The Chemistry of Life

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Free Online Course: The Chemistry of Life provided by edX is a comprehensive online course, which lasts for 13 weeks long, 2-3 hours a week. The course is taught in English and is free of charge. Upon completion of the course, you can receive an e-certificate from edX. The Chemistry of Life is taught by Shoji Kajita, Naoko Tosa, Toru Iiyoshi and Motonari Uesugi.

Overview
  • Chemistry and biology are traditionally taught as separate subjects at the high school level, where students memorize fundamental scientific principles that are universally accepted. However, at the university level and in industry, we learn that science is not as simple as we once thought. We are constantly confronted by questions about the unknown and required to use creative, integrated approaches to solve these problems. By bringing together knowledge from multidisciplinary fields, we are empowered with the ability to generate new ideas. The goal of this course is to develop skills for generating new ideas at the interface between chemistry and biology by analyzing pioneering studies.

    When should I register?
    Registration will be open throughout the course.

Syllabus
  • Unit 1: Understanding Chemical Structures
    Unit 2: Writing and Synthesizing DNA
    Unit 3: DNA/RNA Applications
    Unit 4: Idea Generation Techniques
    Unit 5: Writing Amino Acids
    Unit 6: Writing and Synthesizing Proteins
    Unit 7: Combinatorial Chemistry & Chemical Genetics
    Unit 8: Fluorescent Molecules for Tracking Biology
    Unit 9: Fluorescent Proteins for Tracking Biology
    Unit 10: Review of Ideas
    Unit 11: Ideas for Fooling Sugars and Fats
    Unit 12: Ideas for Fighting against Cancer & Virus
    Unit 13: Review of Ideas