Check the contents for the Biology leveling course taught at the Sant Joan d’Alacant campus in the 2025/2026 academic year.

Units:

UNIT 0: Basic Chemistry Concepts for Biology (2 hours (*))
0.1.- From atoms to molecules: types of chemical bonds.
0.2.- Units of matter quantification: the concept of the mole.

UNIT I: Molecular and Physicochemical Basis of Life (6 hours (*))
1.1.- The atoms and molecules of life: Bioelements and Biomolecules.
         1.1.1.- Inorganic biomolecules: water and mineral salts.
         1.1.2.- Organic biomolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids.

UNIT II: The Cell as the Unit of Life (6 hours (*))
2.1.- Models of Cell Organization: Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes (Animal and Plant).
2.2.- Components of the Eukaryotic Cell:
          2.2.1.- Plasma Membrane and Transport Across Membranes:
         2.2.2.- Vesicular Transport:
                      a) Secretion and Exocytosis Pathway: Endoplasmic Reticulum, Golgi Apparatus
                      b) Endocytosis and Digestion Pathway: Endocytosis Mechanism, Lysosomes.
2.3.- The Cytoskeleton: Actin, Intermediate Filaments, and Microtubules.
          a) Organized Forms of the Cytoskeleton: Cilia and Flagella.
          b) The Centriole.
2.4.- Nucleus: Structure and Function. From Chromatin to Chromosome.
2.5.- The Cell Cycle and Its Phases: Mitosis and Meiosis.

UNIT III: Metabolism (6 hours (*)).
3.1.- Metabolism: catabolism and anabolism.
3.2.- ATP as an energy exchanger
. 3.3.- Enzymes as biocatalysts.
3.4.- The anaerobic metabolic pathway: carbohydrate catabolism (glycolysis and fermentations).
3.5.- Mitochondria and cellular respiration.
          3.5.1.- Ultrastructure of the mitochondria.
          3.5.2.- Concept and significance of cellular respiration. Aerobiosis and anaerobiosis.
          3.5.3.- Electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation.
          3.5.4.- The aerobic metabolic pathway: Krebs cycle and fatty acid catabolism.

UNIT IV: Biological Inheritance: Classical and Molecular Genetics (additional topics (**))
4.1.- Basic concepts of biological inheritance and Mendel’s laws.
4.2.- DNA as the carrier of genetic information: the central dogma of molecular biology.
4.3.- Gene and genome.
4.4.- DNA replication.
4.5.- Transcription and translation of the genetic message.
         a) Transcription mechanism.
         b) Genetic code.
         c) Translation mechanism.

(*) The indicated duration is merely a guideline. The content covered in each unit will depend on the students’ level of engagement in the classroom.
(**) These additional topics may or may not be taught depending on the course’s progress.

Faculty:

• José H. Villanueva Roig