Some MIT OpenCourses relevant to pandemic

by: nika

Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 14:22:11 PM EDT

I thought these might be of interest.

7.340 Nano-life: An Introduction to Virus Structure and Assembly

Course Highlights

This course features a complete bibliography of readings and sample student assignments in the assignments section.

Course Description

Watson and Crick noted that the size of a viral genome was insufficient to encode a protein large enough to encapsidate it and reasoned, therefore that a virus shell must be composed of multiple, but identical subunits. Today, high resolution structures of virus capsids reveal the basis of this genetic economy as a highly symmetrical structure, much like a geodesic dome composed of protein subunits. Crystallographic structures and cryo-electron microscopy reconstructions combined with molecular data are beginning to reveal how these nano-structures are built. Topics covered in the course will include basic principles of virus structure and symmetry, capsid assembly, strategies for enclosing nucleic acid, proteins involved in entry and exit, and the life cycles of well understood pathogens such as HIV, influenza, polio, and Herpes. A review of cutting edge structural methods is also covered.

site = http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Biol...

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Course Highlights

A full bibliography is included in the readings section of this course.

This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching. The instructor for this course, Dr. Halme, is a member of the HHMI Education Group.

Course Description

Every infection consists of a battle between the invading pathogen and the resisting host. To be successful, a pathogen must escape the many defenses of the host immune system until it can replicate and spread to another host. A pathogen must prevent one of three stages of immune function: detection, activation, or effector function. Examples of disease-specific immune evasion and the mechanisms used by pathogens to prevail over their hosts' immune systems are discussed. Also considered is what these host-pathogen interactions reveal about the normal function of the immune system and basic cell biological processes, such as protein maturation and degradation.

site = http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Biol...

HST.151 Principles of Pharmacology

Course Highlights

This course features extensive lecture notes.

Course Description

The object of the course is to teach students an approach to the study of pharmacologic agents. It is not intended to be a review of the pharmacopoeia. The focus is on the basic principles of biophysics, biochemistry and physiology, as related to the mechanisms of drug action, biodistribution and metabolism. The course consists of lectures and student-led case discussions. Topics covered include: mechanisms of drug action, dose-response relations, pharmacokinetics, drug delivery systems, drug metabolism, toxicity of pharmacological agents, drug interaction and substance abuse. Selected agents and classes of agents are examined in detail.

site = http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Heal...