Unit information: Cell and Developmental Biology in 2008/09

Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.

Unit name Cell and Developmental Biology
Unit code BIOL20011
Credit points 10
Level of study I/5
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2D (weeks 19 - 24)
Unit director Professor. Grierson
Open unit status Not open
Pre-requisites

Normally 120 cps of appropriate Level 1 units in Biological Sciences.

Co-requisites

None

School/department School of Biological Sciences
Faculty Faculty of Life Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

All living cells are composed of cells and all biological phenomena are ultimately the result of cellular activity. Developmental mechanisms govern how cells multiply, arrange themselves, and specialise, and cellular mechanisms are responsible for the responses of organisms to their environment. Cell and developmental biology are two of the most rapidly advancing areas of biology, whose medical, agronomic and biotechnological significance have been recognised by recent Nobel Prizes. This unit will use examples of cell signalling, developmental patterning, and cell differentiation in animals, plants, and microbes to illustrate how genetic and environmental information is processd, and how single cells can develop into complex, multicellular organisms.