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MITx: Molecular Biology - Part 2: Transcription and Transposition

Strengthen your scientific thinking and experimental design skills in this adventure through transcription and transposition.

7 weeks
4–8 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

27,081 already enrolled! After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Mar 19
Ends May 28

About this course

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In Part 2 of this Molecular Biology course, you’ll explore transcription of DNA to RNA, a key part of the central dogma of biology and the first step of gene expression.

Did you know that transposable elements, the genetic information that can move from location to location, make up roughly 50 % of the human genome? Did you know that scientists have linked their movement into specific genes to the causes of certain diseases? You’ll also learn how these “jumping genes” work and how scientists study them in Molecular Biology: Transcription and Transposition.

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 and elements involved in transcription and transposition to cutting-edge assays that apply the power of genome sequencing. 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 transcription machinery and mechanisms of transposition. If you are up for the challenge, join us in 7.28.2x Molecular Biology: Transcription and Transposition.

At a glance

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcripts: English, 中文
  • Associated skills:Transcribing, Data Analysis, Scientific Methods, Whole Genome Sequencing, Molecular Genetics, Data Transposition, Biology, Ribonucleic Acid Sequencing, Machinery, Biochemical Assays, Information Sciences, Molecular Biology, Transposon

What you'll learn

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  • How to compare and contrast transcription in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
  • How to describe several mechanisms of transposition
  • How to analyze protein structures to infer functional information
  • How todesign the best experiment to test a hypothesis
  • How to interpret data from transcription and transposition experiments

Week 1 : Machinery and Promoters of Bacterial Transcription

Week 2 : Bacterial Regulation of Bacterial Transcription

Week 3 : Machinery and Promoters of Eukaryotic Transcription

Week 4 : Regulation of Eukaryotic Transcription I

Week 5 : Regulation of Eukaryotic Transcription II

Week 6 : Transposition

Week 7 : CRISPR

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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