UWA Handbooks 2010 - Units
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UWA Handbooks 2010 - Units

Unit details


PHYL2245 Physiology of Cells [UG]

Credit 6 points
Availability Semester 2, offshore teaching period
Old unit code 980.245
Outcomes Students are able to recall and integrate key knowledge and concepts about membrane transport and function of epithelia; nerve cell function; cellular basis of sensation; cellular basis of movement; and cell division, differentiation and death.

Students acquire skills in dissection and handling materials for experimentation; use of instrumentation for physiological experimentation and measurement; data recording and analysis including simple use of a spreadsheet; and simple statistical tests using a software package.

Students are able to write clearly in correct scientific style based on laboratory work and reading; use word-processing software to generate a document in prescribed scientific format; orally communicate key concepts; and work as a team to explore and present a topic.
Content This unit is suitable for students in biological, biomedical, cell and molecular sciences and human movement and human science students interested in a deeper understanding of cellular processes. The content of the unit is divided into several major themes:

(1) membrane transport and electrical phenomena in cells—this is concerned with the physical rules and the molecular mechanisms that govern the movement of salts, solutes and water across cell membranes, how these are linked to cell volume and membrane voltages and how they are coupled in tissues to achieve secretion and absorption that is fundamental to the operation of many organ systems;

(2) electrical and chemical communication between cells, including how nerve cells transmit rapid electrical and chemical signals for information processing in the nervous system, and 'slow' chemical signalling pathways;

(3) the cellular basis of sensation and how sensory stimuli are detected by specialised cells and converted into electrical signals for use by the nervous system—this section includes a consideration of chemo-electrical interactions that occur between cells in early stages of sensory pathways;

(4) generation of mechanical force by cells, relating molecular processes to functional contraction of skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscles—this section ends with an illustration of how nerve and muscle cells are linked together by synapses to form simple neural circuits controlling muscle contraction and generating reflex contractions of muscle in response to sensory stimuli; and

(5) processes of cell division, differentiation, growth and death with an emphasis on normal control mechanisms and derangements that can lead to cancer.
Assessment This consists of a final theory examination (50 per cent) and continuous assessment (50 per cent).

Supplementary assessment is not available in this unit except in the case of a bachelor's pass degree student who has obtained a mark of 45 to 49 and is currently enrolled in this unit, and it is the only remaining unit that the student must pass in order to complete their course.
Unit Co-ordinator(s) Dr Tony Bakker
Location UWA (Crawley), Singapore
Mode on-campus
Unit Rules
Advisable prior study: Students are strongly recommended to have 12 points of Level 1 human biology or biology, especially SCIE1106 Molecular Biology of the Cell, and at least 6 points of Level 1 chemistry. Those without any high-school physics are encouraged to consider taking a suitable Level 1 physics unit, especially PHYS1131 Introductory Physics.
Contact hours—lectures: 2 hrs per week; labs: 3 hrs per week (for 5 weeks); tutorials: 2 hrs per week (for 6 weeks) (alternating with lab classes)
Recommended
reading

Sherwood, L. Human Physiology: from Cells to Systems, 6th edn: Thomson 2007

Students who have studied PHYL2255 Physiology of Human Body Systems or who are enrolled in PHYL2260 Physiology of Adaptation and Stress may have purchased Rhoades and Tanner's, Medical Physiology. This text is suitable for some aspects of this unit but students may need to supplement their reading in some areas. Copies of Sherwood are on closed reserve in the Biological Sciences Library.

Alberts' Molecular Biology of the Cell provides useful supportive material in some areas.



  • The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of going to press but may be subject to change.
  • Assistance with study skills, including English language skills, is available free of charge from Student Services for all enrolled students (see http://www.studentservices.uwa.edu.au/ss/learning). Student Services location: Second Floor, South Wing, Guild Village; telephone: 6488 2423.
  • Books and other materials wherever listed may be subject to change. Book lists relating to 'Preliminary Reading', 'Recommended Reading' and 'Textbooks' are, in most cases, available at the University Co-operative Bookshop (from early January) and appropriate administrative offices for students to consult. For first-year units the Bookshop will endeavour to make available photocopies of book lists for individual units. Books marked with an asterisk (*) are available in paperback.
The University of Western Australia
University information CRICOS Code: 00126G
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Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 at 9:21 AM
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