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B2010 The Biology of
Development (previously B250)
2nd year half-course-unit
Jan-March 2006
[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
Lectures are held on Mondays
Organiser: Dr Hazel Smith, Dept of
Biology. (~ 70 students registered)
Assessment: 85% final exam, 15% coursework essay.
***********
follow this link to B2010
COURSEWORK ESSAY TITLES 2006 ************ and how to write and
submit it, deadlines etc
[Note: this 2nd year
course is designed to feed into the 3rd year course C3 (a+b)
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 -
C3a ( lectures) and C3b (practicals/demonstrations/tutorial). Students
can take either C3a alone or C3a+b together. If you find that
you enjoyed B2010, then you should seriously consider taking C3a or C3a+b next
year]
TIMETABLE 2006
1 Jan 09 (Mon) Introduction: why
study development? The main issues, model systems (WR)
2 Jan 11 (Wed) Drosophila: genetics of segmentation (WR) [segmentation]
3 Jan 16 (Mon) Drosophila: homeotic (HOM) genes.
Antennapedia and Bithorax Complexes (WR) [HOM genes]
Jan 18 (Wed) no lecture
4 Jan 23 (Mon) Molecular genetics of
the BX-C (WR) [regulatory
mutants].
5 Jan 25 (Wed) Vertebrate HOM genes
(WR)
6 Jan 30 (Mon) Early vertebrate
development: axis determination and gastrulation (LD) [vertebrate
embryogenesis PDF] (needs Adobe Reader)
7 Feb 01 (Wed) Pre-implantation
mammalian development and derivation of embryonic stem cells (HS) [mouse
development and ES cells]
8 Feb 06 (Mon) Formation of the germ
layers - molecular biology of mesoderm induction (LD)
9 Feb 08 (Wed) Transgenic mice in the
study of development (HS) [transgenic
mice]
10 Feb 13 (Mon) Neural induction and
head development (LD)
11 Feb 15 (Wed) Tutorial on essay writing
12 Feb 20 (Mon) Development and ageing
(DG) [ageing
Powerpoint] [ageing
handout]
13 Feb 22 (Wed) Evolution of development (GK) [Evo-Devo lecture summary] [Evo-Devo lecture notes]
14 Feb 27 (Mon) Eye development in
vertebrates and Drosophila (HS) [eye
development PDF] (needs Adobe Reader)
15 Mar 01 (Wed) Sexual dimorphism ...
(JW) [sex
determination Powerpoint]
16 Mar 06 (Mon) ... and sex-determining genes (JW)
17 Mar 08 (Wed) Vertebrate limb/ wing
development (WR) [reading: Wolpert 2nd ed Chapter 10 and Gilbert 6th ed Chapter 16]
18 Mar 13 (Mon) Pattern and cell type
specification in the vertebrate CNS (NP) [CNS patterning]
19 Mar 15 (Wed) Wiring the CNS: axon
guidance in flies and mammals (MF) [axon guidance]
20 Mar 20 (Mon) Branching
morphogenesis: a common theme in organogenesis (MF) [branching
morphogenesis]
21 Mar 22 (Wed) Vascular development [vascular
development] (MF)
Contacts
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
JW - Dr Jonathan Wolfe
(Biology) x 2-7417 j.wolfe@ucl.ac.uk
HS - Dr Hazel Smith
(Biology/WIBR) x 4-6733 hazel.smith@ucl.ac.uk
MF - Dr Marcus Fruttiger
(Biology/Inst of Ophthalmology) x 020
7608 6872 m.fruttiger@ucl.ac.uk
NP - Dr Nigel Pringle
(Biology/WIBR) x 4-6736 n.pringle@ucl.ac.uk
GK - Dr Georgy Koentges
(Biology/WIBR) x 4-6955 g.koentges@ucl.ac.uk
DG – Dr David Gems
(Biology) x 3-4381 david.gems@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" (7th edition 2003) 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). [2000 exam]
[2001 exam] [2002 exam] [2003 exam] [2004 exam]
[2005
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:
U
Penn Basic Embryology Review