Preface

List of abbreviations

Study strategies

• Developing your skills
• Self-management
• Learning effectively
• Making the most of learning resources
• Locating and citing published information
• Evaluating information
• Working with others
• Mapping your personal development

Assessment skills

• Succeeding in assessments
• Scientific writing
• Writing essays
• Reporting practical and project work
• Tackling literature surveys and reviews
• Presenting written assignments
• Preparing a poster
• Giving a spoken presentation
• Revision strategies
• Improving your performance in exams

Fundamental laboratory techniques

• Preparing for practical work
• Working safely in the lab
• Basic laboratory skills
• Measuring and dispensing liquids
• Preparing solutions principles and practice
• Measuring and maintaining pH
• Understanding microscopy
• Setting up and using a light microscope

The investigative approach

• Making measurements
• Understanding SI units and their use
• Designing experiments
• Understanding bioethics
• Recording data and images
• Tackling project work and placements

Working with microbes, cells and tissues

• Learning sterile technique
• Culturing cells and measuring growth
• Collecting and isolating microbes
• Identifying microbes
• Naming microbes and other organisms
• Working with bacteria
• Working with eukaryotic microbes: fungi and protists
• Working with viruses
• Working with animal and plant cells and tissues
• Homogenising and fractionating cells and tissues

Analytical techniques

• Understanding calibration and quantitative analysis
• Centrifugation techniques
• Measuring light
• Using advanced spectroscopy and spectrometry
• Carrying out basic spectroscopy and spectrometry
• Separating compounds using chromatography
• Detecting and analysing compounds after chromatography
• Methods of electrophoresis
• Advanced electrophoretic techniques
• Electroanalytical techniques
• Using immunological methods
• Using radioisotopes
• Analysing stable isotopes

Assaying biomolecules and studying metabolism

• Analysing biomolecules
• Assaying amino acids, peptides and proteins
• Assaying lipids
• Assaying carbohydrates
• Assaying nucleic acids and nucleotides
• Protein purification
• Studying enzymes
• Measuring membrane transport
• Quantifying photosynthesis and respiration

Genetics and molecular biology

• Studying Mendelian and population genetics
• Studying bacterial and phage genetics
• Understanding molecular genetics fundamental principles
• Using the polymerase chain reaction in molecular genetics
• Genetic manipulation techniques
• Applying bioinformatics

Analysing and presenting data

• Manipulating and transforming raw data
• Analysing data with spreadsheets
• Summarising data in tables
• Illustrating data in graphs
• Solving numerical problems
• Using descriptive statistics
• Selecting and interpreting statistical tests

Appendix 1

Index