Biological Structures: A course for all scientists and engineers — even philosophers
We offer a course at the Marine Science Institute in UP Diliman called “Biological Structures.” The topics we cover range from biological molecules (small and large), to cells, to organ systems, to whole organisms, to populations and ecosystems. One of the recurring fundamental questions we ask is — are there underlying principles, with fine similarities and differences, at these different levels of biological structure?
The aim of “Biological Structures” is to “cross borders and explore interfaces,” to give non-biology science majors an introduction to structural biology. Most of our students had been physics and math majors, and some biology majors. More recently, computer science and engineering majors have also enrolled in the course. For many years now, physicists and mathematicians have been venturing into the optical imaging and mathematical modeling of biological systems. Some of us view physics and mathematics as the new “microscopes” of biology. Computational biologists have been modeling biological systems based on experimental data provided by biologists. In an iterative process, these models are used to design better experiments.
Even chemists are joining the bandwagon of biology. Biochemists, biophysicists and molecular biologists have always been the leaders in structural biology, but now organic and inorganic chemists are designing and synthesizing photoactive molecules (fluorescent molecules, bioluminescent molecules) of very small sizes (nanometer — one billionth of a meter — in length or diameter) to be able to tag and view biomolecules. And engineers — they are exploring how certain biological structures with unique properties (fibers that are extremely strong, fibers with excellent optical properties) can be used as models to produce new materials and solve engineering problems in environment-friendly ways.
And so it makes sense for some non-biology majors to learn more structural biology.
We are not so bold as to teach all the topics ourselves (GPP-C lectures on small biological molecules; EAP lectures on some of the larger biological molecules). Instead, we recruit as co-teachers individuals who have expertise in the topics we dare not teach.
GPP-C discusses lipids, steroids, glucose, carotenes and porphyrins. These small biomolecules have important functions in the life of many organisms and have been preserved throughout evolution. And so we discuss their unique structural features. Lipids are able to form inert membranes that compartmentalize components in the cell. Steroids serve either as membrane structures or hormones. Glucose is a major source of energy and also of chiral carbon centers (carbons that have four different types of groups attached to them) that can bind specifically to other biomolecules. Carotenes are photo-reactive and participate in the process of color vision, while porphyrins, which are found in chlorophyll and hemoglobin, can capture sunlight (in chlorophyll) or bind oxygen (in hemoglobin). In a recent article, EAP wrote about “The New Engineers” of DNA, proteins, cells and animals. Well, these small biomolecules are also being “engineered” and GPP-C presents examples of these in class.
EAP then talks about macromolecules and macromolecular assemblies, for example, nucleic acids, proteins, viroids, and viruses. Nucleic acids carry all the information that makes us what we are and control the interpretation of that information into useful entities, like proteins, carbohydrates, etc. Proteins are the molecules that do the everyday chores to maintain our body functions, that protect us from pathogens, that serve as building blocks in our body structures, etc., etc. And, of course, certain macromolecules and macromolecular assemblies cause us harm, for example, misfolded proteins, viruses, and others.
Dr. Ernelea Cao of NSRI discusses unicellular and simple organisms (mycoplasms, bacteria, protozoa and other lower eukaryotes). Dr. Cynthia Saloma of NIMBB discusses the tissue and organ systems of higher organisms from invertebrates to vertebrates (mice and humans). For higher biological systems, we take examples from the sea — where life began and for which we have expertise at MSI. Dr. Edna Fortes talks about marine plants, Dr. Ed Gomez and Dr. Perry Aliño about marine animals, and Dr. Helen Yap about marine communities and ecosystems.
In centuries past, there had been individuals who did very important work in several fields. Isaac Newton, the physicist, for example, co-invented calculus, and in his later years practiced chemistry — alchemy, actually. A brilliant mind in more modern times was Linus Pauling, who delved into chemistry, biology, physics (just a little), and even medicine (with his advocacy of vitamin C and with his seminal work on molecular diseases). Isaac Newton and Linus Pauling were exceptional people. A person who knows a lot about diverse fields is a rarity. The amount of knowledge that has been accumulated is already so large that these days it is difficult for someone to be an expert in one topic, let alone several (there are just not enough hours in a day to learn everything that one wants to know).
Physicists, chemists, mathematicians, and engineers can contribute a lot to biology. (Several of the first structural biologists, for example, Sir Lawrence Bragg, Francis Crick, and a few others, were originally trained as physicists.) Because they come from different backgrounds, non-biologists view a biological problem from a different perspective. Scientists from various disciplines, when working together, will almost surely move forward faster and farther than if they were working independently of each other. Indeed, more and more endeavors are becoming interdisciplinary. But it is probably best if they can understand each other.
That, in essence, is the purpose of our “Biological Structures” course. We want to expose the physicists, the mathematicians, the engineers — even the philosophers — to the language of biology. The chemists may already know the language, but we wish to expose them to more of the biological world.
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Gisela P. Padilla-Concepcion is a professor at the Marine Science Institute,
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