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CYTOSKELETON - Microtubule Dynamics in the Cell Cycle

Author(s): Hannah Pie1, Kathleen Hoffman2

1. Howard Community College 2. University of Maryland, Baltimore County

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Summary:
This module contains exercises designed to help upper-level cell biology students understand the dynamics of microtubule polymerization and depolymerization within the cell cycle and how cancer treatments influence this process through…

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This module contains exercises designed to help upper-level cell biology students understand the dynamics of microtubule polymerization and depolymerization within the cell cycle and how cancer treatments influence this process through interpretation of graphical information, use of dimensional analysis, and comparison of rates of change.

Licensed under CC Attribution 4.0 International according to these terms

Version 1.0 - published on 06 Oct 2023 doi:10.25334/KF56-W917 - cite this

Keywords

  1. cell biology
  2. Quantitative reasoning
  3. Interdisciplinary STEM
  4. Interpreting Graphs
  5. Cytoskeleton
  6. Scientific reasoning
  7. dimensional analysis
  8. NIQB
  9. C2. Data and Graphs
  10. C6. Quantitative Language
  11. C1. Numeracy

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Description

This module is designed to help students strengthen skills in quantitative reasoning using mathematical models of biological systems presented in graphs, dimensional analysis, and comparison of rate changes.  The module provide review on the roles of microtubules in the cell cycle and discusses how certain cancer treatments are designed to hinder those roles. Students calculate and compare rates of polymerization and depolymerization of microtubules during the cell cycle from graphical representations and then examine how different cancer drugs affect these rates. Students utilize dimensional analysis to calculate how many tubulin dimers are lost per second during depolymerization as well as how many GTP molecules are hydrolyzed per second during polymerization to provide a scale for the extent of these process.  Pre-work is provided to prepare students for the biological concepts related to microtubules as well as to review dimensional analysis and calculations of slopes. This module is designed for students to work in small teams to discuss and answer the questions in the module activity.

This module was developed and implemented as part of the NEXUS Institute for Quantitative Biology (NIQB), which is a collaborative project funded by the National Science Foundation's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (NSF-IUSE) initiative. NIQB is a collaboration between University of Maryland, Baltimore County (DUE-1821274), Anne Arundel Community College (DUE-1821179), Community College of Baltimore County (DUE-1821249), Howard Community College (DUE-1820903), and Montgomery College (DUE-1821169).

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