✅ Molecular, Cell Biology and Biochemistry
This unit covers the biological foundations that the rest of the syllabus builds on: how cells are organised and communicate, how the genome is stored, copied, read, and regulated, and the core chemistry of the molecules that make all of it possible. It presumes basic high-school chemistry and mathematics; if you want to firm up the basics first, these handouts are a good starting point: Biochemistry Handout, Part 1, Part 2.
The section is organised in three tiers: Cell Biology (how cells are structured and organised), Molecular Biology (how the genome is stored, copied, and expressed), and Biochemistry (the chemistry underlying it all). Start with Cell Theory below if you’re new to the subject — everything else builds on it.
Cell Biology
Cell theory, compartmentalisation, and the prokaryote/eukaryote divide
Beginner
Fluid mosaic model, diffusion, facilitated diffusion, active transport, osmosis
Intermediate
Rough/smooth ER, Golgi, lysosomes, peroxisomes, vesicular transport
Intermediate
Structure and the endosymbiotic evidence for their bacterial origin
Intermediate
Microfilaments, microtubules, intermediate filaments, and myosin/kinesin/dynein
Intermediate
GPCRs, receptor tyrosine kinases, and second-messenger cascades
Advanced
Checkpoints, mitotic stages, and the chromosome mechanics of meiosis I/II
Intermediate
Tight/anchoring/gap junctions, the extracellular matrix, apoptosis, necrosis, autophagy
Intermediate
Molecular Biology
The double helix, semiconservative replication, and the replication fork
Intermediate
Mismatch, base-excision, nucleotide-excision, and double-strand break repair
Advanced
RNA polymerases, promoters, capping, splicing, polyadenylation
Advanced
tRNA charging, the ribosome, and the three stages of translation
Advanced
The lac and trp operons, attenuation, and riboswitches
Advanced
Chromatin, histone modification, DNA methylation, enhancers, miRNA
Advanced
Cloning, PCR, Southern/Northern/Western blotting, sequencing, CRISPR
Advanced
Biochemistry
The 20 amino acids, pI, titration curves, and amino acid metabolism
Beginner
The four structural levels, hemoglobin cooperativity, chaperones, misfolding disease
Intermediate
Michaelis-Menten, kcat, and the four modes of reversible inhibition
Advanced
Monosaccharide stereochemistry, glycosidic bonds, starch/glycogen/cellulose
Intermediate
Fatty acid saturation, phospholipids, and cholesterol’s effect on fluidity
Intermediate
Purines, pyrimidines, phosphodiester bonds, and why DNA uses thymine
Intermediate
Glycolysis, the TCA cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation — IBO-scoped
Advanced
SDS-PAGE, chromatography, spectrophotometry, and membrane protein extraction
Intermediate