Can anyone tell me the difficulty/content/interest of these mol bio courses are?
Mol bio 3b03- advanced cell bio (heard it was 2 courses in 1)
mol bio 3O03- Microbio genetics
Mol bio 3V03- The molecular biology laboratory
Mol bio 4H03- Molecular biology of Cancer.

Thank you guys!

I can only speak for the first two.

3B03 is an okay class, you're right, they put together cytoskeleton and nucleus in to one class. Last year was the first year they offered it. There was 2 midterms, 2 quizzes (if i remember correctly), 1 group (3 ppl) presentation on an article and a critique of an article. In terms of difficulty, it definitely isn't an easy class but it's not brutal. Dr. Gupta's test was pretty rough and from what I heard everyone had trouble with it in the class. Dr. Daniel's test was better, I'm not sure if she made it a bit easier because Dr. Gupta's test was hard but she made sure we knew what to expect, no surprises, so we were able to study well for it. The presentation was simple, easy marks. The critique on the other hand was pretty hard to do overall but marks were good for it. The exam was also a little rough. On the exam there were experimental application questions, so they give a problem and you have to design an experiment. So on that note I would recommend this class because it is useful material and both profs are very nice buuuut it's not easy. Dr. Daniel I feel is very invested in her students and she's nice in the sense that she wants to help everyone be aware of all their options concerning careers in science and stuff. Also don't compare this class to 2nd year cell bio, it's very different and more difficult. It's way more specific (obviously since it's only on the nucleus and cytoskeleton)

Now 3O03
Dr. Elliot is actually the nicest person ever. She's a really good professor, makes sure everyone understands, is very approachable and is very passionate about her work...BUT this class was really hard for me. A lot harder then 3B03 and if I could go back in time I would not take it, I'm not sure why I did. It's not the same as Bio 2EE3 but some parts are a little bit similar when it comes to some things about microbes so if you really enjoyed 2EE3 then I say you should consider it. There was a midterm, quizzes, research paper summary, research paper presentation and exam. The presentation was very similar to the one in 3B03. For the summary, everyone I talked to did really poorly, I'm not sure what the TAs were looking for. The summary is like a written version of the presentation and not worth much but it can bring your presentation mark down. The testing was difficult. It was all making up experiments, very application based. Because I didn't get a very good understanding from the material I had a hard time applying things on the tests.

can someone also give some info on mol bio 3II3? Thanks!

Originally Posted by cjdzl

can someone also give some info on mol bio 3II3? Thanks!

The course will focus on the cell cycle, DNA damage, repair, and telomeres, as well as cancer initiation. The lectures are a combination of pathways and experimental evidence reinforcing them. You need to memorize everything in utmost detail when it comes to all pathways. You are expected to have an understanding of every experiment described in lecture (but no need memorize their specific results). The textbook is absolutely NOT necessary. Tests are based on the lecture slides and are a combination of multiple choice, fill in blanks, thinking questions including experimental design. Last year we had a 30% midterm, a written paper worth 8.5%, an individual presentation worth 10%. Go to tutorials because they count for marks. There were 3 quizzes 10 minutes each throughout the course each worth I think 5%... writing them was not mandatory and their worth is moved to the final exam.

This course requires hard work so work hard if you take it. You don't need to go to lecture but its better if you do.

Mol Biol 3v03 is open to mol bio and genetics students but you might be able to enroll if you're not in the program but talk to the prof. You will have a 3 hour lab twice weekly every week and will follow the lab manual given at the start of the term. There is a quiz after every lab report worth 5% and you will be writing a lab report about every other week. Marking depends on the TA and only one TA marks all the lab reports corresponding to a particular lab (this way the marking is fair but class average will vary with the TA). Some TAs mark very hard while others will mark easily (either way do your best for every lab report). Each lab report is about 10 pages in length double spaced and not including the appendix. The labs go at a very fast and exhausting pace during the beginning of the term (and different experiments will overlap at various times) and you will have a final exam (average was bad but you will be fine if you just understand all the experiments you performed throughout the term). You will have a lab notebook that will be graded.

^ all that I wrote above should be in past tense... the course may be different during 2013/2014 study term.

^ hmm you did need to remember some specific results from the experiments for some questions, but that just goes with the overall understanding of the experiment I guess (for 3II3)

To add to my post, I found 3II3 easier than 3O03 but not easier than 3B03. Technically you can't really compare them in terms of difficulty that much cause they are pretty different but I'm just letting you know from my experience!

But yeah 3II3 is a lot of memorization of small details but also on top of that understanding and application are important too.

Do you guys think I would be sufficiently prepared for these courses if I got a 12 in bio 2b03 and 11 in bio2c03?

Well I do think you could do well in these classes if you put in the hard work but they are very different from the second year classes just keep that in mind! I'd say 2b03 does go in to cell pathways and stuff like that but 2c03 doesn't really. Most importantly though, all of these classes really focus on research articles and how experiments are formed so in that sense they are very different and new. Nothing could really prepare you unless you are familiar with this stuff from before.