文档介绍：Medical
Cell Biology
郑州大学基础医学院细胞、遗传学教研室程晓丽
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You will start learning about how cells work by studying this introductory course. Since all organisms are made of cells, we need to understand what cells are and how they function. We also need to understand how they develop and how they comm-unicate with one another to maintain the essential functions of the organism.
In recent years, spectacular advances have been made in our understanding of how cells work. Since cell biology is at the core of all life, it is one of the most active and exciting areas of current scientific research.
You are about to embark upon a most exciting journey, and this course is your ticket for the first part. I'm very glade to discuss a few things with you before you start on your own trips.
Preface
Dear Students:
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Preface
All of the information necessary is encoded in the DNA of each cell, and one of the major advances of recent years has been the determination of the complete sequences of the DNA of many species, including humans, flies and some plants. The infor-mation encoded in the DNA is expressed in cells through the synthesis of messenger RNAs and proteins, and we now have powerful tools to allow us to determine simultaneously the
amounts of the many thousands of messenger RNAs that are present in each cell, and our ability to analyze the patterns of protein expression is developing rapidly, especially through increased application of mass spectrometry to cell biology.
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Preface
Learning about how individual proteins function and about how they interact in complex networks inside cells will keep us all busy for many more years. But the payoff is fantastic! Apart from the beauty of knowledge of how living organisms function for its own sake, the more we know the more we can apply the information to understanding the causes of the many diseases that continue to plague us, leading eventually to better therapies and even to cures for many of them.