Materials for Lectures

Click on the above link to download materials used in the course.

Homework Assignments  

Click on the above link to download homework assignments you may not have picked up in class.

Answer Keys (Quizzes and Homework)

Click on the above link to download answer keys to quizzes, reading worksheets, and other homework assignments.

Practice Quizzes

Click on the above link to download old quizzes or practice quizzes to help you prepare and study for the next class quiz! 

Announcements

April 10, 2008

Updated schedule

Monday, April 14, 4pm: A7 draft due by email (100 pts homework; must be done in PowerPoint)

Tuesday, April 15, 4pm: Big quiz (30 minutes, can replace a low quiz grade).  Covers everything from Lecture 1-Lecture 23.

Tuesday, April 15, 4:30pm: Computer lab; work on A7.  You will get feedback from the instructors on your poster.  You can get help from the instructors about using PowerPoint.  

Thursday, April 17, 4pm: Novartis Homework Due (Part II, 50 pts).  Cancer Treatments Lecture 3.

Friday, April 18, 4 pm: A7 due, via email.

April 8, 2008

Lecture 23 answers to in-class worksheet

The answer key has now been posted in the Answer Keys section of this website. 

April 2, 2008 

Novartis Field Trip - Thursday, 4/10

*Meet at 2:00PM in front of Dane.

This is joint filed trip with the Biochemistry class.  It is a mandatory field trip, and any absences must be excused.  Note: We will return to PMC by approximately 5:30PM.

Big Quiz II - Tuesday, 4/15

This quiz will be approximately 30 minutes in length and may be counted for either 1 normal quiz grade or as 2 quiz grades, one of which can be used to replace a previous low quiz score.  This quiz will be cumulative over the entire semester's material.  As with the previous Big Quiz, a large portion of the questions will be taken from previous quizzes.

March 18, 2008  

Tufts Lab Tour - Saturday, 3/22, 10AM

This Saturday, March 22nd, we will offer tours of our laboratories at Tufts Medical School for any students interested in seeing a working academic lab.  The Medical School is in downtown Boston in Chinatown and is accessible by the Red, Orange, and Green, and Blue lines on the MBTA. The tour will begin at 10:00AM and should take about 1 hour or less.  If you are planning to come, please email one of the instructors by Friday at 5PM so we can give you detailed instructions on where to meet us. 

March 18, 2008

*Please note this correction to the A5 instructions:  Choose 3 main similarities and differences between the two primary articles you are analyzing to discuss in your essay. One of these 3 main points should be discussed per paragraph in each of paragraphs 2-4.  (Paragraph 1 will be your introduction and 5 will be your conclusion.)  This assignment is nearly identical to what you wrote for A4 - just this time comparing 2 primary scientific papers. 

March 12, 2008

Next Tuesday (3/18) begins the Biomarkers Unit of this course.  We will begin by doing a case study in class.  The handout that we will use for the case has now been posted on the Materials for Lecture page.

March 10, 2008

Primary Literature Day #2 (3/20) reading and homework assignment are now posted on the Homework Assignments page.  Please note:  This assignment is due on Tuesday, March 25, 4 pm, in class.  It is a 100pt homework assignment .

March 6, 2008

A5:  The instructions and rubric for Writing Assignment 5 (A5) have now been posted on the Homework Assignments page.  Please note:  This assignment is due on Tuesday, March 25, 4 pm, in class.

Quiz: There will be a quiz on Tuesday, March 18.  The material covered on that quiz will focus on the "Non-coding" and "miRNA" lectures (2/28 and 3/4). 

February 28, 2008

Answers for the Clicker questions in the "Non-coding Mutations and Epigenetic Changes" lecture slides (2/28/08) are now posted in the Answer Keys section of the website along with the Reading worksheet answer keys.  Please take a look at these and be sure you understand the answers.  They directly test how well you understood today's lecture and will likely reappear on a future quiz!   Answers to questions on the cancer cases you worked on in class can also be found in the Answer Keys section.  Reviewing and understanding the cases is also good practice for future quizzes.

February 20, 2008

**Oral component added to Big Quiz**  (Tuesday, Feb. 26th)

In addition to a 30 minute written quiz covering material from Lectures 1-11, there will also be a 5- minute oral quiz which will assess your knowledge of the central dogma (how a gene becomes a protein).

The written quiz will count for two quiz scores (200pts), and the oral component will count for 1 quiz score (100pts).  Details on the oral quiz will be handed out and discussed in class tomorrow (2/21).

Because of the oral quiz, there will be no lecture given on Tuesday, 2/26.  Instead the "Non-coding, etc" lecture will be given on Thursday, 2/28. (See "Materials for Lecture" section for a full lecture schedule update.  Those waiting to take the oral portion of the quiz can use the time to work on the A3 writing assignment due on Friday, 2/29.

This is a great chance to really improve your quiz grade in the course, so study hard!  

February 19, 2008

Cancer research topics were handed out today. This is the cancer you will be researching for the remainder of the Sequenced Writing Assignments.     If you missed the topic list, you can download a copy here. The list gives the name of the cancer each person will be researching, as well as the title of the blog to use as your starting point for A3. 

February 14, 2008

**Topics to be covered on Big Quiz**  (Tuesday, Feb. 26th)

This quiz will be approximately 30 minutes in length and will count for two quiz scores (200pts).  The quiz will cover all material from Lecture 1 (Jan 15) through Lecture 11 (Feb 19), including the following:

**1/2 questions will be based directly on questions from previous quizzes** 

Specific topics to be covered include:

Cancer Road Map 

GFs and cell signaling
Oncogenes
Cell Cycle Checkpoints
TSGs
Cell Biology Review
Apoptosis
Akt1 Paper
DNA replication and telomeres
DNA damage and its repair

Questions not directly based on previous quiz questions will include questions from the homework assignments and lecture slides (especially the clicker questions!).  Be sure to continue reviewing lecture slides/notes, handouts, and homework to prepare.  And, see us with any questions!

February 12, 2008

Answers for the Clicker questions in the TSG lecture slides (1/31/08 or 2/12/08) are now posted in the Answer Keys section of the website along with the Reading worksheet answer keys.  Please take a look at these and be sure you understand the answers.  They directly test how well you understood today's lecture and will likely reappear on a future quiz!

February 11, 2008

Highwire Press is an additional database you can use for accessing primary and secondary scientific articles. It's actually an excellent database! Check out the information on how to use Highwire in this handout put together for you by Sarah Woolf. 

February 8, 2008

**Big Quiz on Tuesday, Feb. 26th** 

This quiz will be approximately 30 minutes in length and will count for two quiz scores (200pts).  The quiz, as all of the quizzes, will be cumulative over everything we've covered so far. Be sure to continue reviewing lecture slides/notes, handouts, and homework to prepare.  And, see us with any questions!

Also, the answer keys (rubric) for the 100 pt Primary Lit Day Homework (Akt 1 paper worksheet) is now available on the "Answers Keys" page.

February 6, 2008

The "Homework Assignments" section has been updated!  It now includes information regarding your first assignment for the Sequenced Writing Project for Bi490.  The first assignment is due on Wednesday, Feb 13, 2008 at 4pm (it must be posted online by then!  Note!  This is not a normal class day!)

Details of the assignment will be handed out in class (2/7), along with the news article that you will need to complete this assignment.

February 5, 2008

**Revised Lecture Schedule**

2/7 - Library Research Day

2/12 - Tumor Suppressor Genes (Lecture 6 continued) 

2/14 - DNA replication

2/19 - DNA repair

2/21 - Mutagens

2/26 - Noncoding DNA

Extra Credit update - The extra credit assignment from 2/5 will still be accepted for 1/2 credit (5 pts on any quiz) on Thurs, 2/7.  Please think carefully before doing this, however - your time is better spent working on the 100pt reading worksheet due on Thursday!

January 30, 2008

Job Opportunities in Research! 

Interested in pursuing a career in laboratory research, but need to get some real experience in the lab before considering applying to graduate schools?  Check out the following programs and positions for research technicians and fellows:

Lab Technician positions(Tufts University)

Contact Tufts Human Resources at

https://recruiter.kenexa.com/tufts/cc/Home.ss?ccid=bupJEdUjsTs%3D

and send your resume directly to Claire.Moore@tufts.edu

Tufts University Summer Research Programs

Sackler School (Tufts Med.) - Deadline: Feb. 15th

http://www.tufts.edu/sackler/programs/summer.html 

Tufts Biology (Medford Campus) - Deadline: March 1st

http://ase.tufts.edu/biology/undergrad/research/reu.asp 

Other Summer Research Programs 

NSF-sponsored programs at other schools:

http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu 

Howard Hughes programs

http://www.hhmi.org/grants/reports/scienceopp/main 

Others 

http://www.cnas-ugresearch.ucr.edu/research_opps/off_campus.html 

January 30, 2008 

Lecture notes and handout for Thursday are now posted.  Please download and print them out!  Also, note the 1 additional section on p150 page to read for class listed on the handout.

January 29, 2008-

Novartis Field Trip Date Scheduled!

Please mark your calendars. The field trip to Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) has been scheduled for Thursday, April 10th. We'll leave PMC around 2:30pm and return by around 5:30pm. (This is a joint field trip with the Biochemistry Course.)  More details to come later . . .

January 22, 2008 (Lecture 3)

Be sure to check out the "Materials for Lectures" section part of this website.  Slides for lectures are available both in pdf and ppt format.  Use them to review what we went over in class today on signal transduction.  The concept of signaling pathways is a theme that we will be coming back to again and again throughout the course!  

Check out the "Homework Assignments" section to see what is due, and when!

The answer key for the Reading Worksheet on Growth Factors and Signal Transduction is now available.  Go to the answer key section of the website.

January 15, 2008 (Lecture 1)

The class came up with some great questions about cancer in today's class activity.  You can see the whole list of class questions here.  We'll be revisiting these questions throughout the course -- let's see how many we can answer! 

January 7, 2008 

Class starts next Tuesday, January 15!  The Course Syllabus and a General Writing Guide are posted on the left-hand side of this page.  Please download them to learn more about the course.  These items will also be handed out on the first day of class.  

Also, please download and fill out this anonymous survey and bring it with you to class on Tuesday. 

Novemember 2, 2007

The Bi490 website is up and running! Check back frequently for announcements, postings and all the information you need to succeed in Bi490.