Available to all students registered for a Single Honours degree in Biochemistry or Biology with or without another subject. Modules LIFE2099 or LIFE2009 are useful, but not essential. Available to JYA/Erasmus students. Students from other degree courses need permission in writing from the module convenor to select this module and may be removed from the enrolment without this.

This module focuses on the molecular mechanisms that produce force and movement in cellular systems. The material is approached from a molecular viewpoint and builds from individual molecules to explain how the cast of molecular characters interact to support movement at the molecular, cellular and tissue level. 
Force and movement in cells is supported by the cytoskeleton, a complex network of proteinaceous filaments. Like the human bone skeleton, the cytoskeleton provides a scaffold to maintain cell shape and a platform from which force and movement is generated. Unlike the bone skeleton, the cytoskeleton is highly dynamic: filaments form, break down and reform within seconds to meet the requirements of the cell.

A cytoskeleton is present in all domains of life. This module will cover the 3 major classes of cytoskeletal filament: microtubules, actin and intermediate filaments. You will learn about the molecular components of these filaments, how they self-assemble, how their dynamics are regulated and how they support movement over length scales from the molecular to the tissue level. 

The cytoskeleton is a major dug target particularly in cancer therapy. This module will cover drugs that modulate the cytoskeleton and how they are used both as therapeutics and as research tools. We will also cover pathogens that hijack the cytoskeleton to invade and proliferate in mammalian cells.

To develop an understanding of the components and function of cytoskeletal systems and how the cytoskeleton underpins movement of and within cells. To understand the molecular mechanisms driving cytoskeleton activity. To understand the role of the cytoskeleton in the context of health and disease and the role of cytoskeleton targeting drugs as therapeutics.