CORE019 Advances and Challenges in Modern Biology

Faculty of Science
autumn 2021
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Panagiotis Alexiou, PhD (lecturer)
Mgr. Dalibor Blažek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. RNDr. Jiří Fajkus, CSc. (lecturer)
doc. RNDr. Jan Hejátko, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. MUDr. Mgr. Marek Mráz, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Tomasz Nodzynski, B.A., M.Sc., Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. Mary Anne O'Connell, PhD. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Pavel Plevka, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Helene Robert Boisivon, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Karel Říha, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Michal Šmída, Dr. rer. nat. (lecturer)
prof. Mgr. Štěpánka Vaňáčová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. RNDr. Zbyněk Zdráhal, Dr. (lecturer)
prof. Mgr. Lukáš Žídek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Karel Říha, Ph.D.
Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics – Central European Institute of Technology
Contact Person: Mgr. Karolína Marková
Supplier department: Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics – Central European Institute of Technology
Timetable
Mon 17:00–18:50 B11/335
Prerequisites
Interest in the latest trends and technologies in biological disciplines. Knowledge of English at least at level B1.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 60 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 3/60, only registered: 0/60, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/60
Course objectives
The course Advances and Challenges in Modern Biology acquaints students with the trends and interesting topics in modern biology, especially from the perspective of cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics. The scope of the individual lectures is to offer a broad overview with emphasis on conceptual questions, rather than deep insights and technical details. These can be followed up in more advanced and specialized courses. The course is primarily for students of biological disciplines, which will provide them with insights into various areas of biology highlighting new trends or technologies. Nevertheless, students of non-biological disciplines are also welcome as the lectures will use general language accessible to non-specialists. Over the past year we witnessed how much can biology impact our lives. Therefore, gaining insights into interesting questions and problems biology tries solves, and into technology advancements that revolutionize biology will certainly benefit also non-biology students intrigued by developments in this discipline.
9 lectures will be taught in Czech and 4 lectures will be taught in English. The study materials will then be available in English
Learning outcomes
The students will become familiar with the basic principles of biology and get acquainted with the current state and trends in the field. They will learn about the overlaps and applicability of knowledge of modern biology to their parent field and gain a significant advantage in the labor market, and will gain an overview of research and methods implemented at CEITEC MU. .
Syllabus
  • 9 lectures will be taught in Czech and 4 lectures will be taught in English. The study materials will then be available in English.
  • 13.9. Origins, structure, and impact of viruses on cellular life (Pavel Plevka) (CZE): Viruses most likely emerged many times, which is reflected in the heterogeneity of their replication strategies and particle structures. Viruses have always played a key role in evolutionary events by increasing genetic diversity through horizontal gene transfer. We will discuss the impact of viruses on the evolution of eukaryotes and other important milestones in the evolution of cellular organisms.
  • 20.9. Biology of Aging (Karel Říha) (CZE): Getting old is a natural feature of life. This lecture will put scientifc perspective on this phenomenon. It will discuss the following questions: What is aging? Why do we age? Do all organims age, and if yes, is their pace of aging the same? Is aging an inevitable process or an option that can be delayed or even avoided?
  • 27.9. Studies of leukemia biology leading to novel targeted therapy (Marek Mráz) (CZE): Hematology is the medical field where the first small molecules were used in targetted therapy, first monoclonal antibodies were developed, first CAR T cells, and first gene editing was used to treat rare diseases. It is the frontier of basic biology being transffered to clinics.
  • 4.10. The (Plant) Cell – a Vessel for Life (Tomasz Nodzyński) (ENG): Introduction to the basics of cell biology, covering a description of concepts, elements and processes that make a fuctional cell, a complete functoinal unit. The mateial will touch-upon the cell biology of all kingdomes but with a skew towards the Plant Cell as an example.
  • 11.10. The lecture does not take place.
  • 18.10. How the epitranscriptome is changing our world (Mary O’Connell): In the past ten years it has become apparent that RNA modification or as it is known as the epitranscriptome, adds a layer of complexity to our transcriptome that we were previously unaware of. These RNA modifications can have many different consequences on the encoded RNA. An analogy would be seeing something in black and white film or color film. The epitranscriptome has been key to developing the new RNA vaccines that have been successful against the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. RNA modification is ancient and is present in all three domains of life. This lecture will discuss the dynamic world of RNA modification and its impact on biology and diseases.
  • 25.10. From RNA world to RNA-based technologies (Štěpánka Vaňáčová) (CZE): This lecture will cover the asoects of RNA world hypothesis and then guide students historically through the RNA discoveries towards developments of RNA-based technologies being used in basic research, applied science and medicine.
  • 1.11. New concepts of gene engineering in mammalian cells (Michal Šmída) (CZE): This lecture will give an overview of different approaches to gene engineering (Zinc-finger proteins, TALENs, CRISPR/Cas system) and how gene engineering has been developing historically. We will discuss the story behind CRISPR invention and how it is used nowadays, incl. potential threats to misuse gene editing technology.
  • 8.11. Machines Learning what makes Biology tick. (Panagiotis Alexiou) (ENG): The lecture will cover the basics of machine learning and its applications in biology, from the early perceptrons based on simplified neurons, all the way to the latest deep neural networks used to predict protein structures. We will discuss the possibilities that open for future research coming from the interaction of large biological data and novel machine learning algorithms.
  • 15.11. Telomeres and telomerases: why should we care about the ends of chromosomes? (Jiří Fajkus) (CZE): The lecture will cover basic knowledge in telomere biology and important milestones from telomere and telomerase research (will be presented with some background stories). Relevance of telomere biology to problems of cellular immortality, cancer, aging and tissue regeneration will be explained. Examples of recent research findings in diverse model organisms will be presented, including our own research results.
  • 22.11. Green Alien – the Beauty and Value of Molecular Plant Biology (Jan Hejátko) (CZE): In the lecture I’ll introduce basic differences between animal and plant systems, particuallrly from the point of view of the developmental strategies used. I’ll highlight the importance of developmentral plasticity of plant cells and the importance of plant hormones in those processes. I’ll also desscribe the approaches used in the study of developmental regulations in plants including spatiotemporal specificity of gene expression and protein localization in plant cells and tissues. I’ll also briefly touch the recent developments in GMOs and genome editing and its importance for humankind.
  • 29.11. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK): from regulation of basic biological processes to treatment of human diseases (Dalibor Blažek): Example of CDK and history of their research will be used to discuss roles of kinases and other enzymes in regulation of basic biological processes and treatment of human diseases. We will discuss roles of CDKs in regulation of cell cycle, transcription and mRNA processing and how deregulation of these processes leads to onset of human diseases, particularly cancer. We will review CDKs as therapeutic targets and biomarkers in cancer and discuss challenges in bringing CDK inhibitors to successful clinical applications.
  • 6.12. From Mozart’s hair to understanding protein architecture and its importance for the life (Lukáš Žídek) (CZE): The lecture will introduce basics and history of structural biology, using proteins as examples. Starting from first experiments suggesting that proteins have regular molecular structures ("Mozart's hair"), we get to one of the milestones of 20th century's science, the Central Dogma of Structural Biology ("every function is determined by a well defined structure"). Without any technical details, we learn how structural biology can describe exact shapes of such small and such complex molecular devices as proteins are (robots consisting of thousands of parts million times smaller than thickness of the Mozart's hair). Without any equations, we notice that understanding fundamental biological processes relied on development of fields of modern physics that are often considered strange and useless by general public (quantum physics, theory of relativity). Finally, we make step to the 21st century and show how complete sequencing of human genome made a serious crack in the central dogma and how we cope with it (intrinsically disordered proteins). SHORT VERSION: The lecture will introduce basics and history of structural biology, using proteins as examples. Without any technical details, we learn how structural biology can describe exact shapes of such small and such complex molecular devices as proteins are.
  • 13.12. Such a beautiful fruit! (Helene Robert Boisivon) (ENG): Fruits are part of our food. From fruits are also coming all types of grains and seeds that we need for baking pancakes, breads and cookies. We will explore how fruits are produced, and how the surrounding environment impacts on their production and dispersion. We will see how men helped to breed fruits for their consumption.
Teaching methods
Frontal teaching and discussion with students
Assessment methods
Final essay and questionnaire
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
Teaching takes place from 13.9. to 13.12.2021 (11.10. teaching does not take place).
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