Mayank Patel › Likes

Week 14 has gone by so quickly. Having two practicals per week is significantly different compared to last semester. Personally I enjoyed the gene and medicine practicals more than the microbiology ones. Check list; completed the #mb1031 abstract homework and #bs1011 assessment. Am so glad I have done them. Now on to the #bs1009 essay. The lectures has been different compared to 1st semester getting use to the fact that I need to write notes, I learnt from my mistakes from last semester. Always attend the lectures and write everything relevant. As it will come in handy when revising for the exams. I learnt managing my time is important, know where to go and when to go and prepare wither its tutorials/practical or just lectures. It’s basically getting use to the routine. Hopefully this week is going to be a productive week :) - Fatma Alzahra AlMahrouqi

It took me a while to find you girl..remember me? - Omar Nihad Tahboub

Its a bit late in the day to be writing this (or should i say its a bit too early in the morining) but i thought i should get it done before i get caught up once again in the very fast moving weekday uni life. This past week has been nice and relaxed like the calm before the storm i guess with the storm coming in the form of exams but its been good to just relax for a couple of days and not have to worry about deadlines. The #MB1031 science report is due on Thursday and from reading the diaries of other students it seems as though i need to work a bit more faster so i have the report completed in plenty of time. I have completed the #BS1011 assessment for this week (nice and short with just five questions) but am hesitant to submit it without first attending the help session tomorrow and running through it once more. Ive made my module choices for next year and have checked them for clashes and got the approval of my tutor so am now just waiting for May to come round so i can submit them. - Maryam

Well done on getting your choices sorted! I'm still pondering over mine. Thank God the report is out of the way though ;D - Zainab Chaudhary

Yh im glad ive finished with the report too. I found the first one on LDH much more easier though so i wish that was the real one - Maryam

This week has been pretty good with the work load reduced and with no practicals this week i've had more time on my hands, however i have used this time to go over lectures and to start the scientific report for #MB1031 that was assigned last week... the feedback from this was very useful and i now have a clear idea of how to write a good scientific report. I'm looking forward to the practical in physiology as the previous practical was most enjoyable :) - Mehak Hussain

The previous practical was enjoyable as your partner is the best!...yes quite rightly stated the week had been productive even without a practical, having said that its near to the end of term and revision has now taken over the average students life! - Mayank Patel from iPhone

This article brings two topics that we have researched together. The first being of gene mutation which builds on the work we have done in #MB1005 and how they relate to medicne. The second being work from #MB1004 on glaucoma. One of the individual presentations was based on this and this article builds on the causes of it at the genes level. - Jaynee Chauhan from Bookmarklet

In both the #MB1004 M&R and #BS1006 Physiology lectures we have been learning about synapses and how cells communicate with eachother. Recent research has shown how a single protein may trigger autistic spectrum disorders by stopping effective communication between brain cells. This helps to link in what we have been learning to a clinical/pharmaceutical setting. The gene which codes for the Shank3 protein in mice was mutated and the animals were seen to exhibit signs of autism. Shank3 is found in the synapses - the junctions between brain cells (neurons) that allow them to communicate with each other. Healthy connections in these areas are thought to be key to effective regulation of social behaviours and social interaction. This is important therapeutically as drugs can be developed to restore synaptic function by correcting or replacing the defective protein. - Maryam

Preparing notes for the revision period over easter, after completing the #MB1031 poster assessment and the physiology practical write up (#BS1006). Starting the new assessment in #MB1005 on Diabetes, I will be looking at the genetics of the disorder. Whilst keeping up with the work in #MB1004, nice work load for next week. - Arun Bahl

Woah seems like you have quite a bit to do Arun.. Us Biological Science students seem to have so little work compared to you lots! - Neelam Dave

Its nice to know that you like sharing your basic revision routines, approx 6weeks before the start of the exam period and the heat is on! - Mayank Patel from iPhone

It feels a little weird as there are no major deadlines apart from one practical report every weekend! Last week was very relaxed and no additional work was done, just attending lectures and practicals. So the target for this week is to make more notes and also make module choices! Read up on them properly and make a decision :). Quite proud as I've completed the #BS1011 assignment today! So today was a little productive! The aim for this week is to finish Genes notes off! :) - Neelam Dave

Neeeliiuuu it is because you are doing the biological sciences degree, you see the medical scientists have had constant pressure throughout the semester, even this last week we are busy writing up our scientific report on the basis of colour blindness - Mayank Patel from iPhone

This article relates to my #MB1005 poster on colon cancer. Scientists have successfully identified an enzyme that can be used to diagnose the cancer at earlier stages and so can be potentially used to stopping the cancer, thus offering patients better care. This particular enzyme, ALDH1B1 is predominantly found in stem cells and is vital in the growth of cancerous cells. Scientists hope to understand the molecular processes of the colon cancer cell so that better treatments can be offered. - Gulshana Choudhury

Great article gul colon cancer has grew remarkably more common in the past few years, and I do believe like for many other treatments for cancer, we will be successful at this one aswell. - Mayank Patel from iPhone

In this article four protein targets with which drugs interact. These are enzymes, membrane carriers, ion channels and receptors. The better understanding of drug-receptor interactions helps to consider therapeutic decisions in clinical practice. The terms associated with drug -receptors are the agonists: drugs that mimic endogenous ligands(partial or full), antagonists: drugs that block the effect of agonists(reversible competitive, irreversible competitive and non-competitive). Also in the article the reader becomes familiar with the terms efficacy(ability of the drug to activate a receptor and produce a response), potency(combination of both the affinity and efficacy) and affinity(a measure of how well a drug binds to a receptor. I chose this article as it closely associated with the lecture we had on thursday on #MB1004 on drugs and receptors and the classwork, which were both very interesting - Constantinos Lipsos from Bookmarklet

we will be collecting the handsets back in at the School Office on MONDAY 28 MARCH 10am – 11am (after BS1006 lecture) and THURSDAY 31 MARCH 1pm-2pm. You will get your £10 cash deposit back to spend on Easter eggs :-) I'll post a reminder here nearer the time. - Dr Jo Badge

TODAY! - Dr Jo Badge from iPod

This week has been good, I'm happy with the marks that i received for my microbiology essay and practical book as I worked hard on both and I think the essay has given me some confidence and reassurance that I can improve and gain better marks. Also, this week we got our meiosis essay back which I was happy with but learnt that I also had areas to improve on like time management which means hopefully next time I would have worked on this and can do better. Well we only have one week left now so just getting through all my work so that I can enjoy the break before the exams kick off . - Jaynee Chauhan

Overall it has been a good week as the workload has not been as demanding as previous weeks. I was disappointed that we did not have the chance to present our #MB1031 posters although I'll be looking forward to it next term. I was pleased with the grade that I received on my meiosis essay and microbiology practical booklet. Only the scientific report left complete and then I can begin revision :) - Gulshana Choudhury

This week has been pretty quite and haven't really done anything productive. I needed to start sorting out my lecture notes but never got round to it so it will probably be left to the holidays. I did manage to finish off the practical write up for #BS1006 and have done the last #BS1011. I also got back my timed essay for #MB1031 and essay for #BS1009. The lectures for #BS1006 have also been interesting but I think they will be quite hard to learn when it comes to the exams. - Serena

It's been quite a good week. Not as busy as usual. Got #bs1011 done earlier in the week so I didn't have to worry about it which was a good idea :). Signed up for some volunteering because our timetable has been so much nicer :) Module selections for next year are a little worrying because there's so much I find interesting and deciding isn't easy :/ - Priyanka Boylla

I don't think the poster production slides have answered my question. What should be the minimum font size of our poster be for it to be visible from 2m? - Jigishu Ahmed

Ok, that's great, thank-you. - Lindsey Freeman

This links in well with the #BS1004 (genes for medicine). The article discusses the genetic aspects of the Alzheimer's disease. When discussing the mutagenesis module in the biochemistry, we came across this interesting disease and the various symptoms it entails. Please take some time into reading this article, if anything some aspects of the genetics module will be better understood. - Daanyal Mayet

great article and some really good insight into the disease ralph, keep up the good feeds. - Mayank Patel

I know a few people who are allergic to nuts to different degrees so this was an interesting article to read. It relates to our #MB1005 Genes and Medicine module. Scientists have identified a gene responsible for some of the allergy cases (called Filaggrin). The Filaggrin gene makes the skin a barrier to allergens and mutations in this gene decreases the effectiveness of the barrier. Since there are many types of nut allergies and to different degrees, there is still much work to be done to understand the full link between genes and peanut allergy but this discovery has been a significant breakthrough. - Maryam

i wouldnt call someone who cant eat snickers because they are allergic a fool - they cant help it - Maryam

lol no problem..didnt mean to come of so harsh - Maryam

This week has been really interesting starting with the physiology lectures which have been the highlight of the week. The physiology practical was really good also. The #MB1004 membranes and receptors presentation went quite well, i feel that my presenting skills have improved and I am a much more confident speaker... I am now working on my #MB1031 poster on depression.. - Mehak Hussain

Sounds like you had a good week. - Daanyal Mayet

I have chosen to share this article because it is an example of clinical genetics, which is the focus of #MB1005 'genes and medicine'. The article states that neurons grown in the lab may help repair brains of Alzheimer's sufferes. Researchers studied the genetics of basal forebrain cholinergic neurones- as these are most affected by the disease. The genetic studies allowed the team to find the genetic signals which regulate the cell developement. This then allowed them to grow human embryonic stem cells so they develope in the same way. Segments of DNA and transcription factors associated with neurons were added to the stem cell nuclei to initiate metamorphosis. The resulting engineered cells could produce acetylcholine, therefore they could make the appropriate signals nessessary for memory retrieval. - Alice Baxter

After reading this article I thought it linked well to the #MB1004 lectures on nerves and transmitters. This article explains that now it is possible to attach light-sensing modules to neuronal molecules, resulting in molecules that can be turned on and off with simple flashes of light. Previous methods of using pharmacological agents were much less specific and affected every receptor in every cell. With this new technology, scientists can select individual cells for activation by focusing light. Therefore can see the contributions of individual classes to neuronal behaviour. The scientists involved are hoping these studies will have clinical utility, eventually able to help understand the hippocampus (brain) and retina better. - Luke De Moya

This week has been great though im still slightly behind on my lecture notes. The #BS1006 Physiology lectures are really kicking off and have been interesting so far and very engaging (todays lecture was exceptionally unique~ i dont think we are going to be told to blow balloons in any other lecture) Im growing on the #MB1005 Genes module now that it is more clinically focused so i dont find it as difficult to concentrate in the lectures. Im setting myself a new target: to get work done or at least started on the day it is set, that way it wont be a last minute job. Cant guarantee its going to work but Im going to give it a try anyway. I have a presentation on ACh to do today for #MB1004. I find presentations so much more easier to do now compared to the start of uni but i just dont like it when the questions are asked! - Maryam

This week I would rate at 8/10 this is because finally our timetables are more reasonable and it allows us more time for doing our work, playing sport and actually time to relaxing. After the standard final day rush to complete the #BS1009 essay for monday, the week has got much better. I have been productive with my work and completed both my sections in the #BS1005 and #MB1004 presentations this week. Also I am meeting my group on friday to get started on the poster presentations for #MB1031 to get a head-start. This week has also started the #BS1006 physiology lectures which seem really interesting and I am looking forward to the practical tomorrow. Overall a much better week and I hope it continues like this for the rest of term. - Luke De Moya

Yesterday was the first lecture for physiology which I thoroughly enjoyed! As this is my degree stream I was hoping to find the module the most interesting and already this is proving to be the case. Having been given a brief outline of the covered topics I’m really looking forward to all of them. A lot of the topics are those I enjoyed the most at A level. I found the lecture quite challenging yesterday because the slides were not on blackboard and I find trying to take notes quickly means I miss some of the information, especially any extra detail I would usually add to my handout. I think this is something I need to get used to and I must improve my note taking technique! The timetable for this week includes considerably less contact hours which is a nice break from the hectic previous weeks and hopefully I won’t have to stay up until quite as late to get work done. I’m looking forward to the physiology practical this week, but not looking forward to the two presentations we have to give. I’m using today to practice for these so hopefully they will be fine... - Alice Baxter

Its been a hectic week, just glad to have finished the #BS1009 although friendfeed didn't help me with my essay this semester. The new timetable from this week seems really free, more time to revise? probably not. bring on the presentations!! - Munaf khamisa

The time is there (sorry, that's an appalling statement!), you've just got to use it productively. It depends on your motivation. Maybe you could make a plan involving reading ahead on your new modules or revising 'old' modules. - Michael Steele

I was wondering about that too, but used some diagrams in my essay. - Abdulkhaliq Alsaadi

Turnitin isn't going to MARK it so I guess something to enhance the reading experience of the human will still be useful - Dr Chris Willmott

Congratulations. You still need to submit all the assessments to pass the module. - Dr Alan Cann

@Michael "BS1010 (Semester 1) and BS1011 (Semester 2) are each worth 5 credits (total 120 credits per year). To pass each of these modules, you must complete all the assessments and achieve an overall mark of 40%. This mark is independent of your overall first year mark. " - Dr Alan Cann

This article relates to the #BS1009 module and explains how the fermentation of soy reduces the risk of the consumer having an allergic reaction and also increases the proetin content in these foods. Eating soy has many health benefits and so scientists want to make sure that it is safe for consumption. Soy has a very high protein content and 0.5% of the population suffer from soy allergy although this figure is said to be rising. Fermentation allows the synthesis of new peptides being formed improving the amino acid composition. - Gulshana Choudhury

Great article gully!...it provides some great backup not only for the #bs1009 but endours greater understanding of the past modules such as biochemistry. Keep up the feeds gully! - Mayank Patel from iPhone

Finally completed my microbiology essay for #BS1009 , and i'm glad that it is over as it has taken a lot of time and effort over the past week. I received my feedback for #MB1031 scientific report, and was very happy with the feedback given as it was constructive and helpful. Hopefully I can improve my mark in the real scientific report, and use the feedback to my advantage. This week will be busy as there are many presentations that need to be started and finished. Looking forward to introduction to medical physiology lectures! - Michael Lam