Class announcements are listed in reverse chronological order; most recent first.
⋅ GRADES: Your ranking for FOUR exams plus what has been posted for the lab (47% of lab grade is posted here) is now posted under Announcement. By Tuesday, your lab grades will also be posted here, and a re-calculation of 86% of your final grade posted grades. The top 15% of the class will very likely earn A's as long as lab scores don't change that calculation.
⋅ LECTURE: There will two Review Sessions: One on SUNDAY at 4:00 PM in CAS-226 to discuss the problematic questions; One on MONDAY at 5:15 PM in SCI-117.
⋅ Office hours end on Thursday this week. If you need to meet with anyone between then and Exam 5, reach out on Salck or email to arrange a time.
⋅ PROJECT: The Part 3 is due midnight Sunday May 5, 2024. The details of the grading for this part were outlined on daily announcements on 4/23/2025 (see below).
⋅ Exam 5 will be on Wednesday May 7. It will start at 8 AM and be over at 11:00 AM. It will be held in SCI-109. It's NOT a longer exam, so don't feel like you have to show up at 8 AM, but if you need the extra time you can have it. This exam will ONLY cover material from the end of Exam 4, lipid and nitrogen biosynthesis, EXCEPT, it will include several or the problematic questions from exams 1-4.
⋅ Your ranking with 4 exams and about half the lab (70% of the grade) was posted. If you stay within the 70±12 you will pass the class with a C or better. If you are above 82, you will very likely earn some kind of A/A-. All this assumes that the last 30% of your grade is similar to the posted grades.
⋅ The course evaluation site is open through Bb. It will be open until the end of the day May 2.
⋅ PROJECT: The Part 3 is due midnight Sunday May 4, 2025. The details of the grading for this part were outlined on daily announcements on 4/23/2025 (see below). Sorry, but for all the work on the lab, Part 2 has not yet been graded. You don't really need feedback on Part 2 to do Part 3, but that feedback should be done this week.
⋅ Exam 5 will be on Wednesday MORNING MAY 7; proctors will be there at 8 AM if you feel you need more time. MYBU says it starts at 9 AM, and you are welcome to come in then, or at 8.
⋅ DISCUSSION: Friday Disc TODAY will start at 2:45 instead of 2:30.
⋅ LECTURE: Since there are so many regrade requests for Chapter 9, we are holding off on posting those scores along with Exam 4 grades and regrade scores for Exam 3 until the weekend.
⋅ LAB: THE LAST lab starts tomorrow. It's the second half of the Pymole lab from 421. It shouldn't take very long to complete.
⋅ LECTURE: Exam 4 grades are posted on Gradescope and regrade requests is open until Next Saturday (4/26). Average was 70 ±15. Grades for exam 3 (regrades), exam 4, and Ch9; are not posed on the Web site until we finish with Ch9 grading.
⋅ LECTURE: Exam 5, which is in the MORNING of May 7 during Finals Week, will include questions that were "problematic" in Exams 1-4. The exact questions will be posted under Exams. Exam 5 will have a selection from these.
⋅ PROJECT: The feedback on Part 2 will be uploade to your Google folders this week. It includes a score out of 35 points for both parts 1 and 2. The Part 3 is due midnight Sunday May 4, 2025. The details of this part of the project are re-iterated below.
⋅ Part 3: For your chosen topic, discuss a treatment for the disease (if your topic is a disease), or discuss a use for a particular metabolism, for either the organism or for humans (if your topic is a metabolic pathway), or if your topic is some other biochemical issue discuss your thoughts about it (after discussion with Dr. Tolan. This assignment will continue from Part 2 of your project and be a 1–2 page document or other media. For this part, you can create what you will submit for the assignment in any fashion you like: a typical essay, a video presentation, a work of art (with explanation), a poster, etc. It doesn't have to be anything that is already known, and even better if it isn’t. Be creative here. The better projects will have some of your own thoughts and creativity infused into your work. Complete the assignment with the final submission due midnight Sunday May 4, 2025.
⋅ Exam 4 should be graded by Tuesday.
⋅ Feedback from Part 2 of Metabolism Project will be done by Tuesday.
⋅ Chapter-10 Template will be available by Thursday.
⋅ Feedback from Part 2 of Metabolism Project will be done by Tuesday.
⋅ REVIEW SESSION will be at 4 PM today, and a recording is linked under the Lectures link.
⋅ LECTURE: Slides on the mechanisms of RUBISCO, G6Pase, and transketolase are now on website under Announcements. The RUBISCO mechanism will be on Exam 4.
⋅ Added to the Announcements page are more information on the RUBISCO mechanism (must know), as well as info on G6Pase and transketolase that we could not cover in class.
⋅ PROJECT: Reminder that Part 2 of the Metabolism Project is due WEDNESDAY (4/2) BY MIDNIGHT. Please send via email a link or a file with your assignment to Dr. Tolan. The assignment should include a diagram of the pathway involved. It's OK to go over the 1-page guideline for your figures and citations.
⋅ LAB: ECh9 due starting Thr midnight
THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS WENT OUT THROUGH SLACK THIS MORNING:
⋅ Reminder that Part 2 of the Metabolism Project is due by midnight on April 2, which is a week from today.
⋅ LAB: As announced on Slack, the template for your Chapter 9 Laboratory Report is now available. It can be found as a downloadable MSWord file under 2025 Discussion Slides. Along with your Raw Data File, this REPORT will be due starting next week.
⋅ Exam 3 will be next week. The review session will be on Monday at 4:00 in SCI-117. Material for the exam will go from the the lectures before spring break thru Monday's lecture. A list of study objectives is posted below.
⋅ Web Site: New links were added to the Announcement page. In particular, the PLP mechanism and others have animated links.
⋅ PROJECT: Reminder that the you should be checking this page for information about the second part of the Metabolism Project, which is due in less than two weeks (4/2). More on this was posted on 3/17.
⋅LAB: Everyone should have received, via Slack, pictures of your autoradiographs for finishing your writeup of Chapter 6/8 Laboratory Report, which is due starting this week.
⋅ PROJECT: The feedback on Part1 of Project will be posted by Tuesday. Annotated file placed back in google folders. Groups that got their first choice (14), and 6 groups got their second choice. The Due date hanged for Part 2.
⋅ LECTURE: Review session Today at 4 in SCI 117
⋅ The Class median grade will be calculated by end of week now that drop deadline has passed.
⋅ HW for beginning of exam 3 material not due until Sun near the end fo spring break; after exam 2.
⋅ Reminder that on Achieve there is a nice animated mechanisms in for FA-Synthetase.
⋅ LECTURE: Reminder that Exam 2 is this coming Wednesday (3/25) in CGS, at 7:15 PM. There will be a Review Session on MONDAY in SCI-117 4:00 pm (see syllabus: schedule).
⋅ The class median grade will be calculated since we have passed the drop deadline.
⋅ The Web site has some additional information on lactic acid and mitochondrial diseases.
⋅ PROJECT: The first part of the Metabolism Project, which was due Wednesday Each group will have feedback by Monday, but you have to have shared your folder, which is where you will get your feedback. In the meantime spend time outdoors, play games, write journals, etc., as suggested to enhance your creative juices!!
⋅ EXAM: Exam 2 is a week from today. The material for the exam ends with today's lecture.
⋅ LAB: The MSWord template for the Laboratory Report on Ch6/8 has been posted. See Discussion Section of web site.
⋅ Drop deadline is Tuesday (tomorrow).
⋅ PROJECT: THE ANNOUNCEMENT about the project was last week, and the first part is due date of this Wednesday. Your Group should get together as a team and bring your ideas to the table. A single document FROM THE TEAM with everyone's individual topic idea listed will be submitted as a pdf-document by midnight February 26. The list should also have a ranking of the team's favorite 2-3 topics and a sentence or two about why. The best way to do this is to create a Google Folder and share it with everyone, including Dr. Tolan. A single person in the group should be designated to submit your assignment. Instructions were posted on the web site.
⋅ LAB: Lab reports for Chapter 7 are due this week.
⋅ LAB: Students were reminded about Chapter 7 lab reports, and radiation training.
⋅ LAB: The first Laboratory Report, that for Chapter 7, is due at the end of the day of each of your labs, starting Thursday. Your TF's office hours aare this week if you have questions about your write-ups.
⋅ LAB: PLEASE BE SURE TO COMPLETE YOUR Radiation training! YOU WON'T BE ALLOWED IN THE LAB THIS WEEK WITHOUT COMPLETING THIS TRAINING
⋅ LECTURE: Exam-I scores were posted Saturday. The average was 67 ±16 with a low score of 20 and a high score of 96. In addition, your exams were "returned" via Gradescope. To find your course ID# for looking up your performance under "Posted Grades," login to Gradescope and go to your account in bottom left. Your SID should be there. For those in A1 last fall, it should be the same number. Make sure that your score matches with your ID#. If not, please inform Dr. Tolan ASAP.
⋅ LECTURE: Exam-I Regrades: These are all done through GradeScope. As usual, you have one week from Saturday 12PM to request for any changes.
⋅ LECTURE: Exam-I stats: The relative performance the class did on each question is plotted. By popular demand, several of these questions, wherein most students did poorly, may be collected from this and the other 3 exams, and appear as a section on Exam 5. The questions will be announced before Exam 5. Also discussed was the grading for the class: after the drop deadline the average grade in 421 for all those still in 422 will be used as the average grade in the class.
⋅ GRADING: Also discussed was the grading for the class. After the drop deadline the average grade in 421 for all those still in 422 will be used as the average grade in the class.
⋅ LECTURE: Additional Announcements items: A table of the dicarboxylic acids was posted, as well as an article on lactic acidosis.
⋅ LECTURE: Exams will be graded by Saturday with the hopes that the scores will go up on our web site under Announcements/ Posted Grades by then. Dr. Tolan will be grading the whole exam via Gradescope. Everyone has been given a course-specific ID number. You can see your SID through Gradescope by going to your account (click on the bottom left). It should be a number from 1-100. The grades for the whole class will be posted (click on "Posted Grades") using this and only this identifier. If you do not want your grades posted in this way, please let Dr. Tolan know ASAP. You have one week from return of exams, as usual. You will be notified by Gradescope when they get posted, and your re-grade requests all go through Gradesco
⋅ Also posted after each exam is the exam with a key at the end. This will usually go up on the Web site right after the exam ends on Wednesdays. In addition, after the exams are graded, the scoring matrix for each question will be posted there.
⋅ WHATS DUE NEXT WEEK:
1) The first Homework for Exam 2 on Achieve by Monday not Sunday, so enjoy your weekend!!
2) The list of topics for Creativity Project from your Group by Wednesday at midnight
3) Complete the Radiation Training before your labs this week, which start on Thursday.
4) ⋅ LAB: Your Chapter 7 Laboratory Reports are due by midnight on the day of your lab next week starting Thursday.
⋅ LAB: Radioactivity lab starts today. Be sure you have passed the quiz before you go to lab this week.
⋅ The web site has an extra link to the old exams from last year. These will be consolidated after exam 1.has had the example of Exam 1, which was from Dr. Kornberg, replaced with the Exam 1 from last year.
⋅ LAB: No discussion sections or labs the rest of THIS week. Discussions resume on Tuesday next week (Mon schedule), labs on Thursday.
⋅ PROJECT: Your project GROUPS were posted on the web site on FRIDAY along with more info about the project. You have a week to get your groups together and decide on a list of topics.
⋅ LAB: Only about half of you have COMPLETED YOUR Radiation training. YOU WON'T BE ALLOWED IN THE LAB for Chapter 8 WITHOUT COMPLETING THIS TRAINING
⋅ DUE for LAB: Ch7 template posted for Chapter 7 Laboratory Report. First due dates are next Thursday.
⋅ LAB: Expect the template for Chapter 7 Laboratory Reports to be released by tomorrow.
⋅ LAB: No discussion sections THIS week. Monday and Tuesday labs will meet, but no Thr/Fri labs this week. Discussions resume on Tuesday next week (Mon schedule).
⋅ PROJECT: Your project GROUPS were posted on the web site on FRIDAY along with more info about the project. You have 10 days to get your groups together and decide on a list of topics.
⋅ LAB: COMPLETE YOUR Radiation training in the next week. YOU WON'T BE ALLOWED IN THE LAB for Chapter 8 WITHOUT COMPLETING THIS TRAINING
⋅ LAB: Expect the template for Chapter 7 Laboratory Reports to be released by Monday at 5 PM.
⋅ LAB: No discussion sections next week.
⋅ PROJECT: Your project GROUPS will be posted on the web site by the end of the day TODAY. The home page will also have more information about the project with some examples. That should be added by this weekend.
⋅ LAB: Add deadline has passed, so the labs you attended this week will be those you are in: if MyBU does not reflect that let Dr. Tolan know ASAP. They are doing a better job.
⋅ LAB: PLEASE BE SURE TO COMPLETE YOUR Radiation training! YOU WON'T BE ALLOWED IN THE LAB for Chapter 8 WITHOUT COMPLETING THIS TRAINING
⋅ LAB: We are changing how we do post-lab reports, and it's taking some time to implement that. We expect the template for Chapter 7 to be released by Monday.
⋅ LAB: No discussion sections next week.
⋅ LECTURE: Lots of updates on web site.
⋅ LAB: Add deadline is today, so the labs you attend as posted on website will be those you are in (MyBU is still not quite correct).
⋅ LAB: You should be receiving an email from SciShield regarding Radiation Training. You wont be allowed in the lab the week starting Feb. 20 unless you have passed the quiz that follows the training.
⋅ The web site has the up-to-date Lab Roster. This list supersedes MyBU.
⋅ TF's office hours start next week, but feel free to contact via email. See the matrix to see who is available. You don't need to go to those of your TFs if they don't fit your schedule.
⋅ LECTURE: Class Web site has the FINAL Roster for the labs.
Your TFs will be expecting those noted on the roster next week. Be sure to check the roster to see if we have you in the right section. If you need to change sections from what is posted, let Dr. Tolan know as soon as possible.
‐ Discussion sections start this week. The first one, TODAY, is in CAS 326; not in the one listed on MyBU!!
‐ Dr. Tolan's office hours will begin today.
⋅ ACHIEVE: The First HWs (#1 and 2) are due this Sunday. All due dates should be correct. The Adaptive quizzes are not due until 4 PM on exam day. There are no makeup homework or quizzes, or changing of due dates, ever.
⋅ OFFICE HOURS: Dr. Tolan's office hours will begin NEXT week.
⋅ ACHIEVE: The First HW will NOT be due this Sunday, but rather next Sunday to give everyone a chance to get an Achieve account. The Adaptive quizzes are not due until 4 PM on exam day. There are no makeup homework or quizzes, or changing of due dates, ever.
The course logistics were described using the main web site. The possibility of having the wrong discussion-lab combination was described. To be assured a place in a Laboratory and a Lecture Section; if you are in the wrong section or need to change sections, please let Dr. Tolan know ASAP.
You must attend and confirm you were present at the first lecture by noting this on the sign-up sheet what was passed around. Please contact Dr. Tolan ASAP if you missed class.
We will finalize the Lab/Lecture and post them on the web sites by this weekend.
The first meetings of lab and discussion were described as noted below for 1/19.
The different features of the Web site were pointed out. Check here for latest syllabus, announcements, lecture outlines and slides, as well as office hours and other goodies. Please browse.
Also, listen to Dr. Kornberg's introduction to the Course with a powerpoint slide you can download here.
If you are not present on January 22, you risk losing your seat. To be assured a place in a Laboratory Section and Lecture, you must attend the first day. If you have valid reasons for not being at the first class, please inform Dr. Tolan beforehand. If you are in the wrong discussion-lab combination as was described in an email last week, be sure to correct that before discussions start by DROP/ADD as soon as possible. If section you need is full, email the information the Dr. Tolan .
We will update the Lab/Discussion assignments and post them in LAB Rosters as they change until the DROP deadline.
Pre-lab Discussions will begin NEXT Monday (1/27/2025).
Labs will begin THURSDAY (1/30/2024).
Web site is becoming populated; different features were pointed out. Check here for latest syllabus, announcements, lecture outlines and slides, as well as office hours and other goodies. Please browse.