Purpose

Molecular biologists and biochemists need to process data and create figures to help others quickly grasp the results. Increased processing capacity in computures have dramatically affected how one accomplishes these tasks. The following specific objectives are thus designed to help students master the use of computers to facilitate the analysis and presentation of molecular and biochemical data.

1. To help students gain computer literacy
   • to familiarize students with basic computer navigation in Dos, Windows, WindowsNT (and time permitting, Linux operating system), and to work with ascii text files and bitmap or vector image files (and interchange between Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems) in the context of HTML files.
   • to familiarize students with some of the available facilities
     • phosphorimager (now replaced with a Typhoon that also has fluorescence capabilities)
     • laser densitometer
     • digital camera
     • flatbed scanner
     • shared pentium and powermac computers & associated software
     • archiving data with CD-recorder
     • shared computer disks and printers within bmb ethernet domain
     • computer projector
   • to familiarize students with molecule manipulations and display using programs such as SwissPDBViewer, MolMol, ICMLite, RasMol, Netscape and HTML plugged with MDLChime, Chimera, and possibly KineMage or other program (PYMOL, etc)
   • to help students make use of multimedia presentations in BMB courses and lab settings
2. To familiarize students with nonlinear regression of biochemical data in the context of a global statistical analysis of simple to complex data sets using real data from DNAse1 footprints, steady state and pre-steady state kinetic experiments, analytical ultracentrifugation runs, small and wide angle neutron or X-ray scattering data, and crystallography experiments (involves use of spreadsheets, Dos and WindowsNT programs, and possibly Linux programs)
   

The first several weeks of the course will be aimed at basic computer skills (working with files, images, and command line), and becoming familiar with the types of activities available for study. During this time, students will study examples of quantitative biochemistry and molecular biology. That work will be integrated into a project in which students chose a molecular structure of interest to them and build a web page or powerpoint file for presentation of relevant features. Then, students will embark on self-chosen projects.