Cells, Molecules and Genes 1

Cell, Molecules and Genes 1 course addresses the basic cellular and molecular biology processes as well as of the consequences of their pathological alterations. The importance of approaches of molecular biology as diagnostic and/or therapeutic tools is underlied. The module of molecular biology provides students with a deep knowledge of the molecular mechanisms involved in the main processes of the flow of genetic information and their possible involvements in pathological conditions. The studets is introduced to the approaches of molecular biology useful to perform biomedical research, diagnose the molecular consequences of genetic mutations and/or develop novel therapeutic approaches and the application of molecular biology for the treatment of specific human disorders is presented in dedicated seminars.
The Biology module provides insights into the cell life cycle, the models that are used in biomedical and preclinical research from cells to animals with a focus on stem cells and their use, not only as models but also as fundamental tools in regenerative medicine. Cell communication and its relevance in the control of fundamental cellular processes like cell cycle progression, cell proliferation, and cell death are analyzed in depth and the contribution of impaired cell communications to human pathologies will be examined The module of Histology and Embryology focuses on cytology and will describe the organization of the human body at the cellular level, by describing cells, cell ultrastructure, and the related functional aspects

Students are expected to achieve knowledge on:
- the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells;
-the communication mechanisms between cells, signal transduction within cells, replication regulation, stem cell formation, cell death and neoplastic transformation;
-the different mechanisms of receptor activation and their regulation with the aim of understanding the intracellular signaling pathways and their impact on the cell physiology;
-the structure and function of the main cellular macromolecules;
-the main cellular and animal models used to understand the basic cellular mechanisms and to model human pathologies;
-the molecular basis of genetic information maintenance (replication and repair), its expression and regulation (transcription, transcription maturation, protein synthesis, epigenetics);
- the main molecular biology techniques useful for analyzing the DNA sequence, studying gene expression, even at a global level;
-the main techniques of genetic engineering;
-the importance of molecular biology for the diagnosis and treatment of some human pathologies.
-the cell ultrastructure, the morphology and the structure of organelles and their main functions