Search result: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2017

Biology Master Information
Elective Major Subject Areas
Elective Major: Structural Biology and Biophysics
Elective Compulsory Master Courses
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
529-0733-00LEnzymesW7 credits3GD. Hilvert
AbstractPrinciples of enzymatic catalysis, enzyme kinetics, mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed reactions (group transfer reactions, carbon-carbon bond formation, eliminations, isomerisations and rearrangements), cofactor chemistry, enzymes in organic synthesis and the biosynthesis of natural products, catalytic antibodies.
ObjectiveOverview of enzymes, enzyme-catalyzed reactions and metabolic processes.
ContentPrinciples of enzymatic catalysis, enzyme kinetics, mechanisms of enzyme catalyzed reactions (group transfer reactions, carbon-carbon bond formation, eliminations, isomerisations and rearrangements), cofactor chemistry, enzymes in organic synthesis and the biosynthesis of natural products, catalytic antibodies.
Lecture notesA script will not be handed out.
LiteratureGeneral:
T. Bugg, An Introduction to Enzyme and Coenzyme Chemistry, Blackwell Science Ltd., Oxford, 1997.

In addition, citations from the original literature relevant to the individual lectures will be assigned weekly.
551-1105-00LGlycobiologyW4 credits2VM. Aebi, T. Hennet
AbstractStructural principles, nomenclature and different classes of glycosylation. The different pathways of N- and O-linked protein glycosylation and glycolipid biosynthesis in prokaryotes and eukaryotes are discussed. Specific glycan binding proteins and their role in deciphering the glycan code are presented. The role of glycans in infectious diseases, antigen mimicry and autoimmunity are discussed.
ObjectiveDetailed knowledge in 1) the different areas of prokaryotic and eukaryotic glycobiology, in particular in the biosynthesis of glycoproteins and glycolipids, 2) the cellular machinery required for these pathways, 3) the principles of carbohydrate/protein interaction, 4) the function of lectins, 5) the role of glycans in infectious disease.
ContentStructure and linkages; analytical approaches; N-linked protein glycosylation (ER, Golgi); glycan-assisted protein folding and quality control; O-linked protein glycosylation; glucosaminoglycans; glycolipids; prokaryotic glycosylation pathways; lectins; glycans and infectious disease
Lecture noteshandouts
LiteratureIntroduction to Glycobiology; M.E.Taylor, K.Drickamer, Oxford University Press, 2003
Essentials of Glycobiology (second edition); A.Varki et al. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2009
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course will be in English. It will include the preparation of short essays (marked) about defined topics in Glycobiology.
551-1103-00LMicrobial Biochemistry Information W4 credits2VJ. Vorholt-Zambelli, J. Piel
AbstractThe lecture course aims at providing an advanced understanding of the physiology and metabolism of microorganisms. Emphasis is on processes that are specific to bacteria and archaea and that contribute to the widespread occurrence of prokaryotes. Applied aspects of microbial biochemistry will be pointed out as well as research fields of current scientific interest.
ObjectiveThe lecture course aims at providing an advanced understanding of the physiology and metabolism of microorganisms.
ContentImportant biochemical processes specific to bacteria and archaea will be presented that contribute to the widespread occurrence of prokaryotes. Applied aspects of microbial biochemistry will be pointed out as well as research fields of current scientific interest. Emphasis is on concepts of energy generation and assimilation.

List of topics:
Eating sugars and letting them in
Challenging: Aromatics, xenobiotics, and oil
Complex: (Ligno-)Cellulose and in demand for bioenergy
Living on a diet and the anaplerotic provocation
Of climate relevance: The microbial C1 cycle
What are AMO and Anammox?
20 amino acids: the making of
Extending the genetic code
The 21st and 22nd amino acid
Some exotic biochemistry: nucleotides, cofactors
Ancient biochemistry? Iron-sulfur clusters, polymers
Secondary metabolites: playground of evolution
Lecture notesA script will be provided during the course.
551-1401-00LAdvanced Protein Engineering (University of Zurich) Information
No enrolment to this course at ETH Zurich. Book the corresponding module directly at UZH.
UZH Module Code: BCH420

Restricted to max. 10 students from ETH

Mind the enrolment deadlines at UZH:
Link
W2 credits2GA.  Plückthun
AbstractIntroduction into current research strategies in protein science.
ObjectiveTo understand current research strategies in protein science.
ContentProteins have become an object of intense study in modern science, raging from their use as therapeutics to elucidating their structure and function in the cell. Moreover, it is now possible to engineer and evolve tailor-made proteins, opening up many new areas of science. This course will attempt to cover the frontiers and remaining challenges, emphasizing the biochemical foundations of the various approaches.
Lecture notesSlides and references will be available on OLAT server.
Link
LiteraturePDFs will be available on OLAT server.
Link
Prerequisites / NoticeSolid knowledge in biochemistry strongly recommended
551-1153-00LSystems Biology of Metabolism
Number of participants limited to 15.
W4 credits2VU. Sauer, N. Zamboni, M. Zampieri
AbstractStarting from contemporary biological problems related to metabolism, the course focuses on systems biological approaches to address them. In a problem-oriented, this-is-how-it-is-done manner, we thereby teach modern methods and concepts.
ObjectiveDevelop a deeper understanding of how relevant biological problems can be solved, thereby providing advanced insights to key experimental and computational methods in systems biology.
ContentThe course will be given as a mixture of lectures, studies of original research and guided discussions that focus on current research topics. For each particular problem studied, we will work out how the various methods work and what their capabilities/limits are. The problem areas range from microbial metabolism to cancer cell metabolism and from metabolic networks to regulation networks in populations and single cells. Key methods to be covered are various modeling approaches, metabolic flux analyses, metabolomics and other omics.
Lecture notesScript and original publications will be supplied during the course.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course extends many of the generally introduced concepts and methods of the Concept Course in Systems Biology. It requires a good knowledge of biochemistry and basics of mathematics and chemistry.
529-0004-00LComputer Simulation in Chemistry, Biology and Physics Information W7 credits4GP. H. Hünenberger
AbstractMolecular models, Force fields, Boundary conditions, Electrostatic interactions, Molecular dynamics, Analysis of trajectories, Quantum-mechanical simulation, Structure refinement, Application to real systems. Exercises: Analysis of papers on computer simulation, Molecular simulation in practice, Validation of molecular dynamics simulation.
ObjectiveIntroduction to computer simulation of (bio)molecular systems, development of skills to carry out and interpret computer simulations of biomolecular systems.
ContentMolecular models, Force fields, Spatial boundary conditions, Calculation of Coulomb forces, Molecular dynamics, Analysis of trajectories, Quantum-mechanical simulation, Structure refinement, Application to real systems. Exercises: Analysis of papers on computer simulation, Molecular simulation in practice, Validation of molecular dynamics simulation.
Lecture notesAvailable (copies of powerpoint slides distributed before each lecture)
LiteratureSee: Link
Prerequisites / NoticeSince the exercises on the computer do convey and test essentially different skills as those being conveyed during the lectures and tested at the oral exam, the results of the exercises are taken into account when evaluating the results of the exam.

For more information about the lecture: Link
401-0649-00LApplied Statistical RegressionW5 credits2V + 1UM. Dettling
AbstractThis course offers a practically oriented introduction into regression modeling methods. The basic concepts and some mathematical background are included, with the emphasis lying in learning "good practice" that can be applied in every student's own projects and daily work life. A special focus will be laid in the use of the statistical software package R for regression analysis.
ObjectiveThe students acquire advanced practical skills in linear regression analysis and are also familiar with its extensions to generalized linear modeling.
ContentThe course starts with the basics of linear modeling, and then proceeds to parameter estimation, tests, confidence intervals, residual analysis, model choice, and prediction. More rarely touched but practically relevant topics that will be covered include variable transformations, multicollinearity problems and model interpretation, as well as general modeling strategies.

The last third of the course is dedicated to an introduction to generalized linear models: this includes the generalized additive model, logistic regression for binary response variables, binomial regression for grouped data and poisson regression for count data.
Lecture notesA script will be available.
LiteratureFaraway (2005): Linear Models with R
Faraway (2006): Extending the Linear Model with R
Draper & Smith (1998): Applied Regression Analysis
Fox (2008): Applied Regression Analysis and GLMs
Montgomery et al. (2006): Introduction to Linear Regression Analysis
Prerequisites / NoticeThe exercises, but also the classes will be based on procedures from the freely available, open-source statistical software package R, for which an introduction will be held.

In the Mathematics Bachelor and Master programmes, the two course units 401-0649-00L "Applied Statistical Regression" and 401-3622-00L "Regression" are mutually exclusive. Registration for the examination of one of these two course units is only allowed if you have not registered for the examination of the other course unit.
401-6215-00LUsing R for Data Analysis and Graphics (Part I) Information W1.5 credits1GA. Drewek, M. Mächler
AbstractThe course provides the first part an introduction to the statistical software R for scientists. Topics covered are data generation and selection, graphical and basic statistical functions, creating simple functions, basic types of objects.
ObjectiveThe students will be able to use the software R for simple data analysis.
ContentThe course provides the first part of an introduction to the statistical software R for scientists. R is free software that contains a huge collection of functions with focus on statistics and graphics. If one wants to use R one has to learn the programming language R - on very rudimentary level. The course aims to facilitate this by providing a basic introduction to R.

Part I of the course covers the following topics:
- What is R?
- R Basics: reading and writing data from/to files, creating vectors & matrices, selecting elements of dataframes, vectors and matrices, arithmetics;
- Types of data: numeric, character, logical and categorical data, missing values;
- Simple (statistical) functions: summary, mean, var, etc., simple statistical tests;
- Writing simple functions;
- Introduction to graphics: scatter-, boxplots and other high-level plotting functions, embellishing plots by title, axis labels, etc., adding elements (lines, points) to existing plots.

The course focuses on practical work at the computer. We will make use of the graphical user interface RStudio: Link

Note: Part I of UsingR is complemented and extended by Part II, which is offered during the second part of the semester and which can be taken independently from Part I.
Lecture notesAn Introduction to R. Link
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course resources will be provided via the Moodle web learning platform
Please login (with your ETH (or other University) username+password) at
Link
Choose the course "Using R for Data Analysis and Graphics" and follow the instructions for registration.
529-0041-00LModern Mass Spectrometry, Hyphenated Methods, and ChemometricsW6 credits3GR. Zenobi, M. Badertscher, B. Hattendorf
AbstractModern mass spectrometry, hyphenated analytical methods, speciation, methods of surface analysis, chemometrics.
ObjectiveComprehensive knowledge about the analytical methods introduced in this course, and their applications.
ContentCoupling of separation with identification methods such as GC-MS, LC-MS, GC-IR, LC-IR, LC-NMR etc.; importance of speciation.
Modern mass spectrometry: Time of flight and ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, ICP-MS. Soft ionization methods, desorption methods, spray methods.
Methods of surface analysis (ESCA, Auger, SIMS, raster microscopy methods).
Employment of computer science for processing data in chemical analysis (chemometrics).
Lecture noteslecture notes will be available in the lecture at production cost.
Literatureinformation about relevant literature will be available in the lecture & in the lecture notes.
Prerequisites / NoticeExercises are an integral part of the lecture.
Prerequisites:
529-0051-00 "Analytische Chemie I (3. Semester)"
529-0058-00 "Analytische Chemie II (4. Semester)"
(or equivalent)
551-1411-00LMolecular and Structural Biology III: Current Topics Restricted registration - show details
The course will only take place with a minimum of 6 participants.
W2 credits1VK. Locher, F. Allain, N. Ban, R. Glockshuber, M. Pilhofer, E. Weber-Ban
AbstractThe course discusses current topics and cutting edge research in the structural, molecular, and biochemical study of cellular macromolecules. Student participation is an essential component of the course and will contribute to the exam grade
ObjectiveThe goal is to discuss cutting edge research in the structural, molecular, and biochemical study of cellular macromolecules. Students will also have an opportunity to present and discuss recent breakthroughs relevant to the research fields presented by the faculty teaching the course (see Link for details on the topics).
LiteratureWill be distributed by the instructors
551-1409-00LRNA Biology Lecture Series II: Non-coding RNAs: Biology and TherapeuticsW4 credits2VJ. Hall, M. Stoffel, further lecturers
AbstractThis course covers aspects of RNA biology related to the functions of non-coding RNAs as well as their use as drugs to treat diseases.
ObjectiveThe students should get familiar with the wide array of roles, which non-coding RNAs play in cellular functions.
ContentMicro RNAs; computational approaches to miRNAs; micro RNA function in metabolism; viruses and viral RNAs; nucleic acid-based drugs; ncRNA-mediated genome regulation; epigenetic programming of genome remodelling in ciliates; telomerase and telomeres; tRNA biology. Link
Prerequisites / NoticeBasic knowledge of cell and molecular biology.
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