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Genetics and Molecular Biology for Medical Students
Rating: 3.8 out of 5(37 ratings)
1,277 students

Genetics and Molecular Biology for Medical Students

Molecules of heredity
Created byDr Fatahiya Kashif
Last updated 2/2026
English
English

What you'll learn

  • In this course you will experience:
  • 1. Unfolding of the complex loops, coils, rosettes and solenoids to reveal the slender DNA strands wound around the tiny histones particles.
  • 2. A deep dive into the wonderful world of nucleotides and how they polymerize to form the amazing architecture of the molecules of heredity.
  • 3. A peek into the life of prokaryotes; our mini study models which provide us the cutting, pasting, shipping and multiplying tools for experimenting with genes.
  • 4. A circular ride through the complexities of the eukaryotic cell cycle. How one stage triggers the onset of the next until two identical daughter cells are created.

Course content

3 sections • 22 lectures • 3h 18m total length

  • Of books and genomes8:06

    Learn how the genetic alphabet A, G, C, T encodes genomes with two-bit logic, comparing prokaryote and human genomes through books as an information analogy.

  • Chromosomes: lets zoom in.8:42

    Zoom in on metaphase chromosomes, showing rosettes and solenoids within a 30-nm fiber, with histone octamers and h1 forming chromatosomes—beads-on-a-string dna packaging revealed by light to x-ray methods.

  • DNA packaging
  • Nucleotides: the building blocks.9:02

    Examine nucleotides as the building blocks of DNA and RNA, detailing purines and pyrimidines, N-glycosidic bonds to ribose or deoxyribose, phosphate linkages, and mono-, di-, and tri-phosphates.

  • The building blocks
  • Nucleotides as mediators of metabolism9:14

    Nucleotides act as enzyme activators and coenzymes in metabolism, energy currencies like ATP and GDP, activated intermediates with UDP, CDP, and SAM, and the building blocks of RNA and DNA.

  • Nucleotides in metabolism
  • Polynucleotides: the amazing architecture10:36

    Explore the architecture of polynucleotides: nucleotide structure, energy-storing phosphate bonds, phosphodiester linkages, DNA and RNA forms, Chargaff base pairing, and 3' to 5' polarity.

  • Polynucleotides
  • DNA: The information macro-molecule10:06

    Explore the four-letter genetic alphabet and base pairing, the B, A, and Z DNA forms with major and minor grooves, and how pH and temperature affect denaturation.

  • DNA
  • The diverse roles of ribonucleic acid11:50

    Explore the diverse roles of RNA, including mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA, their structures, processing, and translation into proteins, plus RNA interference by miRNA and siRNA.

  • RNA
  • Flow of information: the central dogma.13:35

    Follow the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein under the central dogma. Review key experiments establishing DNA as the genetic material and outlining replication, transcription, translation.

  • The central dogma
  • Prokaryotes: our model organisms.14:25

    Explore prokaryotes as model organisms, focusing on bacteria and E. coli, their cell structure, plasmids and episomes, transposons, and horizontal gene transfer.

  • Prokaryotes
  • The eukaryotic cell cycle: an overview.16:34

    Describe the eukaryotic cell cycle from interphase (G1, S, G2, sometimes G0) to mitosis and cytokinesis, detailing chromatin changes, kinetochores, spindle dynamics, and telomere regulation.

  • Cell cycle
  • Regulation of the cell cycle15:59

    Trace how external regulators engage receptors, activate MAPK signaling, and drive cyclin–CDK complexes to regulate E2F release, the G1 to S transition, DNA replication, MPF activity, G1/G2/M checkpoints, and apoptosis.

  • Cancer.....when the cells go mad12:45

    Explore how persistent cellular stress leads to mutations in cell-cycle genes, triggering dysplasia, metaplasia, neoplasia, and eventually invasive, metastatic cancer.

  • Proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes13:12

    Proto-oncogenes promote cell growth but mutate into oncogenes, as with ras and myc, triggering cyclins and CDKs; tumor suppressors like p53, p16, ARF restrain growth to prevent cancer.

Requirements

  • Knowledge of high school level biology and chemistry.

Description

This course is basically designed for medical students; however, it is also an invaluable resource for students of other health related disciplines like biotechnology, pharmacy, nursing, biophysics, bio-engineering, bioinformatics and dentistry. In addition to the well-illustrated video lectures, the core concepts are reinforced with quick review sheets and end of lecture quizzes.  

In addition to detailed explanation of the structure and functions of nucleotides and nucleic acids, Dr Fatahiya Kashif explains how the linear DNA in a human cell is packaged in a highly organized and compact manner within the 23 pairs of chromosomes without being entangled. There is special segments on prokaryotes as our model organisms and stages of the eukaryotic cell cycle.

Keeping in view, the volatile nature of this subject, and the fact, that medical students are already confronted with an overwhelming volume of medical terminology; the most challenging concepts are presented in a simple and palatable format using animations and mnemonics. Furthermore, each section emphasizes the medical relevance of biochemistry with clinical and research applications. The course is continuously being updated with additional lectures and resources.

Who this course is for:

  • This course is intended for medical students. However, students of other health related professions may also benefit.

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