This subject introduces you to Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). This includes occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations, the use of material safety data sheets, hazard identification, hazard control, standard operating procedures and aspects of quality control and quality assurance. The subject has a strong practical aspect you will learn all basic laboratory techniques.

This subject will provide a general understanding of biomolecular structure and function of living cells and examine in detail the structure and function of the cell nucleus and the role of nucleic acids in cell replication and biosynthesis. Students will explore the bilayer structure of the cell membrane, and its role in cell communication and in maintaining the intracellular environment. The structure and function of rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum will be compared, and the function of ribosomes and the Golgi apparatus in the synthesis, packaging and secretion of proteins will be described. The relationship between the 3-dimensional structure of proteins and their functional specificity as receptors and enzymes will be discussed and the role of lysozymes in the normal function of cells will be examined. Students will develop practical skills and knowledge to analyse biochemical processes using qualitative and quantitative techniques. The role of bioinformatics in prediction of RNA secondary structure, phylogenetic relationships, gene and protein classification and prediction is developed through practical application and laboratory classes.

This subject introduces the study of life at the cellular level. It will examine and compare the structure and function of plant, animal and bacterial cells and viruses. It emphasises metabolic pathways especially energy production and storage, growth and differentiation. The role of the nucleus in controlling cell structure and function via targeted expression of nuclear genome is discussed and the basic control of gene function and its critical importance for normal function of organisms will be examined.

This subject will explore the use of electrophoretic techniques to separate and isolate proteins, nucleic acids and other important biological molecules and the application of a variety of standard laboratory techniques for identifying molecules, for synthesizing biomarkers such as oligonucleotides, for replicating nucleic acids and for isolating cells from tissues and growing cells and cell lines in culture. Students will develop further the skills and knowledge from MGEN210 and BIOC210 to program simple routines in BioPython or in the Victorian VPAC Bioplatform to analyse DNA sequences and related data. They will also utilise, develop and adapt open source resources available on the World Wide Web to support development of bioinformatics applications.

This subject is designed to allow an individual to develop the skills and knowledge required to describe the bulk physical and chemical properties of substances in the solid state and solution equilibria as well as gaining an understanding of the biological significance of coordination complexes. This course will develop a thorough understanding of fundamental organic chemical concepts to underpin further studies at higher levels in biochemistry. The course will systematically develop an understanding of organic nomenclature, structures, bonding, reaction types and reactivity of alkyl, aryl and functional group compounds. The practical classes will enable students to develop confidence in safe and efficient laboratory work practices while maintaining a high standard of accuracy and precision.

This subject will introduce students to the molecular basis of genes, gene expression and heredity and the links between genetics and molecular biotechnology. The major topics covered will include: DNA and RNA structure, synthesis and DNA replication; Mendel, chromosomes, genes, gene assortment and patterns of inheritance; comparison of the structure and function of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes, gene transfer in bacteria and viruses; gene expression, DNA transcription and translation, protein synthesis and the regulation of gene expression; proteins and protein function; chromosome mapping; vectors and host-vector systems; restriction enzymes, cloning of DNA fragments into vectors; DNA amplification, hybridisation and sequencing; gene libraries, genome projects and an examination of the methods used to collect DNA sequences and store them in computer files along with identifiers such as organism and gene nomenclature. The practical component will provide students with skills in preparing chromosome spreads, isolating and purifying DNA, use of restriction enzymes and PCR, and DNA sequencing Methods of retrieval and database querying are also examined.

This subject introduces students to the biology of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa) and to the experimental methods used in their study. It focuses on microorganisms that are economically significant because of their effects on human, animal or plant health or their importance in industrial bioprocesses.

This subject extends MICR120 and MICR220 to focus on aspects of bacterial molecular biology of importance to the biotechnology industry. Content includes the study of genetic elements such as plasmids, transposons, integrons and pathogenicity islands as well as bacterial genomics. Students will develop further practical skills in the isolation, culture and genetic manipulation of microorganisms.

This is an elective subject it will provide you with the background to understand the far-reaching and rapidly emerging field of molecular nanotechnology. It will focus on the behavioural characteristics of nano-materials and will give you an insight into the tools used in nanotechnology. These are transmission electron microscopy, nano - systems and the building of molecular machines.