HONR 210 - MEDICINE:
E/W
STUDY GUIDE, TEST 1
October 7, 1997 Dr.
Jakubowski
For exam one,
you should be able to:
- Understand the difference between elements,
atoms, subatomic particles, and molecules.
- Understand how the periodic table organizes
our understanding of the chemical properties of elements and how
the table is a succinct expression of . periodic law.
- Understand the chemical basis for the
organization of the periodic table.
- Describe the octet rule and the basis for
chemical reactivity of the elements.
- Draw Lewis structures for the elements and
both ionic and covalent compounds, including molecular
ions.
- Determine the formal change on an atom in a
molecule or molecular ion,
- Explain the following concepts: ionic
bonds, polar and nonpolar covalent bonds,
electronegativity.
- Identify and explain the different types of
intermolecular forces (IMF) including ion..ion, H bond, and
London forces, and explain how the strenght of IMF affects boiling
and melting points.
- Understand and explain the significance of
IMF in biological interactions
- Explain the role of receptors in membranes
of cells.
- Draw "cartoon" structures for simple lipids
and use them to explain the solubility properties of lipids in
water.
- Explain how detergent micelles and bilayers
form through IMF.
- Explain and be able to draw a
representation of chromosomes, single and double stranded DNA, and
a gene.
- Explain the intermolecular forces which
hold ds-DNA together
- Explain how a limited number of monomeric
units (4 for DNA and RNA, and 20 for proteins) can combine to form
polymers of almost infinite variety and complexity.
- Describe and identify the constituents of
the backbone chain and bases on DNA, and how to identify the
different ends of the polymer.
- Describe and identify the constituents of
the main chain (backbone) and side chains of a protein, and how to
identify the different ends of the polymer
- Be able to identify the H-bond donors and
acceptors in any molecule, including proteins and nucleic acids.
- Identify the intramolecular forces which
cause a protein chain to fold to a unique 3D shape.
- Identify the intramolecular H-bonds among
H-bond donors and acceptors in the main chain and how H-bonds
among these groups lead to alpha helices and beta
strands/sheets.
- Explain the central dogma of biology
and:
- explain the difference between
replication, transcription, and translation
- name the enzymes used in replication and
transcription
- explain how gene expression is regulated
- explain the nature and role of
transcription factors
- explain how different cell types differ
from each other
- explain the difference between cell
division and cell differentiation
- explain the structure of a typical gene,
including regulatory sequences and introns/exons
- Given the template and coding strands of
DNA, and the genetic code, determine the mRNA sequence and the
protein sequence which would derive from the DNA sequence.
- Given a mutation in the DNA, and knowing
whether the mutation would alter a surface or buried amino acid in
the protein, speculate as to the effect of the mutation on protein
structure/function.
- Explain how drugs, hormones, and
neurotransmitters might interact with their target molecules (such
as proteins and DNA) within cells.
- With regard to the immune system.
explain:
- the common motiff used by immune cells
to respond to foreign substances.;
- the functions of B, plasma, Thelper,
Tcytotoxic, and natural killer cells;
- the role and sources of antibodies,
antigens, Tcell receptors, and interleukins
- the role of MHC proteins;
- d. the concept of immune
surveillance;
- how the immune system discriminates self
from nonself;
- the role of genetic recombination in the
generation of antibody diversity;
- With regards to bacteria and viruses,
explain:
- the differences between a bacteria and
virus;
- in general how antibiotics work;
- how antibiotic resistant strains of
bacteria arise
- why, theoretically, it is easier to
develop antibiotics than antiviral drugs
- With respect to drug discovery and
development, explain:
- how potential drugs can be found in
nature;
- how new drugs can be found in the
lab;
- the process of rational drug
design;
- the processes required for new drugs to
"arrive" in the marketplace;
- how diseases are chosen for drug
development by pharmaceutical companies.
- the difference between drugs marketed by
pharmaceutical companies and substances found in "herbal"
remedies
- how drugs work
- Understand and articulate, from our
discussions in class, the experiments in lab, and from the
Exchange conference, the nature and use of the scientific method.
This certainly will be the subject of a significant essay question
on the exam. Be prepared to explain how you might use this method
to address the efficacy of traditional and alternative medical
therapies.
Read the article on Cell
Suicide on Reserve.
The following questions are based on the article: Cell Suicide in
Health and Disease, by R. Duke, D. Ojcius, and J. Young, which
appeared in the December 1996 issue of Scientific American. Two
copies of this article have been placed on reserve at each library.
This article represents the kind of article that you should hopefully
be able to read and understand after the first part of this course.
It is one of the best written articles I have read from Scientific
American in many years. The topic, Cell Suicide, is one of the
exciting areas of modern biological/biochemical/medical research, as
you will undoubtedly discern after reading the article. Most
scientist investigating cellular phenomena have spent almost all
their effort in studying how a cell lives and replicates, and paid
little attention to how and why cells die. Most scientists probably
never even thought of asking the latter question
I have derived five questions from the article. One will appear on
the first exam. You may NOT use any notes or articles during the
exam. In preparation for the exam, I would suggest that you answer
these questions as you read the article. Your answers should include
cartoon diagrams to help explain your ideas.
- Differentiate between programmed cell death (apoptosis) and
necrosis.
- Describe why cells have programmed into their genetic
information the molecular machinery to commit suicide. List
several cell type that routinely undergo apoptosis and explain why
it is biological advantageous for these cells to do so.
- The proteins Bcl, p53, ICE-like proteases, Fas, and Fas-ligand
are involved in apoptosis and its regulation. Explain their roles.
- Below are listed a type of cell and an associated disease.
What kinds of defects might you expect in the genes for the
proteins involved in apoptosis (listed in Question 3) in the cells
listed below, and how would the defect help cause the associated
disease?
- cancer cell - cancer
- T helper cells - AIDS
- virally infected cells (excluding immune cells) - viral
infection
- T cells which recognize self antigens - autoimmune disease
- Give an explanation why melanocytes (cells which produce the
skin pigment melanin) which become cancerous are so aggressive and
metastatic.
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