Assignments

All assignments must be submitted as soft copy on the date specified.

All written work must be submitted to Turnitin for plagiarism checking. Instructions will be provided on iLearn.

Criteria and standards required for the assessment tasks will be available on iLearn.

Note the standardised 5 pm submission time for assessments

Extensions will only be granted under exceptional circumstances.

Late submissions - Late submissions will be accepted for all assessments in this unit with penalties. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for disruption of studies is made and approved.

General Faculty Policy on assessment submission deadlines and late submissions: Online quizzes, in-class activities, or scheduled tests and exam must be undertaken at the time indicated in the unit guide. Should these activities be missed due to illness or misadventure, students may apply for Special Consideration.

All other assessments must be submitted by 11 pm on their due date. Should these assessments be missed due to illness or misadventure, students should apply for Special Consideration. As late submissions are permitted as indicated in the unit guide and on iLearn a consistent penalty will be applied for late submissions as follows: 24 hours late = 10% deduction; for each day thereafter, an additional 10% per day or part thereof will be applied until five days beyond the due date. After this time, a mark of zero (0) will be given.

Off-shore students Off-shore students must email the convenor as soon as possible to discuss study options as this course has in person practical classes and attendance is mandatory. So this course cannot be completed off-shore.

COVID Information and on-campus classes On-campus teaching continues to be scheduled for Session 1, 2022. Masks are compulsory for all classes in indoor spaces and social distancing will be implemented wherever possible. Students will also be required to sanitise surfaces before and after use. Students are requested to minimise the risk of spreading COVID to themselves and others in accordance with the university and NSW Health guidelines: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs and https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/stay-safe.

Any further requirements or changes to units in relation to COVID will be communicated to students via iLearn.

Problem Set

Problems 1 - 12 will be discussed on ongoing basis during the various practical sessions.

Requirements

Assessment tasks involve the practical assignments and the problem sets which are both integral components of the unit. Apart from the marks formally allocated to these components, a comprehensive understanding of them will greatly assist you in the final exam. You should remember that the final exam covers ALL components of the unit. Participation in ALL practical sessions is required in order to complete the practical reports.

COVID-Safe requirements

The safety of students and staff is our primary concern, and we must all work together to maintain a COVID-free campus. We ask students to note the following:

• COVIDSafe behaviour must be always practiced while on campus: wear masks, clean surfaces before/after use, maintain social distancing where possible, and follow directions of staff.
• If unwell, please do not come to campus. Email the convenor and apply for a Special Consideration. Staff have the discretion to request that students presenting COVID-19 like symptoms leave campus.
• You may return to campus if you have tested negative for COVID-19 and have not experienced COVID-19 related symptoms for the last 72 hours.
• If you have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been on campus, please inform the unit convenor and the COVIDSafe Team (COVIDSafe@mq.edu.au).
• For more information, please see the University's FAQS site and NSW Health.

Classes

There are two weekly lectures of 1 hour each on Monday 1-2pm and Tuesday 1-2pm which will be held at 14 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Avenue Lecture Theatre 5 (14SCO T5). There is one weekly practical session of 3 hours on Monday 10-1pm (practical groups 1 and 2) and Monday 2-5pm (practical groups 3 and 4) at 14 Eastern Road Science Labs 130 and 150. Attendance at practical sessions is a compulsory component of this unit. Lecture recordings and graphics slides are available online through iLearn (https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/ MQ/), although lecture attendance in person is highly recommended. The practical manual is also available online through iLearn.

Required and Recommended Texts

The course syllabus is defined by all of the subject material presented in lectures and practicals, much of which is beyond standard textbooks. The prescribed text for this unit is Molecular Biology Fifth edition by Robert F Weaver. Available from the Co-op bookshop. The following texts may also be useful and are available in the library:

GenesIX by Benjamin Lewin

Mobile Genetic Elements by Sherratt

Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual by Maniatis, Fritsch and Sambrook

An Introduction to Genetic Engineering by Des Nicholl.

Technology Requirements

Within this Unit, you will be introduced to web-based search engines that are commonly used in molecular biology. Our expectation is that you will be able to readily access the internet and have a computer available to you for web browsing and preparation of your laboratory reports. Handwritten reports will not be accepted. Your laboratory reports will be submitted and circulated via the online Turnitin program on iLearn, for which access instructions will be given at submission time. Your practical reports will require you to carry out minor computational tasks, for which a calculator and access to basic statistical tools will be required. We place a large emphasis on correct referencing style in all your reports, and use of the program EndNote is encouraged, but not essential.

The Bioinformatic Project is now run as a Synthetic Biology Design Challenge (see iLearn and the Prac Manual for details). It now runs from week 2 to week 13 in prac classes, rather than being in a discrete period (weeks 9-11) as previous.