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MITx: Molecular Biology - Part 1: DNA Replication and Repair

An in-depth adventure through DNA replication and repair to strengthen your scientific thinking and experimental design skills.

9 weeks
4–6 hours per week
Instructor-paced
Instructor-led on a course schedule
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

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Starts Apr 16
Ends Jun 18

About this course

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You’re acquainted with your DNA, but did you know that your cells synthesize enough DNA during your lifetime to stretch a lightyear in length? How does the cellular machinery accomplish such a feat without making more mistakes than you can survive? Why isn’t the incidence of cancer even higher than it is? And, if the DNA in each and every cell is two meters long, how is this genetic material compacted to fit inside the cell nucleus without becoming a tangled mess?

Are you ready to go beyond the “what" of scientific information presented in textbooks and explore how scientists deduce the details of these molecular models?

Take a behind-the-scenes look at modern molecular genetics, from the classic experimental events that identified the proteins involved in DNA replication and repair to cutting-edge assays that apply the power of genome sequencing. Do you feel confident in your ability to design molecular biology experiments and interpret data from them? We've designed the problems in this course to build your experimental design and data analysis skills.

Let’s explore the limits of our current knowledge about the replication machinery and pathways that protect the fidelity of DNA synthesis. If you are up for the challenge, join us in 7.28x Part 1: DNA Replication and Repair.

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At a glance

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcripts: English, 中文
  • Associated skills:Experimental Design, Data Analysis, Scientific Methods, Whole Genome Sequencing, Molecular Genetics, Biology, Machinery, Biochemical Assays, Information Sciences, Molecular Biology

What you'll learn

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  • How to compare and contrast the mechanisms of DNA replication in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
  • How to describe several enzymatic mechanisms that the cell uses to repair or tolerate DNA damage
  • How to analyze protein structures to infer functional information
  • How to designmethods for the best experiment to test a hypothesis related to DNA replication or repair proteins
  • How to interpret data from DNA replication and repair experiments

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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