Using natural sensory system concepts to develop and improve sensory systems will continue to thrive for many years to come. Technology advances rapidly (Moore’s Law) as does our understanding of biological principles and designs. These trends fuel the fertile grounds of bio-inspired sensory systems, a topic that is inherently multidisciplinary. This book will serve well as either an academic text on the subject or an introduction to the variety of proven bio-inspired designs. The focus is on sensory systems that interpret environmental stimuli. It introduces natural photo-, mechano-, and chemo-sensory systems across the animal kingdom and also summarizes various novel engineering ideas that glean ideas from these natural sensory systems.

" This course is offered for graduate students who are interested in the interdisciplinary study of bio-inspired structures. The intent is to introduce students to newly inspired modern advanced structures and their applications. It aims to link traditional advanced composites to bio-inspired structures and to discuss their generic properties. A link between materials design, strength and structural behavior at different levels (material, element, structural and system levels) is made. For each level, various concepts will be introduced. The importance of structural, dynamic, thermodynamic and kinetic theories related to such processing is highlighted. The pedagogy is based on active learning and a balance of guest lectures and hands-on activities."

Biomechatronics is a contraction of biomechanics and mechatronics. In this course the function and coordination of the human motion apparatus is the central focus, and the design of assistive devices for the support of the function of the motion apparatus.

Antibodies, antigens, antigen-antibody reactions, cells and tissues of lymphoreticular and hematopoietic systems, and individual and collective components of cell-mediated and humoral immune response.

This course focuses on the interaction of chemical engineering, biochemistry, and microbiology. Mathematical representations of microbial systems are featured among lecture topics. Kinetics of growth, death, and metabolism are also covered. Continuous fermentation, agitation, mass transfer, and scale-up in fermentation systems, and enzyme technology round out the subject material.

Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and compounds, such as cellular makeup, that bring about life in organisms. This course will look at how these formed biomolecules interact and produce many of life's necessary processes. Also it will look at the most commonly used techniques in biochemistry research. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: recognize and describe the structure of the following basic biomolecules: nucleic acids, amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates; diagram how these basic biomolecules are used as building blocks for more complex biomolecules; differentiate between reactions that create biomolecules; describe how these biomolecules are used in specific cellular pathways and processes; analyze how feedback from one pathway influences other pathways; explain how energy is utilized by a cell; indicate how biomolecules and pathways are regulated; describe how enzymes play a key role in catalysis; assess which biochemical technique should be used to study a given biochemical problem. (Biology 401; See also: Chemistry 109)

Course Description: Biochemistry 551 is an integrated lecture, lab and seminar course that covers biochemistry-centered theory and techniques. The course is designed for upper-level undergraduate students majoring in Biochemistry. Students learn how to apply a broad range of biochemical, genetic, and physical techniques to modern biochemical research. Students also learn how to analyze and interpret the primary scientific literature, develop an understanding of the communication of data, and connect biochemical techniques to basic research.

Lectures introduce concepts and theory that are subsequently explored in detail in experiments. The virtual labs are designed to provide experience with techniques that are used in modern biochemical research through interactive online activities. The curriculum incorporates a research project beginning with the PCR amplification and cloning of the HCAII gene, which codes for the enzyme human carbonic anhydrase II (HCAII). As the semester progresses, students explore how to overexpress, purify and assay wild type and mutant HCAII protein. Experiments covered include PCR, spectrophotometry, gel electrophoresis, protein overexpression and purification, enzyme assays and fluorescence spectroscopy. Several times during the semester, at-home lab experiments are incorporated to provide hands-on experience to supplement student understanding of the virtual labs.

This lab manual contains detailed descriptions of each online laboratory exercise in this course. Please see the course Canvas site for other course information, such as: a syllabus, schedule, assignment guidelines, and lecture and seminar materials.

Table of Contents:

Lab 1: Structural analysis of HCAII using PyMOL
Lab 2: PCR Amplification of HCAII and pETblue2
Lab 3: Lab-at-home: Introduction to Biotechnology Methods
Lab 4: Gibson assembly of HCAII into pETblue2 vector and transformation of E. coli with the reactions
Lab 5: Screening for pETblue2-HCAII clones
Lab 6: Mutant Exploration
Lab 7: Protein Expression and Purification in E. coli
Lab 8: Analysis of His-tagged HCAII Expression and Purification
Lab 9: Determination of Protein Stability using Chemical Denaturation and Intrinsic Fluorescence
Lab 10: Investigation of wild type and mutant HCAII enzyme activity
Lab 11: Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) to detect ligand-binding to HCAII

Six case studies, case study keys, and instructor notes were developed for this grant project. A brief description of the studies is as follows:

Blood Clotting- This case study discusses the causes, symptoms, and possible treatments for blood clots. I chose this study because the story is about my brother who was misdiagnosed with a clot and almost died. I felt it was a study that included the importance of proper diagnosis in a medical situation.

Immunization-This case study includes a brief history of immunization, how vaccines work, what type of vaccines are available, what chemicals can be found in vaccines, and why people may choose not to be vaccinated. This study was written before the COVID-19 pandemic, but more information can be added to it concerning a possible vaccination for the COVID-19 virus.

The Stereochemistry of Ephedrine- This case study centers around the drug ephedrine. The study discusses how ephedrine binds to adrenergic receptors. Ephedrine is a chiral molecule which means it has stereoisomers. This study focuses on stereochemistry and guides students on how stereoisomers bind to specific receptors. The way an isomer binds to a receptor affects how a drug interacts with our body.

Understanding Solutions- This case study connects the concepts of concentration and molarity in chemistry terms to terms used in a medical field. Students will study the concepts of osmolarity, molarity, hyper and hypotonic solutions, and salt solutions. The study involves the story of a young nurse learning to understand the important terms and solutions in a medical situation.

Red Blood Cell Alloimmunization- This case study discusses the differences of blood types and blood type groups (ABO and Rh). The study focuses on the possibility of complications due to allergic reactions to red blood cell antigens (alloimmunization). Alloimmunization is especially harmful for patients needing blood transfusions or women and fetuses during pregnancy.

Radioactivity- This case study discusses thyroid hormones and how problems with these hormones can be treated with radiation. Students learn about the function of the thyroid and causes of hypo and hyperthyroidism. Students also learn about radioactive treatment, half lives of radiation, and types of radiation.

We are happy to welcome you to our second Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook, Biochemistry Free For All. Biochemistry is a relatively young science, but its rate of growth has been truly impressive. The rapid pace of discoveries, which shows no sign of slowing, is reflected in the steady increase in the size of biochemistry textbooks. Growing faster than the size of biochemistry books have been the skyrocketing costs of higher education and the even faster rising costs of college textbooks. These unfortunate realities have created a situation where the costs of going to college are beyond the means of increasing numbers of students.

Table of Contents
Basic Biology
Basic Chemistry
Water and Buffers
Amino Acids
Protein Structure
Structure and Function of Nucleic Acids
Structure and Function of Carbohydrates
Structure and Function of Lipids
Membranes: Basic Concepts
Membranes: Transport
Membranes: Other Considerations
Catalysis: Basic Principles
Catalysis: Control of Activity
Catalysis: Mechanisms
Blood Clotting
Energy: Basics
Electron Transport and Oxidative Phosphorylation
Photophosphorylation
Metabolism of Sugars
Metabolism of Polysaccharides
Citric Acid Cycle
Metabolism of Fats and Fatty Acids
Metabolism of Other Lipids
Metabolis of Amino Acids and the Urea Cycle
Metabolism of Nucleotides
Genes and Genomes
DNA Replication
DNA Repair
Transcription
RNA Processing
Translation
Regulation of Gene Expression
Cell Signaling
Basic Techniques
Point by Point: In the Beginning
Point by Point: Structure and Function
Point by Point: Membranes
Point by Point: Catalysis
Point by Point: Energy
Point by Point: Metabolism
Point by Point: Information Processing
Point by Point: Techniques

We are happy to welcome you to our second Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook, Biochemistry Free For All. Biochemistry is a relatively young science, but its rate of growth has been truly impressive. The rapid pace of discoveries, which shows no sign of slowing, is reflected in the steady increase in the size of biochemistry textbooks. Growing faster than the size of biochemistry books have been the skyrocketing costs of higher education and the even faster rising costs of college textbooks. These unfortunate realities have created a situation where the costs of going to college are beyond the means of increasing numbers of students.

" The course, which spans two thirds of a semester, provides students with a research-inspired laboratory experience that introduces standard biochemical techniques in the context of investigating a current and exciting research topic, acquired resistance to the cancer drug Gleevec. Techniques include protein expression, purification, and gel analysis, PCR, site-directed mutagenesis, kinase activity assays, and protein structure viewing. This class is part of the new laboratory curriculum in the MIT Department of Chemistry. Undergraduate Research-Inspired Experimental Chemistry Alternatives (URIECA) introduces students to cutting edge research topics in a modular format. Acknowledgments Development of this course was funded through an HHMI Professors grant to Professor Catherine L. Drennan."

Considers the process of neurotransmission, especially chemicals used in the brain and elsewhere to carry signals from nerve terminals to the structures they innervate. Focuses on monoamine transmitters (acetylcholine; serotonin; dopamine and norepinephrine); also examines amino acid and peptide transmitters and neuromodulators like adenosine. Macromolecules that mediate neurotransmitter synthesis, release, inactivation, and receptor-mediated actions are discussed, as well as factors that regulate their activity and the second-messenger systems they control.

Love is deeply biological. It pervades every aspect of our lives and has inspired countless works of art. Love also has a profound effect on our mental and physical state. A “broken heart” or a failed relationship can have disastrous effects; bereavement disrupts human physiology and may even precipitate death. Without loving relationships, humans fail to flourish, even if all of their other basic needs are met. As such, love is clearly not “just” an emotion; it is a biological process that is both dynamic and bidirectional in several dimensions. Social interactions between individuals, for example, trigger cognitive and physiological processes that influence emotional and mental states. In turn, these changes influence future social interactions. Similarly, the maintenance of loving relationships requires constant feedback through sensory and cognitive systems; the body seeks love and responds constantly to interactions with loved ones or to the absence of such interactions. The evolutionary principles and ancient hormonal and neural systems that support the beneficial and healing effects of loving relationships are described here.

Each term, the class selects a new set of professional journal articles on bioengineering topics of current research interest. Some papers are chosen because of particular content, others are selected because they illustrate important points of methodology. Each week, one student leads the discussion, evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, and importance of each paper. Subject may be repeated for credit a maximum of four terms. Letter grade given in the last term applies to all accumulated units of 16.459.

" This course does not seek to provide answers to ethical questions. Instead, the course hopes to teach students two things. First, how do you recognize ethical or moral problems in science and medicine? When something does not feel right (whether cloning, or failing to clone) ‰ŰÓ what exactly is the nature of the discomfort? What kind of tensions and conflicts exist within biomedicine? Second, how can you think productively about ethical and moral problems? What processes create them? Why do people disagree about them? How can an understanding of philosophy or history help resolve them? By the end of the course students will hopefully have sophisticated and nuanced ideas about problems in bioethics, even if they do not have comfortable answers."

Our goal is to present the key observations and unifying concepts upon which modern biology is based; it is not a survey of all biology! Once understood, these foundational observations and concepts should enable you to approach any biological process, from disease to kindness, from a scientific perspective. To understand biological systems we need to consider them from two complementary perspectives; how they came to be (the historic, that is, evolutionary) and how their structures, traits, and behaviors are produced (the mechanistic, that is, the physicochemical)

Our goal is to present the key observations and unifying concepts upon which modern biology is based; it is not a survey of all biology! Once understood, these foundational observations and concepts should enable you to approach any biological process, from disease to kindness, from a scientific perspective. To understand biological systems we need to consider them from two complementary perspectives; how they came to be (the historic, that is, evolutionary) and how their structures, traits, and behaviors are produced (the mechanistic, that is, the physicochemical).

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Understanding science & thinking scientifically
Chapter 2: Life's diversity and origins
Chapter 3: Evolutionary mechanisms and the diversity of life
Chapter 4: Social evolution and sexual selection
Chapter 5: Molecular interactions, thermodynamics & reaction coupling
Chapter 6: Membrane boundaries and capturing energy
Chapter 7: The molecular nature of heredity
Chapter 8: Peptide bonds, polypeptides and proteins
Chapter 9: Genomes, genes, and regulatory networks
Chapter 10: Social systems

" This course is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current research around sulfur biogeochemistry and astrobiology."

This exercise contains two interrelated modules that introduce students to modern biological techniques in the area of Bioinformatics, which is the application of computer technology to the management of biological information. The need for Bioinformatics has arisen from the recent explosion of publicly available genomic information, such as that resulting from the Human Genome Project.

Exploration of the biological importance of inorganic complexes. Topics include: biochemistry and transition metal chemistry review, characterization methods, metal ion transport and cellular storage, biological electron transfer, the nitrogen cycle, oxygen transport and transfer, oxygen processing, and enzymes and proteins.