regulation
42 concepts carry this thread across the degree.
Homeostasis and negative feedback
Stabilising the internal environment against disturbance.
Diffusion and osmosis
Passive movement of molecules down a gradient.
Gas exchange surfaces
Why exchange surfaces are thin, moist and large.
The principle of mass transport
Why large organisms need circulatory systems.
Membrane transport
Passive, facilitated and active movement across membranes.
Signal transduction
Converting an external signal into a cellular response.
Receptor-ligand binding
Specificity and affinity in molecular recognition.
Second messengers
Amplifying and relaying signals inside the cell.
The resting membrane potential
The Nernst equation applied to ion gradients.
The action potential
The all-or-nothing electrical impulse of a neuron.
The oxygen dissociation curve
Cooperative oxygen binding by haemoglobin.
Osmoregulation in the kidney
The countercurrent multiplier concentrates urine.
Muscle contraction
The sliding-filament mechanism of the sarcomere.
Hormonal regulation
Endocrine control of physiological state.
Differential gene expression
One genome gives rise to many cell types.
Morphogen gradients
Concentration gradients supply positional information.
Hox genes and the body plan
Master genes that specify anatomy.
Induction
Cells directing the fate of their neighbours.
Apoptosis
Programmed cell death sculpts developing tissues.
Innate and adaptive immunity
Two coordinated layers of defence.
Clonal selection
How lymphocytes specific to a pathogen are amplified.
Antibody structure and diversity
Generating a near-limitless repertoire from limited genes.
MHC and antigen presentation
Displaying cellular contents to T cells.
Immunological memory
The basis of long-lasting immunity and vaccines.
Synaptic transmission
Chemical communication across the synapse.
Neural integration
Summing excitatory and inhibitory inputs.
Long-term potentiation
A cellular mechanism of learning and memory.
Sensory transduction
Converting physical stimuli into neural signals.
Neural coding
How spikes represent information.
Oncogenes and tumour suppressors
The genetic accelerators and brakes of cancer.
The hallmarks of cancer
The capabilities a tumour must acquire.
Cell cycle checkpoints
Surveillance that guards against damaged division.
Angiogenesis and metastasis
How tumours secure a blood supply and spread.
Clonal evolution of tumours
Cancer progression as natural selection.
Gene regulatory networks
The logic of cellular decision-making.
Feedback loops in biology
Sources of robustness and oscillation.
Metabolic flux analysis
Tracing material flow through a metabolic network.
Emergent properties
Behaviour arising from interactions, not parts.
Pharmacokinetics
Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs.
Dose-response relationships
Potency, efficacy and the therapeutic window.
Receptor pharmacology
Agonists, antagonists and binding.
Genomic medicine
Tailoring treatment to an individual's genome.