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MITx: Biochemistry: Biomolecules, Methods, and Mechanisms

4.1 stars
11 ratings

Enhance your scientific thinking and data analysis skills with this in-depth adventure through biochemistry.

Biochemistry: Biomolecules, Methods, and Mechanisms
12 weeks
3–6 hours per week
Instructor-paced
Instructor-led on a course schedule
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

38,922 already enrolled! After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Apr 2
Ends Jun 18

About this course

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Do you want to prepare for medical school, study a STEM field, become a research scientist, or transition to a career in the booming biotechnology industry? Or maybe you just want to understand the chemical reactions that govern life itself. Join Professor Yaffe, an MIT professor and practicing surgeon, as he guides you through the science that inspires countless doctors, researchers, and students alike.

We developed 7.05x Biochemistry with an emphasis on:

  • Developing your scientific thinking skills including articulating hypotheses, performing thought experiments, interpreting data, and designing experiments.
  • Using data based on real scientific experiments and highlighting the scientific process.
  • Asserting that biology is an active field that changes daily through examples of MIT (and other current) research, not static information in a textbook.
  • Visualizing real molecular structures with PyMOL to better understand function and mechanism.
  • Appreciating the quantitative aspects of biochemistry and practicing this quantitation with MATLAB.
  • Translating topics in biochemistry to diseases and medicine.
  • Conveying the authentic MIT firehose experience.
  • Implementing the science of learning in the course design.

We offer a thorough and robust means of certifying edX learners in their mastery of the MITx biochemistry content, through the MITx 7.05x Biochemistry Competency Exam. This challenging option is available only to those who register for the verified-certificate track, and successful completion of this exam is the majority of the assessment grade that counts toward a certificate. The Competency Exam will be open during the final week of the course.

At a glance

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated skills:Chemical Reactions, Scientific Methods, Biotechnology, Data Analysis, Biochemistry, Biology

What you'll learn

Skip What you'll learn
  • How to apply the scientific method to pursue research questions.
  • How to analyze protein purification schemes.
  • How scientists determine the structure of a protein.
  • How structure, allostery, and the Bohr effect influence hemoglobin function.
  • How to interpret graphs, plot behaviors, and calculate constants related to enzyme function.
  • How pumps, transporters, and channels differ to regulate molecule transfer across membranes.
  • How G proteins play a key role in signaling.

The course includes the following learning sequences:

  • Introduction to Biochemistry; pH and Buffers
  • Amino Acids and Proteins
  • Protein Purification
  • Protein Structure
  • Protein Folding
  • Hemoglobin and Allostery
  • Hemoglobin and the Bohr Effect
  • Enzyme Chemistry
  • Enzyme as Catalysts
  • Enzyme Kinetics
  • Membranes, Channels, Transporters, and Pumps
  • Blood Clotting
  • Signal Transduction

Learner testimonials

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In short, if you enjoy the opportunity to 'virtually' study at a very high level with some of the finest practitioners in their field, this is among the very best courses available to engage that passion. ” – Class Central learner review

For 1.5 hours three times a week, hundreds of students fill 10-250 (one of the giant lecture halls) to watch Yaffe cover crazy amounts of information in very little time. By the end of every lecture, you probably have four pages of very colorful notes and 9 boards filled with pretty picture of molecules and processes. ”– MIT student blogger

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. edX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

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