2000

Biochemistry includes the entire molecular basis of processes that take place in living beings. Under this perspective, it is immediately perceived that none of the areas in science involving life can escape the frontiers of this sphere of knowledge. In this order of ideas, the course of General Biochemistry attempts to provide a view of the basic concepts of the discipline in order for students to understand the rules of the molecular logic of cells, and recognize the structural basis of biomolecules, enzymatic catalysis and its relationship with bioenergetics. This is expected to provide students with an understanding of the central routes of metabolism, leading the concept to a metabolic integration focused on the interrelationship between the different processes of degradation and synthesis that constitute biochemical routes.

The course of Biochemistry Laboratory is meant to develop different methodological skills and learn the fundamentals of the different procedures used in the research of the metabolic area. The final result is the change in concept from theoretic biochemistry to empirical biochemistry.

The impact of molecular biology on modern biology has led to the manipulation of molecules and, as a result, the accelerated development of new fields such as genetic engineering and biotechnology. The course covers the basic aspects regarding molecular biology and familiarizes students with biomolecular structure. It teaches how, starting with basic sciences such as physics, chemistry and biology, you can explore new frontiers of knowledge and take advantage of the properties, capacities and structure of molecules that make up living beings, to obtain highly functional products resulting in the so called biological revolution.

The objective of this practical course is to provide students with a basic understanding of the processes and procedures employed in a molecular biology laboratory to support the theoretic component of the class. These practices familiarize students with the fundamentals and the performance of widely used procedures in applied molecular biology, such as the study of nucleic acids, PCR and electrophoresis. As a part of the course, there is an introduction to the understanding and uses of some of the basic tools used in the field of bioinformatics.

General Bacteriology is a thematic course whose main objective is to familiarize students with the world of bacteriology, covering different topics such as taxonomy, structure, physiology and genetics, among others. In addition, it studies the main bacterial genera involved in the industrial, biotechnological, clinical and environmental fields, in order to provide students starting out in the program of microbiology with a full panorama of the different fields of research and work with bacteria.

The General Bacteriology Laboratory is a practical course, in which students are trained to isolate and identify bacteria based on different sources such as environmental samples, human microbiota and waters, among others. In addition, students conduct tests with antibiotics and antimicrobials, as well as experiments with microbial ecology. This is how the course provides students with a practical understanding and simple, useful tools that can be applied for different purposes.

The objective of this theoretic course is to familiarize students with the basic understanding required to delve into the different branches of the field of applied mycology (medical, industrial, environmental) in advanced courses of physiology, ecology, molecular biology and fungal genetics, and in courses that require a basic understanding of mycology as a phytopathology, soil microbiology, environmental microbiology, by means of classes in which students are to participate, review articles, present projects and make a poster at the end of the course.

The main objective of this Laboratory is to develop students’ kills in handling, isolating, collecting and determining macro and microscopic fungus using basic techniques that are typical of mycology laboratories.

This course is designed to provide a general view of the biological, pathological and epidemiological characteristics of the different parasitoses treated. In addition, it provides an understanding of the control and prevention of the different parasitoses that affect man and animals. Furthermore, the course constitutes the first step into specific areas such as: helminthology, entomology and protozoology.

 Laboratory practice aims to provide an understanding of the relevant biological characteristics to study and identify the parasites of man and animals. In particular, it studies the areas of helminthology, protozoology and entomology. In order to do so, students carry out microscopic and macroscopic observations to learn and relate the morphology of the different stages of development of parasites. This is done taking into account the physiological, behavioral and pathological aspects of each organism and group studied.

This is a theoretic course that introduces students to the fundamental aspects in the field of virology. Topics include structural characteristics, morphological aspects, the physicochemical properties of DNA AND RNA VIRUSES, as well as the classification and description of certain important viral families in clinical and phytopathological aspects, as well as other fields of research. It covers basic concepts relating to particles that are similar to viruses (e.g. viroids, virusoids, satellites) and the differences between viruses and viral particles.

The fundamentals studied in theory will be put into practice in the laboratory. The course familiarizes students with the biology and the molecular biology of viruses, facilitating an understanding of the phenomena involved in the replication process of different types of bacteriophages and enables them to become familiar with the infection mechanisms of viral pathogeneses.

The objective of this course is to provide students with the current biostatistical techniques, procedures and methodologies, for the planning, handling and processing of numeric information resulting from biological experiments or observations of nature, which have been suggested by the researchers of biological sciences in order to provide a solution for problems associated with an area of basic or applied biology.

This course provides students with tools to strengthen and apply the modern biostatistical procedures and methods studied in the theoretic class by means of exercises applied on biological sciences. Stress is placed on the use of computers and their corresponding statistical software to handle all kinds of information generated by biological research.

This course studies the basic aspects relating to the principles of immunity and the mechanisms of action of this system in human beings, based on animal models. During the course, students are presented with the methods used in basic immunology to determine the status of an individual.

Students acquire skills and abilities in handling the different immunological techniques used on the research and clinical levels. The course applies conventional techniques to detect immune responses. It also presents students with non-conventional techniques to deal with research projects as required.