| Responsible Department | Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology
30 % Department of Basic Science and Environment 30 % | ||||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | MSc. 1 year to MSc. 2 year | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | One block | ||||||||||||||
| Credits | 7.5 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||||
| Level of Course | MSc | ||||||||||||||
| Examination | Final Examination oral examination All aids allowed Description of Examination: Individual oral examination based on a group work report, 25min for presentation, discussion and question. Weight: Oral examination 100% 7-point scale, internal examiner | ||||||||||||||
| Requirement for Attending Exam | An approved written report. For the report, a group can select one of the topics of the course will be supervised by the lecturers of relevant topic. | ||||||||||||||
| Organisation of Teaching | Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology (30%), Department of Basic science and Environment (30%), Department of Chemistry (20%) and Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology (20%) are responsible for the inter-faculty course. | ||||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 3 Week Structure: B | ||||||||||||||
| Language of Instruction | English | ||||||||||||||
| Optional Prerequisites | BSc in natural science (biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, chemistry, physics or medical science). | ||||||||||||||
| Restrictions | None. | ||||||||||||||
| Course Content | |||||||||||||||
| The course is interdisciplinary and will be guided by the strong scientific groups of the UNIK center for Synthetic Biology of Copenhagen University. Synthetic biology is an emerging technology that applies biological science as a basis for new developments within medicine, pharmaceutics, plant biology and materials sciences using combined concepts developed in biotechnology and nano-science. Foundational tools to meet this challenge include: Ready access to off-the-shelf standardized biological parts and devices as well as advanced tools that enable the integration of basic biological and synthetic units into multi component systems. Further, a variety of modern measuring techniques and computational tools are applied in the design and tests of new systems. The richness and versatility of biology is the basis for the great potential of synthetic biology, and it is foreseen that several of the world's most pressing challenges may be addressed by these methods. The course will focus on topics in the frontier of synthetic biology. This will be guided by updated literatures. Examples of selected topics are: 1. Lipid membrane nanotechnology for synthetic biology 2. Light-driven synthesis: Charging the future 3. Synthesis of terpene compounds and manipulation 4. Applications of silver nano-cluster technology 5. Single molecule fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy 6. Biophysical analysis for synthetic biology using scattering methods (light, X-ray) and thermal methods (DSC, ITC) 7. Intact Mammalian Cell Function on Semiconductor Examples of experiments are: Interface 1: Biology + Chemistry 1. Single molecule fluorescence microscopy Demonstration of how we can record the emission of a single molecule. Pyrelenemonoimide dyes will be excited with Argon-ion laser and an image will be formed by a piezo scanner on top of an inverted confocal microscope. 2. Application of silver nano-cluster probe Students will study how DNA fragment forms silver nano-clustering for a very strong fluorescence and possible applications of the DNA/silver nano-cluster probe for the detection of biological materials, e.g. miRNAs, nucleic acid binding proteins. Interface 2: Biology + Physics 1. Nano-disc assembly Self-assembly of monodisperse membrane nanoparticles is an extremely useful tool to study membrane proteins in a controlled native-like environment. Students will study how to make nano-disc (protein self assembly) and its biological applications. 2. Biophysical analysis for synthetic biology a. Scattering methods (eg. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS)) can be used to elucidate the structure and size of biomelocules and bimolecular complexes. Students will study scattering methods using nanodiscs. b. Thermal methods (eg. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)) wil be used to study the interaction of biomolecules as well as molecular transition and aggregation properties. Fundamentals: Core concepts, Definitions. Tools: Introduction to major experimental tool applied for synthetic biology. Recent advances and future trends Industry Applications: Linking theory and business Ethical Issues: Public concerns and official debate | |||||||||||||||
| Teaching and learning Methods | |||||||||||||||
| Lecture: Delivery of material in a lecture format (40%) Discussion or Group work (30%) Lab works: Demonstrations, experiments, simulations (30%) | |||||||||||||||
| Learning Outcome | |||||||||||||||
| Participants will obtain broad interface insights on the main subject areas of synthetic biology with emphasis on interdisciplinary studies. A wide variety of topics in biotechnology, nano-technology, neuroscience, structure biology and more will have been covered on completion of the course. These insights will develop creativity for the merging to other subjects. By delivering advanced techniques from various disciplines, students will acquire practical skills that can be applied to other research fields. Group collaboration and interdisciplinary communication will be enhanced by the course. Knowledge 1. The basic concepts and perspectives of synthetic biology, e.g. conventional synthetic biology and newly emerging synthetic biology. 2. Acquire a common vocabulary useful for synthetic biology (e.g. standard part, chassis, etc.). 3. Identify main current focus and hesitations concerning scientific, ethical and regulatory aspects. 4. The prospects of combining biology to engineer and/or technology. 5. Broad insights on coherent knowledge based on interdisciplinary research. 6. Knowledge of the most recent published literature in the field and insight into ongoing research. Skills 1. Understand foundational tools applied to the engineering of biology. 2. Identify aspects of biotechnology that inhibit and enable the faster, reliable programming of natural systems. 3. Comprehend current and future applications for synthetic biology. 4. Apply fundamental laboratory approaches for engineering biology. 5. Ability to join in combinatorial interdisciplinary research, e.g. communication and knowledge delivery. 6. Structure reports and handle scientific literature in the proper way. Competence 1. Able to discuss the issues of public concerns and ethical dilemmas and the potential solutions offered by synthetic biology. 2. Able to prepare and present oral and written work. 3. Capability to find a solution for a problem and work independently. 4. Able to apply the concepts and techniques of synthetic biology to other subjects at a high academic level. 5. Able to work efficiently in a collaborative work situation. | |||||||||||||||
| Course Literature | |||||||||||||||
| A combination of original research papers, review articles and laboratory manual | |||||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||||
| Seong Wook Yang, swyang@life.ku.dk, Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology/Section for Plant Biochemistry, Phone: 353-32354 Kell Mortensen, kell@life.ku.dk, Department of Basic Sciences and Environment, Phone: 353-32311 | |||||||||||||||
| Study Board | |||||||||||||||
| Study Committee NSN | |||||||||||||||
| Work Load | |||||||||||||||
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