Laboratory-based Short Course (3)
Course Duration: 5 days
Maximum Class Size: 10
Topics:
(i) Theory and applications of PCR, including, the structure/ function/ characteristics of nucleic acids, Biochemistry of the PCR, PCR: the archetype and the variations (Reverse Transcriptase RT-PCR, Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA RAPD-PCR), applications in various fields of science (with specific examples), analysis following PCR.
Course units: 10 hours.(ii) Protocols. General protocols will be presented, related to PCR as well as the steps preceding and following the PCR. The protocols will cover a wide range of purposes, applicable to various scientific fields.
Course units: 4 hours.(iii) Equipment, reagents and core procedures of a molecular biology laboratory. This part of the course will introduce participants to various types of equipment, their characteristics and modes of use. It will present them with sources of information on equipment, reagents and a variety of support services, such as software.
Course units: 4 hours.(iv) Demonstration / presentation of protocols. In this segment, partcipants work through basic protocols in the lab themselves, with demonstration, support and supervision from the instructors.
Course units: 15 hours.(v) Practice hands-on by participants. This part runs in parallel to segment iv. Participants have hands-on use of equipment and reagents, and learn to apply the methods and techniques on their own.