Kenyon College -- Department of Biology
Biology 113 
Fall 2001 

Lecture outline 8
9/12/01 

Prions (continued)

  • Mad cow and related diseases
  • Experimental evidence for protein rather than nucleic acid as the source of infectivity
  • The prion protein, conformational change as basis for the disease
  • Many questions remain
Cell signaling - overview
  • importance of protein shape and structure
  • importance of the membrane
  • importance of proper protein localization


Biochemical bonds

  • covalent
  • polar covalent
  • hydrogen bonds
  • ionic bonds
  • van der Waals and hydrophobic interactions
Amino acid structure - function.
  • Basic structure
  • R groups
    • charge
    • hydrophobicity
    • size/bulk

Kenyon College -- Department of Biology