Advanced Biological Sciences (MRes)

This module provides two-thirds of the content for the MRes in Advanced Biological Sciences programme. Each student undertakes an extensive research project which is laboratory and/or fieldwork based, depending on the specialisation chosen: • Biodiversit...

This module will provide Master’s year (level7) Neuroscience students a course based around UoS expertise in Neuroscience. This will be a research led education in which core concepts and techniques developed at levels 4-6 are iterated to an advanced leve...

The module provides a broad outline of the applications of plant biotechnology in the modern world. Where possible, general principles are developed alongside specific examples rather than giving exhaustive lists of detailed information. Plants are incr...

This module concerns global biodiversity, what we understand by it and why it is in crisis, and current efforts to conserve and manage it. We begin with an appraisal of different values of diversity at scales from genetic to species, communities and ecosy...

BIOL6047 ‘Biofilms and Microbial Communities’ aims to provide an understanding of bacterial biofilms and the environmental, industrial and health care problems related to complex microbial consortia of societal importance. Students will learn to describe ...

Large-scale approaches at the molecular, cellular, organismal and ecological level are revolutionizing biology by enabling systems-level questions to be addressed. In many cases, these approaches are driven by technologies that allow the components of bio...

The aim of this module is introduce third year students to the main clinically relevant parasite classes, it will consider their lifecycles, the human/veterinary pathology caused and the treatment methods both of the primary and where applicable intermedi...

This course is designed to illustrate the ways in which the theoretical principles of biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology presented in previous courses can be applied to yield important commercial or therapeutic products or processes.

This module will deliver a comprehensive analysis of selected topics associated with the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive cancer development and lead to tumour progression. This will involve exploring the genetic drivers of disease, the mechan...

The module will discuss the structure and function of biological membranes. The course will provide an introduction to the physic-chemical properties of lipid bilayers, before discussing processes involved in the insertion of integral membrane proteins in...

The module comprises an introduction/revision to inflammatory mediators and a detailed survey of the way that they interact in different diseases. This information is integrated in the context of a number of human diseases affecting a range of different t...

This module provides an understanding of the molecular and cellular basis of brain function. We will use examples of specific molecules and cell-cell interactions to provide explicit details of such function to highlight core principles of neuronal develo...

The module will cover recent advances in selected areas of molecular cell biology explaining key aspects of cell and molecular biology required to understand these studies. The relevance of these studies to advancement of medical science will also be exp...

Students will recognise and demonstrate an understanding of conservation issues along a spectrum ranging from individual animals, through to populations (including conservation genetics), reintroductions, habitat restoration and anthropogenic sources of c...

This module will support the student's Masters project work, and is centred around existing seminar series and other activities within the School of Biological Sciences and other Academic Units. It exposes students to current research and aims to enforce ...

This module provides a detailed and up-to-date study of a small number of topics in modern cell biology

Evidence-based ecology, evolution and conservation require quantitative analyses of field data typically collected under imperfectly controlled conditions and across heterogeneous habitats. This module will develop generic skills in (1) the design of data...

This module seeks to understand the broad physiological principles that progress from the early embryo through to the later stages of fetal development, birth and early postnatal life using the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesi...

This module will deliver a comprehensive analysis of the topics associated with evolutionary developmental biology. This will involve exploring the theory of evolution; embryology and molecular pathways of development; what the fossil record tells us abou...

Evolution typically happens over long time periods, with organisms being selected based on their environments. But climate change and human factors can also increase the rate of evolution. In this module we show how organisms evolve in terms of their envi...

Microorganisms are key players in all the major biogeochemical cycles on Earth. Fluxes, Cycles, and Microbial Communities explores the microbial influence on the biological, chemical, and geological processes that shape natural environments on our planet....

This module will consider human-caused global challenges and their impact on marine and terrestrial ecosystems. We will discuss the main causes of global change, including greenhouse gases, changes in temperature and rainfall, and human land use, as well ...

This module covers the major topics in cellular and molecular immunology, including antigen recognition, antigen processing and presentation to B and T cells, the molecular events leading to the generation of antibody and T cell receptor diversity, antibo...

The organisation of the eukaryotic cell has always fascinated researchers. This module illustrates the upkeep of cellular structure and function.

This module provides fourth year students with an introduction to the molecular basis of receptor pharmacology. The module detailed analysis of the mechanisms of drug action at the molecular level through the application of biochemical and molecular biolo...

Most biological processes involve interactions between macromolecules. The module discusses selected examples and explains techniques used to study molecular interactions.

This module describes the neurobiology that underpins the aetiology and pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease that has been a focus of intense and exciting research activity over the last several decades. The course is largely a research-led unit wher...

This module is to describe basic concepts in neuropharmacology e.g. on the localisation and putative function of neurotransmitter pathways in the brain and to use this knowledge to consider different theories relating to the biochemical basis of action of...

This module explores current topics in plant cell biology. It provides an understanding of the unique features of plant cells and of the cellular mechanisms that allow plants to interact with their environment. Responses at the cellular level to important...

To provide an understanding of i) the regulation of transcription in eukaryotic organisms; ii) post-transcriptional regulation; iii) the structure, formation and function of microRNAs; iv) how the process of translation is controlled.

This module provides fourth year students with an introduction to the principles of selective toxicity, in which chemotherapeutic agents are used to inhibit the growth of an invading species by selective targeting pathways or processes in the pathogen.

Skills in the molecular biosciences are rapidly developing. This course will prepare students for several common techniques, giving them both a theoretical grounding and practical experience in experimental design so that they can use these new skills in ...

Student will acquire a foundation in the theory underpinning a range of biophysical techniques used to study structure and function of biomolecules. The students will have the opportunity to learn at a practical level how these techniques are employed, le...

This module will provide a detailed understanding of the structure and function of the nervous system. Starting with nervous system development and then focusing on the adult nervous system, students will learn about the gross anatomy of the human brain a...

This module seeks to expose students to research level studies in a number of areas related to the function of the nervous system, necessary to understand the pathophysiology of neurological conditions. The course will describe CNS development, and the s...

The course provides an insight into how molecular studies can be employed to further medical research and aid in the development of novel treatments and therapeutics. The course will cover a number of areas including the role of epigenetic in disease, amy...