Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education最新文献

As a strategy to carry out a better achievement in the Biochemistry course, undergraduate dentistry education manage a traditional course on the basic concepts of general chemistry necessary in the understanding of Biochemistry. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of learning outcome, we aimed to develop an evaluation tool that was applied to first-year dental students before and after receiving the general chemistry classes. Randomized trial consisted of 50 items distributed in 10 categories. The evaluation was applied to the students who took the Oral Biology course in the periods comprising 2020, 2021, and 2022 to a population of 109 students. Our results showed that after receiving the course the improvement rate was 20.71% with significant differences in each category. In conclusion, the introductory course allows students coming from different school systems to attend Biochemistry with similar knowledge of general chemistry.

Laboratory e-learning support tools can assist students' learning while preparing for laboratory classes. To successfully work in such virtual experimental environments (VEEs) outside class, students require self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. A deeper understanding of the continuous reciprocal interactions between SRL, satisfaction, and online engagement is needed to develop more effective online learning experiences. This study therefore aimed to explore the interconnection between students' satisfaction with, effort/importance and engagement in an exemplary VEE, and to relate this to their perceived SRL and learning outcomes. Based on surveys in 79 university students, SRL was related to VEE engagement, effort/importance, and satisfaction. VEE engagement and satisfaction were not related to learning outcomes, while SRL and effort were. Students with different SRL also tended to interact differently with the VEE and experienced differing degrees of procedural and feedback support by the e-environment. We conclude that, for optimal learning experience and outcomes, students' effort regulation and SRL need to be supported while interacting with the VEE, preferably by interventions that integrate personalized and adaptive features. This study has implications for designing and optimizing VEEs and indicates that future research should focus on VEEs taking students' SRL and effort regulation into account to support individual learners effectively.

Electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation are always a challenging topic for students studying metabolism. We had adopted blended learning in metabolism teaching and evaluated the learning experiences of students. In this project, a pre-class learning aid the Story Mode and a post-class learning aid the Revision Mode in the Powerland was developed that facilitated students learning electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation. In the Story Mode, pathways were presented by short animations and simplified diagram that allowed students to understand basic concepts and recall simple facts of the topic. Students were asked to watch the animations before class to acquire lower level of cognitive learning first, and this facilitated students in understanding more complicated concepts later on during class. Another challenge that students faced was that they were especially weak at integrating metabolic pathways and understand the relationships between these pathways. A metro map was designed in the Revision Mode that aided students in knowledge integration, and the functions of biomolecules were summarized in flashcards that helped students in revising the concepts. This interactive self-learning tool was packaged as a courseware using the Articulate Storyline.

The medical field is facing a physician-scientist shortage, threatening future medical research and development. Medical institutions can contribute to developing physician-scientists by stimulating students' involvement in research. In this study, a medical undergraduate teaching module to develop research skills and encourage interest in research was held in Chongqing, China. Undergraduate medical students at Chongqing Medical University completed research skills training. Before and after the training, an online, anonymous, self-reported questionnaire was administered. The self-reported questionnaire investigated students' demographic characteristics, students' perception of attitudes toward conducting research, research skills (e.g., identifying and utilizing information, critical appraisal of literature, paper writing, and understanding of research), and feedback on scientific research training. The module was implemented with 25 students from July 2019 to October 2019, and 96.0% (N = 24) of participants responded to the questionnaire both prior to and after the training. In the evaluation of research skills, results showed that use of appropriate tools for research (Z = −3.340, p < 0.01), students' ability to undertake a focused literature search (Z = −3.40, p < 0.01), identifying and utilizing information (Z = −3.34, p < 0.01), and paper-writing skills (Z = −3.49, p < 0.01) were significantly improved after the undergraduates participated in the scientific research training. A qualitative analysis of the feedback showed that students found that the training helped to enhance their knowledge, improve their study scores, and motivate them to conduct research in the future. Early scientific research ability training strengthened the research skills of medical undergraduates and motivated them to pursue research.

After a time away from the classrooms and laboratories due to the global pandemic, the return to teaching activities during the semester represented a challenge to both teachers and students. Our particular situation in a Microbial Physiology course was the necessity of imparting in shorter time, laboratory practices that usually take longer. This article describes a 2-week-long laboratory exercise that covers several concepts in an interrelated way: conjugation as a gene transfer mechanism, regulation of microbial physiology, production of secondary metabolites, degradation of macromolecules, and biofilm formation. Utilizing a Quorum Quenching (QQ) strategy, the Quorum Sensing (QS) system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is first attenuated. Then, phenotypes regulated by QS are evidenced. QS is a regulatory mechanism of microbial physiology that relies on signal molecules. QS is related in P. aeruginosa to several virulence factors, some of which are exploited in the laboratory practices presented in this work. QQ is a phenomenon by which QS is interrupted or attenuated. We utilized a QQ approach based on the enzymatic degradation of the P. aeruginosa QS signals to evidence QS-regulated traits that are relevant to our Microbial Physiology course. Results obtained with the same test performed by a random group of students before and after the activities show the positive effectiveness of the approach presented in this work.

Teaching chemistry and biology students about biologics design remains challenging despite its increasing importance in pharmaceutical development. Monoclonal antibodies, commonly called mAbs, are the most popular biologics. They have been developed into drugs to treat various diseases in the past decades. Multiple challenges exist for designing proper formulations to stabilize mAbs, such as preventing aggregation and mitigating viscosity. Molecular modeling and simulations can improve pharmaceutical products by examining the interactions between mAbs and other compounds, such as excipients. To introduce students to biopharmaceuticals, eight students at the Stevens Institute of Technology participated in a semester-long course to learn the challenges of pharmaceutical development and different computational skills to study biologics design. The students started with a limited background in this field. Throughout one semester, they were introduced to various literature and software tools for modeling antibodies and studying their interactions with excipients. This paper aims to develop a course structure to be replicated at other universities and institutions to teach biopharmaceutical development to students.

A literature review is an important part of conducting academic research. Knowing how to conduct a literature search and write a high-quality literature review is a valuable skill. Herein, the authors describe the method of introducing a literature review writing exercise in an upper-level biochemistry course. Since 2020, authors have collaborated with numerous undergraduates writing literature reviews on topics in biochemistry that resulted in peer-reviewed publications. Authors believe that this unique idea of providing a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) to many undergraduates, especially those who otherwise do not receive collaborative research experience through traditional research paths, must be shared with other instructors.

The laboratory practice “Primary culture and directional differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs)” is part of a required course for sophomore medical students at Tongji university, which has been conducted since 2012. Blended learning has been widely applied in medical courses. Based on a student-centered teaching philosophy, we reconstructed a comprehensive stem cell laboratory module with blended learning in 2021, aiming to facilitate students in enhancing their understanding of the multi-lineage differentiation potential of stem cells and improve their experimental skills, self-directed learning ability, and innovative thinking. First, we constructed in-depth online study resources, including videos demonstrating laboratory procedures, a PowerPoint slide deck, and published literature on student self-learning before class. In class, students performed a primary culture of BMSCs, freely chose among adipogenic, osteogenic, or chondrogenic differentiation, and used cytochemical or immunofluorescence staining for identification. After class, the extracurricular part involved performing quantitative polymerase chain reaction to examine the expression of multi-lineage differentiation marker genes, which was designed as an elective. After 2 years of practice, positive feedback was obtained from both students and faculty members who achieved, the learning goal as expected. The reconstructed stem cell laboratory module provides comprehensive practice opportunities for students. Students have a better understanding of BMSC at the molecular, cellular, and functional levels and have improved their experimental skills, which forms a basis for scientific research for medical students. Introducing blended learning into other medical laboratory practices thus seems valuable.

The emergence of ChatGPT as one of the most advanced chatbots and its ability to generate diverse data has given room for numerous discussions worldwide regarding its utility, particularly in advancing medical education and research. This study seeks to assess the performance of ChatGPT in medical biochemistry to evaluate its potential as an effective self-learning tool for medical students. This evaluation was carried out using the university examination question papers of both parts 1 and 2 of medical biochemistry which comprised theory and multiple choice questions (MCQs) accounting for a total of 100 in each part. The questions were used to interact with ChatGPT, and three raters independently reviewed and scored the answers to prevent bias in scoring. We conducted the inter-item correlation matrix and the interclass correlation between raters 1, 2, and 3. For MCQs, symmetric measures in the form of kappa value (a measure of agreement) were performed between raters 1, 2, and 3. ChatGPT generated relevant and appropriate answers to all questions along with explanations for MCQs. ChatGPT has “passed” the medical biochemistry university examination with an average score of 117 out of 200 (58%) in both papers. In Paper 1, ChatGPT has secured 60 ± 2.29 and 57 ± 4.36 in Paper 2. The kappa value for all the cross-analysis of Rater 1, Rater 2, and Rater 3 scores in MCQ was 1.000. The evaluation of ChatGPT as a self-learning tool in medical biochemistry has yielded important insights. While it is encouraging that ChatGPT has demonstrated proficiency in this area, the overall score of 58% indicates that there is work to be done. To unlock its full potential as a self-learning tool, ChatGPT must focus on generating not only accurate but also comprehensive and contextually relevant content.

The Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB) and the College of Biochemists of Sri Lanka (CBSL) organized a virtual education symposium in 2021 funded by the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB). The parallel session named “Students’ Perception” was attended by 188 participants from 11 countries. The main objectives of this session were to aggregate participants’ viewpoints on aspects of virtual education, including innovative strategies to enhance motivation and engagement of students, improving teacher–student and student–student interactions, managing stress, and virtual learning platforms. Data were collected via rapporteurs from multiple segments of the session including a mini-introductory talk, poll, role play, and discussions about outstanding student experiences, types of virtual platforms, innovative methods of teaching, student motivation and stress management. The importance of student perception and issues like technological difficulties and the reluctance of students to engage were discussed. In addition to well-established strategies such as using polls, chat box features, and discussions in breakout rooms, participants also proposed exciting learning methods to engage students such as quizzes, competitions and challenges, engagement of multiple sensory modalities, story-based learning, and so forth. This report provides anecdotal evidence on pedagogies described in textbooks and also introduces new ideas based on this existing foundation. Future research should aim to harmonize virtual education with traditional classroom methods and explore innovative virtual tools like avatar-based universities, virtual labs, and user-friendly online assessment platforms. The results apply to all disciplines, and not exclusively to biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB).