Bio 365R, Spring 2001 B. Zhang
Internet Assignments
The purpose of these assignments is to encourage you to acquire knowledge through the Internet. You may do this yourself or together with a few classmates. If you do these assignments as a group (max. five/group), you only need to submit one set of homework with the names of all contributed. Whenever you find an answer or answers from a publication (article or book), please cite the reference(s) you read (limit it to two). Although not all of these assignments are mandatory, you are encouraged to do them because there will be a small number of exam questions coming from these practices.
All assignments should include proper citations...for example:
McAnelly ML, Zakon HH (2000). Coregulation of voltage-dependent kinetics of Na(+) and K(+) currents in electric organ. J Neurosci 20(9):3408-14.
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Internet Assignment 1 (Assignment date: 2/22/01; Due date: 3/8/01)
Use PUBMED in the homepage of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and search under `ion channels'. How many papers do you find? Can you list five reasons why scientists are studying ion channels?
Are there any reasons to believe that voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels are members of one super family? List two reasons. Give your explanations based on what you know about the molecular structure of these channels.
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Internet Assignment 2 (Assignment date: 3/20/01; No due date, optional)
Bernard Katz and his colleagues made many significant discoveries in the field of synaptic transmission (in fact, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work). Search the Internet and write a 100-word summary on the contributions of Bernard Katz.
THIS ASSIGNMENT IS OPTIONAL AND WILL BE COUNTED AS EXTRA CREDIT.
YOU MUST DO IT INDIVIDUALLY AND YOU MUST TURN IT IN BY THE LAST CLASS DAY.
NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE.
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Internet Assignment 3 (Assignment date: 3/27/01; Due date: 4/12/01)
Parkinson's disease is a major disease of the elderly, affecting 1.5% of all Americans over 60. It may also affect people at a younger age (e.g. the actor Michael J. Fox). Search the internet and learn more about this disease. Write a 150-word description of the neurochemistry and the latest treatments of the disease.