Biological Sciences - Assignment

1
CONTENTS
1 General Information .................................................................... 2
List of telephone numbers in the Biological Sciences ..................... 2
Almanac for 2021 ............................................................... 2
Public holidays and days on which the University is closed in 2021...... 2
2 Academic Information ................................................................. 3
Introduction ...................................................................... 3
Prerequisites, compulsory courses ........................................... 4
Planning a degree curriculum ................................................. 4
Examining of short-courses and courses (first, second and third year). 5
Subminima and exemptions ................................................... 5
Amendments to registration ................................................... 6
3 School and syllabus information ...................................................... 7
A. Interschool courses .............................................................. 7
Introductory Life Sciences (ILS) ............................................. 7
Complementary Life Sciences (CLS) ....................................... 8
B. School Courses .................................................................. 9
School of Anatomical Sciences .............................................. 9
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences (APES) .......... 14
School of Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) ............................ 29
School of Physiology ......................................................... 43
Welcome to the
Biological Sciences!

2
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
List of telephone numbers in the Biological Sciences
CHAIRPERSON 717-6322
Administrator 717-6303
Anatomical Sciences 717-2304
Animal, Plant and
Environmental Sciences 717-6403
Molecular & Cell Biology 717-6343
Palaeontology 717-6680
Physiology
Doctor Pieter De Maayer
(Biology Building 242)
Ms Duduzile Mditshwa
Interim management committee
Professor N Pillay
Professor M Cronje
Professor M Bamford
Professor W Daniels 717-2560
Almanac for 2021
Activity Dates
First teaching block Mon 8 March Fri 23 April
Vacation/study/research break Sat 24 April Sun 2 May
Second teaching block Mon 3 May Thu 17 June
Study Break Fri 18 June Sun 20 June
Examinations Mon 21 June Fri 9 July
Winter vacation/research break Sat 10 July Sun 1 August
Third teaching block Mon 2 August Fri 17 September
Study/research break Sat 18 September Sun 26 September
Fourth teaching block Mon 27 September Mon 8 November
Study Break Tues 9 November Sun 14 November
Examinations Mon 15 November Fri 10 December
Summer research breaks Sat 11 December
Public holidays and days on which the University is closed – 2021
New Year’s Day Friday 1st January
Human Rights Day Sunday 21st March
Good Friday Friday 2 April
Family Day Monday 5 April
Freedom Day Tuesday 27 April
Worker’s Day Saturday 1st May
Youth Day Wednesday 16th June
National Women’s Day Monday 9th August
Heritage Day Friday 24th September
Day of Reconciliation Thursday 16th December
Christmas Day Saturday 25th December
Day of Goodwill Sunday 26th December

3
2. ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Introduction
Subjects taught within the Biological Sciences
Subjects taught within the Biological Sciences are offered by:
> School of Anatomical Sciences
> School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences (Ecology &
Conservation, Biodiversity, Organismal Biology)
> School of Molecular & Cell Biology (Applied Bioinformatics,
Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Genetics & Developmental Biology and
Microbiology & Biotechnology)
> School of Physiology
In addition, most schools offer Honours degree courses in their subjects; for details of
these please consult the individual schools.
Biological Sciences –Undergraduate Computer Laboratory
Internet is required for many of the Biological Science courses and it is advisable that
all second and third year students register for the Nucleus Computer Laboratory early
in the year with Ms Dudu Mditshwa in Gate House, First Floor.
Part-time courses
The Introductory Life Sciences BIOL1000A course equivalent is offered through
Wits Plus for part-time students. Part-time students should register for Introductory
Molecular and Cell Biology MCBG1001A (which is offered in Semester 1) and
Introductory Physiology and Environmental Sciences APES1003A (which is offered
in Semester 2).
Curricula
The degree of Bachelor of Science shall extend over not less than three academic
years of full-time study.
a) a course at first year level (level I) is denoted by the Roman numeral I following the
descriptor and its code number begins with the Arabic numeral I (e.g. Chemistry I,
CHEM1012A);
b) a course at second year level (level II) is denoted by the Roman numeral II
following the descriptor and its code number begins with the Arabic numeral 2
(e.g. Chemistry II, CHEM2001A); and
c) a course at third year level (level III) is denoted by the Roman numeral III
following the descriptor and its code number begins with the Arabic numeral 3
(e.g. Chemistry III, CHEM3034A).
A student is deemed to be –
a) in the first year of study if s/he has 0 credits or obtained credit for, courses at level I which
do not make up a total of 108 credits;
b) in the second year of study until s/he has obtained a minimum of 108 credits at
level I and 144 credits at level II; and
c) in the third year of study until s/he has obtained a minimum of 432 credits, at least
144 of which are from level III.

4
Number of course credits in a current academic year of study
Unless permitted by the Senate, a student shall include in her/his programme:
a) for the first year of study, courses for which no more than 144 credits at level I are allocated;
b) for the second year of study, courses for which no more than 192 credits at level II
are allocated; and
c) for the third year of study, courses for which no more than 192 credits at level III
are allocated.
In exceptional cases, the Senate may permit a student in any year of study to register
for additional courses.
Students are required to have one major in the Faculty of Science to
graduate.
Prerequisites and compulsory courses
Prerequisites
Course prerequisites
Many of the courses in the Biological Sciences have prerequisites
which you must meet before you will be admitted to them. You will
not be admitted to second year unless you have already passed
Chemistry I, Auxiliary Mathematics and Introductory Life Sciences or
equivalents.
Block course requisites
Some topics have prerequisites that apply even if you are not taking
the whole of the course to which the block course belongs.
Compulsory and optional courses
Within the major courses for some subjects there are COMPULSORY COURSES and
OPTIONAL COURSES. You must take all the compulsory courses for any course
for which you are registered. You must then select which of the optional courses you
wish to take in order to make up the 48 or 72 credits for the course. With the
permission of the heads of schools concerned, you may be able to credit an optional
course offered in another school.
NOTE:
Details of courses and prerequisites for individual courses are given in the SCHOOL
AND SYLLABUS INFORMATION section of this handbook.
Planning a degree curriculum.
* NOTE these courses have limitations on student numbers.
The second and third year Biological Science courses for which you may register are:
Biochemistry & Cell Biology III Medical Cell Biology III*
Biodiversity II, III Microbiology & Biotechnology III
Applied Bioinformatics III Molecular & Cell Biology IIA*
Ecology & Conservation II, III Molecular & Cell Biology IIB*
Genetics & Developmental Biology III Molecular & Cell Biology IIC*
Human Biology III* Organismal Biology II, III
Human & Comparative Biology II* Physiology II, III*

5
Choosing second-and third-year courses
The range of courses from which you can choose will be determined to some extent
by the courses you have already passed – that is, by the course prerequisites you have
met and by restrictions imposed by the timetables. You may only register for either
Anatomy or Physiology but not both at third year level.
If you are registering for your second year of study, you must:
> Check that you have the necessary first-year prerequisites for the courses for
which you intend to register.
> Check that you have included in your registration any courses that are
compulsory.
> Check that the courses you register for will meet the prerequisites for the
courses you eventually intend to register for in your third year of study.
> Check timetable clashes.
If you are registering for your third year of study, you must:
> Check that you have the necessary first and second year prerequisites for the
courses for which you intend registering.
> Check that the courses for which you intend registering will allow you to
complete your degree.
> Check timetable clashes.
Examining of short-courses and courses (first, second and third year)
Separate examinations are held for each short-course. Any short-course that has been
completed by the end of block 2 is examined in June during the mid-year examination
period with the balance of the short-courses examined at the end of the year in
October/November. The mark in a course is the weighted average of the marks for all
short-courses taken as part of that course. Students require a mark of 50% to obtain
credit for short-courses.
Sub-minima and exemptions
If you fail one or more short-courses in a course but obtain 50% or more for the
course as a whole you will be credited with a pass for that course, providing that your
mark for each of the short-courses you have failed is not less than the sub-minimum
mark of 35%.
A. If you have obtained a mark of 50% or more for a course as a whole but marks
below the sub-minimum of 35% for one or more short-courses credited to that
course, the following rules will apply:
i. If you have obtained marks below the sub-minimum in one or more short-
courses for a course, but in the other short-courses you have accumulated half
or more of the total number of credits for the course, you will be required to
repeat and obtain at least 50% in the failed short-course the following year in
order to receive credit for the course.
ii. If you have obtained marks below the sub-minimum in a short-course or short-
course accounting for more than one quarter of the total credit number for the

6
course, and have failed to accumulate half of the total number of credits for the
course, you will be deemed to have failed the course as a whole regardless of
your overall mark for the course.
iii. If you complete a short-course successfully for which you had previously
obtained a sub-minimum, you will have completed the course.
B. If you obtain less than 50% for a course as a whole then the following rule will
apply:
i. If you fail the course but have passed short-courses that comprise half the
point value for the course you will be exempted from repeating those short-
courses.
ii. A student repeating a course/short-course is required to repeat both the
theoretical and practical components.
Amendments to registration
Any change in second- and third-year COURSES must be made by the end of the
first week of the academic year. A course may be cancelled at any time up to the
beginning of September of the current year of registration. After that date you will be
considered to still be registered for the course and will be marked “failed absent” in
the end-of-year examinations if you do not complete the course.
COURSE CHANGES can be made at various times during the year as follows:
1. A course may be cancelled at any time prior to the end of the first week of the
block in which the course is offered.
2. An amendment to course registration which involves the addition of a short-
course must be made before the end of the first week of the block in which the
short-course is offered. This provision is subject to the approval of the heads
of the schools concerned. The addition of any short-course is subject to the
condition that it does not cause a clash with any existing short-course on the
examination timetable.
3. If you have failed a course which is not compulsory, you may, if you wish,
register for an additional course in order to replace the one you have failed.
Course registration amendment forms are obtainable from the Faculty of
Science Office, Ground Floor, Mathematical Building, West Campus. These
forms must be completed and the change signed by the Head of the School (or
nominated representative) for the short-course which you are changing.
Prizes
There are prizes for top students in all disciplines of the Biological Sciences. Please
consult the administrator in each school for details.

7
3. SCHOOL AND SYLLABUS INFORMATION
A. Interschool courses
The Biological Sciences offers two courses in Biology at the first year level. These
courses are run jointly by the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences
(incorporating Ecology & Conservation, Biodiversity, Organismal Biology) and
School of Molecular and Cell Biology, (incorporating Biochemistry & Cell Biology,
Genetics & Developmental Biology, Microbiology & Biotechnology and Applied
Bioinformatics). These courses have been designed to cover the broad spectrum of
modern biology and provide students with an opportunity to learn about the diverse
fields available, before making more specialised choices at second year level. There is
a “core” course called Introductory Life Sciences I that includes material which we
feel is essential for all biologists. Complementary Life Sciences I (Diversity of Life)
is an optional course that includes more specialised areas of interest. NB: It is
recommended that students who are interested in a career in biology also register for
Complementary Life Sciences (Diversity of Life).
BIOL 1000A INTRODUCTORY LIFE SCIENCES 1 (ILS)
(36 credits)(Slot C or D)
Introductory Life Sciences 1 (ILS) (this course is restricted to a total of 600 students),
the “core” course that gives entry to all subjects in the Biological Sciences in second
year, comprises four topics, 1 topic per teaching block. Introductory Life Sciences I
will be offered on two slots to allow for maximum flexibility. To be credited with
Introductory Life Sciences I (36 credits) you must complete all four topics.
Introductory Cellular Biology
The underlying theme of the knowledge base will be the relationship between
structure and function at the molecular and cellular levels. After attending this topic,
students should be able to justify why the cell can be considered the basic unit of life
and explain how structure determines function in the cell. To this end, the structure of
biomolecules and their roles in the cell will be examined, as well as how cells capture
and use energy.
This course zooms in on the biological cell. Different types of cells and the organelles
they contain will be studied and their structure and functioning will be considered.
Furthermore, the structure of biomolecules such as lipids, sugars and proteins and
their roles in the cell will be examined, as well as how cells capture and use energy in
the form of ATP. After attending this topic, students should be able to justify why the
cell can be considered the basic unit of life and explain how structure determines
function in the cell.
Genetics, Growth and Development
This course will start by studying the flow of genetic information in the cell, from
DNA to RNA and to proteins via transcription and translation. Then, the cell cycle
(including cytokinesis and the reproduction of cells), cell growth, morphogenesis and
differentiation in the development of living organisms will be explored. The course
also explores chromosome mutations, such as variation in number and arrangements.
The cellular events of meiosis will be correlated with genetic phenomena. The
Mendelian genetics section involves following a genetic trait/gene from generation to