Hi there. Welcome to module three.
So in this week we're going to dive a little bit deeper
into some of the molecular genetics,
but really again, just kind of hitting the high notes
of what's really the most important for you to know
to then translate this into clinical applications
and a really strong foundation in genetics
that you can use in the clinical context
and in talking with patients.
So this week we're going to talk about gene expression
and regulation of gene expression,
DNA replication, and mitosis and meiosis.
So this is actually pretty full week, okay?
So just so you know, ahead of time,
there's a lot going on this week.
We've kind of warmed up with the first week
and the second week you really got started
to get into the material,
become a little familiar with it.
Now we're really going to dive right into the heart
of the material.
So there's quite a bit to cover this week, but not to worry.
I have every confidence you'll do a great job with it.
And yeah, I look forward to getting your questions
and discussions going about it.
So don't hesitate if you have questions on anything,
please post to the discussion board and let me know
and, you know, we'll clarify it from there.
So there are three lectures that are posted for this week
and the first one that I posted
is gene expression and regulation.
That one's a pretty long one, that's pretty long.
It's about an hour long, just under an hour long
for the lecture itself.
It's kind of a, a new concept
if you're not familiar with molecular biology
or cell biology.
So I wanted to explain it in a number of different ways.
If you're really familiar with these topics,
you may be able to kind of breeze through it a bit,
but I wanted to err on the side
of giving you more information
and more ways of learning it than, than less.
So that one's about an hour long.
Then the next one I have posted is a short one,
just to give you a break after that first long one,
which is DNA replication.
So the process of basically duplicating the entire genome
in preparation for a cell to divide.
So that's a separate lecture
and that's just under 10 minutes long.
And then the third and final lecture for this module
is going to be on mitosis and meiosis,
which are the two processes of cell division.
One, which is basically to create two identical cells,
two cells that are identical to the cell
that started the division.
Meiosis being the process of creating egg or sperm cells.
And those are not identical to the starting cell,
but instead they have half the number of chromosomes.
So we know we have what we call 23 pairs of chromosomes,
22 autosomes, and then a pair of sex chromosomes,
which is either two X chromosomes for female
or one X and one Y if you're male
and gametes, which are egg or sperm cells,
they have only one copy of each, right?
Because that way when they fuse together,
when one egg and one sperm fuse together,
you end up with a pair
of each of each chromosome, right?
So then you end up with a total of 46 chromosomes.
So there has to be a process in place,
a really careful, precisely regulated process in place
to make sure that our gametes are formed properly
and that they get the right number of chromosomes,
that they have one of each kind of chromosome
found in the gamete
and exactly one in order to maintain the correct number
of chromosomes in our genome from generation to generation.
So that process is meiosis.
All right, so I have a lecture on that,
that's about 25 minutes long
and that's the third and final lecture in this week.
So I have the PowerPoints for each of those as well.
In the required reading,
you have a few more pages
to finish out that chapter four in your textbook.
If you still don't have the textbook,
you can go back to module two
where the whole chapter four was scanned in
and just read the pages that are assigned for this week.
I have an excerpt from the chapter that I wrote in genetics
that I think, you know, can maybe just give you another way,
another perspective on how to understand
the same kind of material.
So that's there and it goes in a little more detail
than what you get in the textbook.
And then I have a folder
with some links to some animations
of some of these central concepts that we're talking about.
I find it really helpful as more of a visual learner
to see things drawn out for me
and actually see animations where possible
of these molecular events that are going on
because otherwise they seem so,
they can seem so abstract.
To actually put pictures down
and say, okay, you know, this goes here, this goes there
and then this happens,
to me, that can be a little bit more intuitive.
And so if that's your preferred learning style
or something that might be beneficial to you,
please go through those animations I've given you links to.
If you feel like you really have the concepts down,
I mean, you don't have to use those,
those are just a resource there for you to, again,
have another way of another teaching style
or learning style that might be a better fit for you
or might be complimentary to the way that you learn.
Okay, what else?
Well, we have our usual quiz
and that you, again, as always
can take up to three times.
And look out for, remember,
read each question carefully please,
because some of them, it's select all that applies.
Some of them it's just select the best answer.
So make sure you read the text of the question carefully
so that you know what type of question it is.
There's an assignment and that is posted up.
It's a series of questions that I'm asking you
to write out an answer for each
and then upload that back as a Word document if possible.
It's easier for me if you can turn it in,
submit it back as a Word document
and not like a PDF or something
that I can't really add notes to
because it's easier for me in a Word document
to go back and, you know, add notes and comments to you.
And then I'll post that back to the assignment page
once it's been graded with my notes on it.
There's a discussion board post
that I'd ask you to make with a prompt.
And then of course the discussion board forum
where you can post any questions that come up for you
as you're going through the material.
Please don't hesitate to post those
because it gives me a chance
to know where you maybe
could use a little more clarification, a little more time
because unfortunately we don't have the benefit
of being face-to-face.
It's hard for me sometimes to get feedback
to know what areas you might need a little more help in
or I could do maybe a better job of explaining
or give you some more resources for that.
So please don't hesitate to post those questions
and I'll do my best to answer them as quickly as possible.
And also don't hesitate to chime in as well
if you have some thoughts
on a question that someone has posted.
Okay, I think that might be it.
So for this week, I will leave you to it
and as always, I'm available
if there's anything I can do to help
in this week's material.
But otherwise, I look forward to reading your posts
and getting discussion going
on the discussion board this week.
Take care. Bye.