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Fundamentals of Biology is designed to introduce students with a primary interest in whole organism biology (including Genetics, Human Genetics, Zoology, Biodiversity and Conservation) to fundamental chemical principles and experimental approaches to studying how they underpin living systems. If you have already completed A level Chemistry or equivalent, the module will provide you with the opportunity to apply your knowledge in a specifically biological framework.

Each section of the module will introduce you to a specific topic in biology before going on to explore the underlying chemical principles. As well as lectures you will attend workshops that will develop your ability to read research papers critically and small-group tutorials to go through chemistry problems and support your practical work.

Learning Objectives

After taking this module you will be able to:

• Understand the relevance of basic chemical principles to diverse aspects of biology
• Retrieve and select relevant information from the scientific literature
• Work independently and as part of a team to design experiments that address a specific research question
• Present ideas and data clearly in a variety of formats

Indicative lecture topics – based on module content in 2022-23

Biology and water

• Water, climate change and ecosystem evolution
• Chemistry of Water
• Extremophiles
• Thermodynamics of Water
• Coral reef biology and ocean acidification
• Chemistry of ocean acidification

Biology and colour

• Visual signalling: sex, food and status
• Plant and animal pigments
• Quantum mechanics and the colour of atoms
• Molecular orbitals and UV-visible spectroscopy
• Fluorescence and phosphorescence
• Vibration and spin: IR and NMR spectroscopy

Biology and ageing

• Comparative biology of ageing: model systems
• Cellular ageing: damage and maintenance
• Entropy and enthalpy and free energy
• Bioenergetics
• Metabolism and ageing
• Molecular damage and maintenance