~ 60 students registered)
Assessment: 85% final exam, 15% coursework essay.
*********** follow this link to BIOL2010
COURSEWORK ESSAY TITLE 2008 and how to write and submit it, deadlines
etc************
[Note: this 2nd year course is designed to feed into
the 3rd year course ANAT3003/4
Mechanisms of Development, organized and run by Prof
Claudio Stern in the Dept of Anatomy and Developmental Biology. This
course is organized in two half-units – ANAT3003 (lectures) and
ANAT3004 (practicals/demonstrations/tutorial). Students can take either
ANAT3003 alone or ANAT3003 and ANAT3004 together. If you find that you
enjoyed BIOL2010, then you should seriously consider taking ANAT3003/4
next year]
TIMETABLE 2008
MARKED COURSEWORK ESSAYS AVAILABLE FOR PICK UP FROM THE BIOLOGY OFFICE (17/3/08)
Note about lecture notes: html files are designed to be read online, pdf files are easier to print out but require Adobe reader
01 Jan 07 (Mon) Introduction: why study development?
The main issues, model systems (WR)
02 Jan 09 (Wed) Drosophila: genetics of segmentation
(WR) [html] [pdf]
03 Jan 14 (Mon) Drosophila: homeotic (HOM) genes. Antennapedia
and Bithorax Complexes (WR) [html]
[pdf]
04 Jan 16 (Wed) Molecular genetics of the BX-C [Handout for lectures 3 and 4 given by HS]
05 Jan 21 (Mon) Vertebrate HOM genes (WR)
!!RESCHEDULED TO FEBRUARY 13TH!!
06 Jan 23 (Wed) Tutorial on essay writing [html] [How We Cite]
07 Jan 28 (Mon) Pre-implantation mammalian development
and derivation of embryonic stem cells (HS) [html] [pdf]
08 Jan 31 (Wed) Transgenic mice in the study of head
induction and development (HS) [html] [pdf]
09 Feb 04 (Mon) Early vertebrate development: axis determination
and gastrulation (LD) [pdf
of ppt slides] [pdf covering all
three LD lectures]
10 Feb 06 (Wed) Formation of the germ layers - molecular
biology of mesoderm induction (LD) [pdf
of ppt slides]
10 Feb 11 (Mon) Neural induction and head development
(LD) [pdf of ppt slides]
11 Feb 13 (Wed) Vertebrate HOM genes (WR) [reading: Wolpert
2nd ed pp 116-124 and Gilbert 8th ed pp 361-364]
12 Feb 18 (Mon) Vertebrate limb/ wing development (WR)
[reading: Wolpert 2nd ed Chapter 10 and Gilbert 8th ed Chapter 16]
13 Feb 20 (Wed) Pattern and cell type specification in
the vertebrate CNS (NP) [html] [pdf of ppt slides]
14 Feb 25 (Mon) Wiring the CNS: axon guidance in flies
and mammals (MF) [html] [pdf]
15 Feb 27 (Wed) Branching morphogenesis: a common theme
in organogenesis (MF) [html] [pdf]
16 Mar 03 (Mon) Vascular development (MF)[html]
[pdf]
17 Mar 05 (Wed) Mammalian sex determination (HS) [html]
[pdf]
18 Mar 10 (Mon) Sex in model systems (HS) [html] [pdf]
19 Mar 12 (Wed) Development and ageing I (DG) [pdf
of powerpoint presentation] [pdf
of handout]
20 Mar 17 (Mon) Development and ageing II (DG)
21 Mar 19 (Wed) Revision and Essay feedback
Contacts
HS - Dr Hazel Smith (Biology/WIBR) x 4-6733 hazel.smith@ucl.ac.uk
WR - Prof Bill Richardson (Biology/WIBR) x 4-6729 w.richardson@ucl.ac.uk
LD - Dr Leslie Dale (Anatomy and Dev Biol) x 3-3061 l.dale@ucl.ac.uk
DG – Dr David Gems (Biology) x 3-4381 david.gems@ucl.ac.uk
NP - Dr Nigel Pringle (Biology/WIBR) x 4-6736 n.pringle@ucl.ac.uk
MF - Dr Marcus Fruttiger (Biology/Inst of Ophthalmology) x 020 7608 6872 m.fruttiger@ucl.ac.uk
Recommended texts
1. "Principles of Development" (2nd edition 2002) by Lewis Wolpert and others (Current Biology Ltd, Oxford University Press) approx 30. Copies available in the DMS Watson library. This is a well-illustrated book written at an appropriate level – recommended.
2. "Developmental Biology" (8th edition 2006) by Scott Gilbert (Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland Massachuetts). This is an excellent book that covers more ground in more detail than Wolpert's book, and costs a little more (approx 40 from Waterstones). Copies are available in the DMS Watson library. It comes with a CD and also has an associated web site. If you decide to stick with Developmental Biology in the third year, this will see you through. If not, you can always sell it on to next year's 2nd year group.
3. "Molecular Biology of the Cell " (4th edition 2002) by Alberts et al. (Garland Publishing Inc. NY and London). Most of you will have this book already (if not, you should have); it is used in several other courses in all three years. Chapter 15 "Cell communication", Chapter 17 "The cell cycle and programmed cell death", Chapter 20 "Germ cells and fertilization" and Chapter 21 "Development of multicellular organisms" are of particular relevance to this course.
This course will be assessed 85% by final examination, 15% by coursework
essay. The format of the exam is "answer FOUR questions in three
hours", out of a choice of NINE questions. Each question is in the
form of an essay, or short notes on a choice of topics (e.g. two out of
three choices). [2001 exam] [2002
exam] [2003 exam] [2004
exam] [2005 exam] [2006
exam][2007 exam]
General guidance on reading/revision/examination technique
Start by reading the relevant sections of Alberts et al (MBC), Wolpert (Principles of Development) and/or Gilbert (Developmental Biology) (see above). Then read one or more of the REVIEW ARTICLES recommended by the lecturer. Only if you feel compelled by curiosity and have time is it necessary to delve through the original research articles. In general, if in the examination you cover all the main points discussed in the lecture and demonstrate understanding as well as recall, this will be sufficient for a 2:1 mark. To gain a first class mark (>70%) you will also need to demonstrate that you have read outside of the lecture notes - this means including facts/discussion in your exam answer that could only have come from extra reading. REMEMBER - diagrams are invaluable; use them whenever they would be helpful. Apart from anything else, it is very tiring for the examiners to have to read close-packed lines of scribbles, when a simple diagram with a brief description would do the job.
The examiners are not necessarily looking for examples of perfect prose
in your essay answers. This is not a course in English Literature. However,
a WELL-ORGANIZED essay is a good essay. Start off by making a few notes
at the top of the page to help you remember the main points you want to
cover and arrange them in a logical order. Time spent at this planning
stage is well-spent. Keep calm, with an eye on the clock. It is often
better to leave an answer unfinished and move on to the next one if you
are running out of time - return to it at the end if you can. It is better
to have four partially completed answers than only three comprehensive
answers. Of course, it is even better to have four comprehensive answers!
Some related web sites: