Advanced Molecular Cell Biology I (BIOL2900)

Course overview

This course is intended to be a comprehensive introduction to Cell Biology. We will discuss the vast diversity of cells and how their structures subserve their functions.

This course is intended to be a comprehensive introduction to cell biology. Some of the main concepts covered include

• The main components of the cells and how they are organised, the molecular structures of these components and how they relate to their cellular functions.
• Organelles and the principles of compartmentalisation, and their relevance to cellular functions.
• Cellular membranes, their structure and function, and how the structure of membranes relates to the structure and function of integralﾠmembrane proteins and membrane-associated proteinsﾠ.
• The main components and types of proteins that make up ﾠthe cytoskeleton and their functions in transporting cargo around the cell, including the main motor proteins.
• Protein trafficking and its role in cellular functions, including endocytosis, exocytosis, and endosomal trafficking.
• The cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis, cell death ﾠand proteins involved in controlling these processes. The cell cycle changes in cancer.
• Cell signalling with a focus on G-protein coupled receptors and how these proteins are used in signalling.ﾠ

Lecturesﾠﾠ

The course has 3 one-hour lectures per week.ﾠ All lectures are recorded and made available on Blackboard for delayed viewing.

Practicals

Students will have two series of practicals. Prac1 consists of two, 3-hour practical classes per week for a total of 2 weeks. Prac 2 consists of 2 fully-day practical classes in the mid-semester break

Course requirements

Assumed background

Assumed basic background knowledge from BIOL1020 or equivalent course.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

BIOL1020

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

BIOL1040

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

BIOL2200, BIOL2008

Restrictions

Internal offering only. Available to Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) students only.

Jointly taught details

This course is jointly-taught with:

Parts of this course are jointly taught with BIOL2200. This includes all lectures and practical 1 classes, but not practical 2.

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Please check your timetable regularly at the start of semester.ﾠ

A weekly schedule for the Lectures and Practicals will available on the Blackboard site ﾠ

Aims and outcomes

1. To provide a comprehensive introduction to the structure and function of a variety of cells in humans and model systems.
2. To design and execute practical exercises that stimulate critical thinking and problem solving.
3. To gain an understanding of how scientific experimentation associated with cell biology is carried out including fluorescent microscopy
4. To provide an undergraduate research project through practical sessions that demonstrate mammalian cell culture and its application in cell biology. 

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Assignment 1

• Hurdle

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation

Weight

20%

Due date

3/04/2025 2:00 pm

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Please submit your assignment through Turnitin using the dedicated link in the assessment section of the Blackboard.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Applications for Extensions

Information on applying for an extension can be found here: my.UQ Applying for an extension.

Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.

If you are unable to provide approved documentation to support your application by the due date and time, you must still submit your application by the deadline but with an attached Word document that outlines why you cannot provide the approved documentation by the deadline. You will then need to acquire and upload the approved documentation to your request within 24 hours. Please note: When an extension request has been submitted and is pending, students are expected to continue to work on the assessment item, with the aim of submitting by the requested due date and time.

Prolonged Absence

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 14 days, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses this semester.

Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)

For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g. a medical certificate.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Late Submission Penalty

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date. For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 10% will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point your submission will receive a mark of zero (0) unless an extension has been approved.

In most instances one or more hurdles will apply to your assessment item so you will need to submit it to fulfil the requirements of the course regardless of how late it is and the mark you are likely to be awarded.

Quiz on practical 2

• Hurdle
• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

20%

Due date

1/05/2025

The online quiz will be available for a 24 hour period. More detailed information on how to access the quiz will be provided on Blackboard closer to the time of assessment.

Other conditions

Time limited.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Online via Blackboard

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Extensions are NOT applicable to this assessment item. To request a deferred quiz, students are referred to the relevant UQ policy for reasons acceptable for a deferred quiz. A SAP is not sufficient to be granted a deferred quiz. 

Late submission

Late Submission Penalty

For submissions:

• less than 5 minutes late: 5% penalty
• between 5 minutes to less than 15 minutes late: 20% penalty
• more than 15 minutes late: 100% penalty.

In-Semester Exam

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

30%

Due date

In-semester Saturday

29/03/2025 - 12/04/2025

Other conditions

Time limited.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

End of Semester Exam

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

30%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025

Other conditions

Time limited.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Assessment Hurdles

In order to pass this course, you must meet ALL of the following requirements (if you do not meet these requirements, the maximum grade you will receive will be a 3):

1. You must obtain an overall course mark of 50% or more; and
2. You must obtain a weighted average mark of 40% or more across the two examination components; and
3. You must obtain a minimum weighted average mark of 40% across all other non-examination course assessment items; and
4. You must complete 100% of the laboratory component of the course.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply. 

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.  

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.  

Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes. 

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment. 

Additional assessment information

Absence from a Practical Session

You must complete 100% of the laboratory component of this course. Completion of Practical sessions is a hurdle for passing this course.

If you are unable to complete your timetabled practical session because of circumstances beyond your control (e.g., illness) you will need to submit an online practical absence request through the Practical Absences link in Blackboard and attach supporting documentation as outlined in the table below. ﾠDue to the large number of students in the course, switching to another class or make up session is not possible.ﾠ

Your request must be made before or on the day of the missed practical, except for a sudden illness or accident that prevents you from doing so, in which case you need to submit your request as soon as you are able to.

Requests without correct supporting documentation may not be approved. If the reason for your absence is not approved, you will be considered as absent from that practical session, and the laboratory completion hurdle may apply.ﾠ

Approved absences from practical laboratory classes cannot be used as a reason for special consideration or deferral for the Quiz associated with the Practical classes.

If you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the School -ﾠ enquiries@scmb.uq.edu.au.

Please note:ﾠ Personal statements will not be accepted as supporting documentation.

Assessment Submission

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure the on time, correct and complete submission of all assessment items.

Students are responsible for retaining evidence of submission by the due date for all assessment items, in the required form (for example, screenshot, email, photo, and an unaltered copy of submitted work).

In the case of a Blackboard outage, contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible to confirm the outage with ITS.

Assessment/Attendance

Notify your Course Coordinator as soon as you become aware of any issue that may affect your ability to meet the assessment/attendance requirements of the course. The my.UQ website and the Course Profile (CP) for your course provide information about your course requirements, the rules associated with your courses and services offered by the University.

A note for repeating students in this course

Only learning activities and/or assessment items completed during the study period of enrolment, including any approved extensions, may contribute to your grade in this course. The whole or partial use of assessment items previously submitted for the same course, for a course at any institution, or for published material, is not permitted without written permission of the Course Coordinator.

Important Note

Turnitin is to be used for assignments/laboratory reports to check for plagiarism. Penalties can be severe for plagiarism.

The University has adopted the following definition of plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting as one's own original work the ideas, interpretations, words or creative works of another either intentionally or unintentionally. These include published and unpublished documents, designs, music, sounds, images, photographs, computer codes and ideas gained through working in a group. These ideas, interpretations, words or works may be found in print and/or electronic media.

Students should read the UQ Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Blackboard

Lecture notes and additional material will be available on the Blackboard site atﾠlearn.uq.edu.au.

Echo360 lecture recordings will be available on Blackboard.

Please check the Announcements section of the Blackboard site regularly for information updates.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

You'll also need to be aware of the following policies and procedures while completing this course:

• Occupational Health and Safety in the Laboratory Guideline