[Chad]

This course deals with studying both DNA and RNA. The first half of the course deals with general background informatoin about how DNA is replicated. This is similar to the material learned in Bio1A03 and in gr. 12 biology. Afterwards, it gets more indept in to DNA transcription and translation. It looks at both prokayrotes and eukaryotes. The tests were fair and great if you study hard and did your work. There is alot of material for the second half, but luckly we did not need to know the eukaryotes. There are certain details you need to know and this can be overwhelming.

Aside from the test, this major component of the course is the group project. You sign up for a specific group time and have around 8-10 people in your group with one T.A. to help you out. You are given a scientific journal article related to a topic in the class. Afterwards, your group must understand the article and draw conclusions from it. In the end, you have to answer questions in a written report and preparing a presentation to the professors and the TAs. There were 4 articles for you to pick and within each article there were 4-5 groups. The professors then select one group for each article that presented the best to present to the class the material. This winning group gets an extra 5% to the grade. Therefore, if you got this 5%, you can pretty much get a 12. The exam was related to the articles and not too much on the course material. It consists of 25 questions related to your own article, 4 questions on the other group's articles, and 6 questions for the course material.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class because I love DNA and RNA. If you enjoy doing group work its great too, cause you get to know everyone in your group very well. Its competitive to win the presentation and you work really hard to meet up to make it perfect. If you get the 5% its not hard to get 12. If not, you still have a good chance of getting it too. The tests and exams were very fair and nothing that tricky.

COURSE BREAKDOWN

• Test 1- 25%
• Test 2 - 25%
• Group Project - 20%
  • 5% attendance and participation
  • 5% presentation
  • 10% question report
  • Bonus: 5% for winning group presentation
• Final Examination 30%
  • 5% course material
  • 20% your own project journal
  • 5% other project journals

If you love DNA/RNA and can memorize a lot, you'll love this class.

The midterms were fair, but if you're in biochemistry and you take Biochem 2L06, you'll find that a lot of material that you learned in the labs will show up on the tests and help you out in the end (like designing primers). Two professors teach this class: Dr. Li and Dr. Werstruck. Although the actual number of questions are split approximately 50/50 between what both of these profs teach, the marking is ridiculously skewed towards Dr. Li's material (for instance, a Werstuck question may be worth 2 marks while a Li question is worth 8 marks) so when you're studying for the midterms, focus on Dr. Li's material.

The group project wasn't too bad, just be prepared to meet with your group a lot throughout the term. I found that Dr. Li focuses his questions on experimental techniques used in the paper you're studying, so make sure you understand the experimental techniques thoroughly when answering the questions and on the exam.

My experience in this class was summarized pretty well by the two previous posts.

The course material covered is mostly review of DNA/RNA concepts, with a bit more depth in certain areas. Despite the large number of group meetings for the project, it was actually really interesting. It exposes you to a relatively new field of research and gives you the chance to apply some of what you've learned in class. I would say the mark you get is obviously related to the effort your group puts in. There's quite a few members so the work load isn't too heavy and as long as you fully complete the written report, go to all the TA meetings and understand your article, it is quite easy to do well.
Also, as mentioned before, the exam is mainly focused on your group's article so it is not too overwhelming trying to study everything. The questions from the other groups were not impossible and focused on key topic questions.

Personally, I did not use the textbook very much. They recommend you buy it because it is also 'used' in 2BB3, however at no point were there required readings or concepts only found in the textbook for either class. I only used it to follow up on a few concepts. If you are looking to save $$ I would think you could be fine just taking it out from course reserve at the library.

Originally Posted by kenneth526

If you love DNA/RNA and can memorize a lot, you'll love this class.

The midterms were fair, but if you're in biochemistry and you take Biochem 2L06, you'll find that a lot of material that you learned in the labs will show up on the tests and help you out in the end (like designing primers). Two professors teach this class: Dr. Li and Dr. Werstruck. Although the actual number of questions are split approximately 50/50 between what both of these profs teach, the marking is ridiculously skewed towards Dr. Li's material (for instance, a Werstuck question may be worth 2 marks while a Li question is worth 8 marks) so when you're studying for the midterms, focus on Dr. Li's material.

The group project wasn't too bad, just be prepared to meet with your group a lot throughout the term. I found that Dr. Li focuses his questions on experimental techniques used in the paper you're studying, so make sure you understand the experimental techniques thoroughly when answering the questions and on the exam.

I was just wondering if you could elaborate more on the 2L06 course or do a review on it maybe? I'm going into 2nd year biochem this year Any info would be appreciated!

2009 Winter Term

Nucleic Acid Structure and Function

Mark Breakdown:
Midterm Test 1: 25%
Midterm Test 2: 25%
Group Project: 20%

• 5% for Attendance and Participation
• 10% for Written Answers to Questions provided
• 5% for Presentation
• EXTRA 5% for group with best presentation

Exam: 30%

Professors: Dr. Justin Nodwell and Dr. Yingfu Li.

My Thoughts on the Course:
Dr. Li was a decent instructor, he has a bit of an accent but nothing that you can understand. His slides are easy to read with diagrams usually taken out of the book and notes on the important things to know.

Dr. Nodwell is a good instructor, he takes his time teaching the material and uses diagrams he draws himself that are VERY easy to understand since they contain only the details you have to know and not the actual shape of the ribosomes for example. He recaps what he taught in the previous class to makes sure everyone knows the material and he takes A LOT of questions, I don't think anyone was denied to ask a question.

The course content was fairly heavy. It focused on the structure of nucleic acids and detailed transcription and translation in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The content was fairly easy to learn however there was the possibility of mixing up between the processes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. It was also important to know all the processes and how to draw them including important reactions.

The lectures ended early almost a month before the end of the term. This allowed students to focus on their group projects to make the best presentation they could. They then presented to the professor and 2 TAs a weekish before the end of classes and the winning groups presented on the last week of class. Attendance was mandatory.

The exam only had 6 questions on the lectures material (3 from each professor and cumulative), a question on each article for a total of 4 and 15 questions on the article you presented. I thought the exam was pretty easy but the fact that it was only out of 25 means that each mistake would take out a big percentage of your exam mark.

I forgot to do the course rating thing.

Does anyone have a course outline for this course?

Nvm I found it :/ and I don't know how to delete a post.

Originally Posted by Vaidawg

Nvm I found it :/ and I don't know how to delete a post.

Off-topic: if you click "edit" it'll give you an option to delete your post

Can someone please provide a more updated review for this course. Thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by AkashD

Can someone please provide a more updated review for this course. Thanks in advance!

Course hasn't changed. Just memorize the slides and make sure you go to the review class because Dr. Li can't help but spill the beans on what will be tested the most. Pay close attention to what your TA gives you for feedback on the report, because they will most likely relate to facts you didn't write about that are relevant to the questions for your exam.