BIOSCI 107 Biology for Biomedical Science: Cellular Processes and Development

How BIOSCI 107 is assessed

What BIOSCI 107 covers

The whole course → one exam-ready map. Topics 1–3 (Cells & Tissues, Cell Structure & Function, and the Special Topics on development and proteins) are the entire territory of the 30% mid-semester test; Topics 4–7 (membrane transport, blood & immunity, neurons and muscle) are examined in the 40% final exam — both on paper as Teleform multiple-choice.

Labs (20%) and online feedback quizzes (10%) round out the mark, and a theory + practical hurdle sits over the lot. Each chapter links to its free guide.

It runs across seven topics: Cells & Tissues, Cell Structure & Function, the Special Topics (early development and protein structure), then the exam block — Cell Processes (membrane transport), Blood & the Immune System, Excitable Tissue: Neurons and Excitable Tissue: Muscle. Assessment is split into a theory component and a practical component.

The final examination is worth 40%, sat in the University of Auckland Semester 1 exam period — it is in-person, invigilated and on paper as Teleform multiple-choice (one best answer, no option E/5), not a digital/Inspera exam, and it covers only the second half of the course (Topics 4–7).

A 30% mid-semester test (also paper Teleform MCQ) covers Topics 1–3, laboratories are worth 20%, and online feedback quizzes 10%. A double hurdle applies: you must pass the theory component (at least 40 of the 80 theory marks, combining the test, exam and quizzes with carry-forward) and the practical component separately — and you cannot pass the course if you miss more than two graded labs.

There is no single prescribed textbook; the examinable content is the lecture material, and Tortora & Derrickson is recommended rather than required. Confirm the exact exam date, permitted materials and the current reading list on Canvas and the University of Auckland exam timetable.

Worked example · free

The signature Section C item — the Nernst equilibrium potential

Key terms

Theory hurdle

The rule that you must earn at least 40 of the 80 theory marks — combining the 30% mid-semester test, the 40% final exam and the 10% online feedback quizzes, with carry-forward across those pieces — to pass BIOSCI 107. Failing the test alone does not fail the course, but the theory total must clear the hurdle, and the practical component must be passed separately.

Teleform (paper MCQ)

The optical mark-reader answer sheet the mid-semester test and final exam are sat on — in-person, invigilated and on paper. Questions are multiple-choice with one best answer and no option E/5; the exam is not delivered on Inspera in the current offering. Confirm permitted materials (e.g. a calculator for the Neurons section) on Canvas.

Nernst equation

E_ion = 61.5 mV × log₁₀([ion]ₒ/[ion]ᵢ) at body temperature for a monovalent cation — the membrane potential at which net movement of a single ion is zero. Gives E_K ≈ −80 mV and E_Na ≈ +60 to +80 mV depending on the concentrations. Applies only when the membrane is permeable to that one ion.

Cross-bridge cycle

The four-step ATP-driven cycle by which a myosin head binds actin, executes a power stroke, detaches when new ATP binds, and re-cocks — sliding the thin filament over the thick. It runs only while cytosolic Ca²⁺ is high enough for troponin to shift tropomyosin off actin's myosin-binding sites; no ATP means no detachment (rigor).

MHC restriction

The requirement that a T cell recognises a foreign peptide only when it is displayed on a self-MHC molecule. MHC class I (on all nucleated cells) presents intracellular/viral peptides to CD8⁺ cytotoxic T cells; MHC class II (on professional antigen-presenting cells) presents extracellular/bacterial peptides to CD4⁺ helper T cells.

CFTR

The cystic-fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator — an apical chloride channel gated open by phosphorylation of its R domain plus ATP binding at its nucleotide-binding domains. It is a channel, not a primary active pump. Over-activation by cholera toxin (via cAMP) causes secretory diarrhoea; loss-of-function causes cystic fibrosis.

BIOSCI 107 FAQ

Questions students ask in each BIOSCI 107 chapter

How do I keep the cell junctions straight for the test?

Anchor each junction to its linker protein and its job. Tight junction = occludin/claudin, seals and controls the paracellular gap. Adherens = cadherin to actin, resists tension. Desmosome = cadherin to keratin, resists shear (skin, heart). Hemidesmosome = integrin to laminin, anchors the sheet to the basement membrane. Gap junction = connexins forming a connexon, passes small molecules between cells. The high-yield distinction is that only the hemidesmosome uses integrin (cell-to-matrix); the others that link cells use cadherin. Chapter 01 · Cells, Tissues & Body Organisation

How many ATP does one glucose really make?

Use ~30–32 ATP per glucose — that is the figure BIOSCI 107 teaches. Older textbooks quote 36–38, but the course uses the lower, more accurate value that accounts for the cost of importing ADP/Pi and shuttling electrons. Break it down as glycolysis +2, citric-acid cycle +2 (substrate-level), and oxidative phosphorylation ~26–28 (the bulk). Pyruvate oxidation makes 0 ATP directly but feeds NADH into the chain. Chapter 02 · Cell Structure & Cellular Respiration

What is the difference between a GPCR and a ligand-gated ion channel?

Both are membrane receptors for water-soluble ligands, but they act on very different timescales. A ligand-gated ion channel opens a pore directly when the ligand binds — fast, ionic and with no amplification, ideal for nerve and muscle signalling. A GPCR does not itself carry ions: it activates a G protein, which activates an enzyme, which generates a second messenger and a phosphorylation cascade — slower but massively amplified, and with several points to regulate. Learn which ligands use which (steroids, being lipid-soluble, use neither — they cross the membrane to cytoplasmic/nuclear receptors). Chapter 03 · Cell Communication & Signalling

How do I answer the 'use a codon table' question?

This recurring test item gives you a template DNA strand and asks you to work forward: transcribe it to mRNA (remember RNA uses uracil and is read 5′→3′), then translate codon by codon using the supplied codon table, comparing wild-type to mutant. Classify the change — silent (same amino acid), missense (different amino acid), nonsense (premature stop), or frameshift (1–2 nt indel) — and predict the effect on the protein. The table is always provided, so the skill is doing the decoding carefully and getting the reading frame right, not memorising codons. Chapter 04 · Gene Expression, Cell Division & Cancer

How do I remember which germ layer makes what?

Anchor the two easy hooks first: ectoderm makes what covers you and connects you (epidermis and ALL nervous tissue), and endoderm makes the linings of your inner tubes (gut and respiratory epithelium, plus liver and pancreas). Mesoderm is 'everything in the middle that moves or supports' — all muscle, the cardiovascular system, skeleton, kidney and gonads. Then remember they all derive from the epiblast, a common 'which is true about gastrulation' answer. Chapter 05 · Early Development & Protein Structure

Is CFTR a pump or a channel?

A channel — this is the exam's favourite catch. CFTR is a chloride channel gated open by phosphorylation of its R domain plus ATP binding at its nucleotide-binding domains. It does not hydrolyse ATP to pump Cl⁻ against a gradient the way a primary active pump would; Cl⁻ moves through it down its electrochemical gradient once the gate is open. The ATP here is a gating signal, not the energy source for uphill transport. Chapter 06 · Membrane Transport & Epithelial Function

How do I keep MHC class I and II straight?

Use two hooks. First the numbers: MHC I pairs with CD8 (I × 8) and MHC II pairs with CD4 (II × 4), and each product is 8. Second the antigen source: class I presents peptides made INSIDE the cell (viral) and sits on every nucleated cell, talking to CD8⁺ cytotoxic T cells that kill; class II presents peptides taken in from OUTSIDE (bacterial), sits only on professional antigen-presenting cells, and talks to CD4⁺ helper T cells that coordinate. And remember MHC restriction: a T cell only sees foreign peptide when it is displayed on self-MHC. Chapter 07 · Blood & the Immune System

When do I use the Nernst equation versus the Goldman equation?

Use the Nernst equation when only one ion's permeability matters — it gives that ion's equilibrium potential (the voltage at which its net flow is zero), e.g. E_K or E_Na. Use the Goldman equation when several ions contribute at once, as at the real resting potential, because it weights each ion by its permeability. At rest the membrane is far more permeable to K⁺ than Na⁺, so Goldman gives a Vm close to E_K but pulled slightly positive by the small Na⁺ leak. Chapter 08 · Neurons: Membrane Potential & Action Potentials

Why can one EPSP never fire an action potential?

Because a single EPSP (~0.1 mV) is tiny compared with the ~15 mV of depolarisation needed to go from rest (~−70 mV) to threshold (~−55 mV). A neuron therefore integrates many inputs: temporal summation adds rapid EPSPs from one synapse before they decay, and spatial summation adds EPSPs from many synapses firing together. Only when the combined depolarisation at the axon initial segment crosses threshold does a spike fire — and inhibitory IPSPs can subtract to prevent it. The neuromuscular junction is the exception: its single end-plate potential is always suprathreshold. Chapter 09 · Synaptic Transmission

Where exactly does ATP act in the cross-bridge cycle?

In two places, and neither is the power stroke itself. First, ATP binding to the myosin head causes it to DETACH from actin after the power stroke. Second, hydrolysis of that ATP to ADP + Pi RE-ENERGISES (re-cocks) the head so it can bind again. The power stroke is powered by releasing the ADP + Pi already stored on a cocked head. This is why no ATP means no detachment — the heads stay locked on actin, producing rigor. Chapter 10 · Skeletal Muscle: Contraction & Mechanics

How is the cardiac calcium trigger different from skeletal muscle?

In skeletal muscle the trigger is voltage: the muscle's own Na⁺-driven action potential travels down the T-tubules and mechanically opens the SR Ca²⁺-release channels — little external Ca²⁺ is needed. In cardiac muscle the trigger is Ca²⁺ itself: during the plateau, Ca²⁺ enters through L-type channels, and that incoming Ca²⁺ opens SR ryanodine receptors to release more — calcium-induced calcium release. Both then use troponin, but the way the SR is told to release Ca²⁺ differs, which is a classic exam contrast. Chapter 11 · Cardiac & Smooth Muscle

How to study for the exam

Treat the course as two halves with two exams. Topics 1–3 (Cells & Tissues, Cell Structure & Function, and the development/protein Special Topics) are the whole territory of the 30% mid-semester test; Topics 4–7 (transport, blood & immunity, neurons, muscle) are the 40% final.

Both are Teleform multiple-choice, so the winning skill is precise mechanism recall, not essay writing — build a one-line answer for every fact the lecturers flag (which junction uses cadherin vs integrin, the ~30–32 ATP tally, MHC I→CD8 vs MHC II→CD4, why CFTR is a channel not a pump).

Collect the easy percentage first: the 10% online feedback quizzes are described as the easiest marks in the course, so sit all of them, and protect the 20% practical — attend your own lab stream and never miss more than two graded labs, because that is a hard hurdle.

Give the Neurons section (exam Section C) special drilling: it is the one quantitative topic, so practise the Nernst and Goldman equations until the arithmetic and the hyperpolarise/depolarise interpretation are automatic, using the course's worked Study Questions.

Sit the released practice tests and exams under timed conditions on the Teleform-style sheet — at roughly 1.2 minutes per question there is no time to reason from scratch. In exam week, reduce each topic to its mechanism table and, for Section C, the two membrane-potential formulas. Remember both hurdles — pass theory (≥40/80) and practical separately — and confirm every date and rule on Canvas and your course outline.

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