BIOLOGY FOR ENGINEERS

How to study?
• You are not going to learn anything new in many of the classes!
• You are going to analyze from en engineer’s point of view
Eg. Concept: DNA is double stranded, RNA is single stranded
Situation: A student heats equal amount of DNA and RNA in a test tube.
Which will degrade first? Why?
Biology?
Engineering?
Why Biology is learned?

For Biologists

To understand how living

systems are organized

To generate new
information
What engineers look?

How to improve an existing system

Have you guess any biology in this?
Somewhere we have seen them!
Now find the Link!
Now tell me! Did you find any
biology in these things?
In a V formation, each bird can achieve a reduction of induced drag by
up to 65% and as a result increase their range by 71%.
So what engineers did?

They got inspired/mimicked from the V formation

of birds to increase the aerodynamics efficiency
• The Course Objective aims to enable students to use an engineer’s
point of view to understand basic biological concepts.
• Biology is a critical application area for engineering analysis and
design, and students in engineering programs must be well-versed in
the fundamentals of biology as they relate to their field

• Engineers are educated to become involved, to attempt to predict or

control an outcome, and to synthesize fragments that may not
naturally fit together.
Like an engineer, we should think, what is the outcome of
this course?

When finishing this course, the students will attain

1) a knowledge of contemporary biological issues,
2) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of
engineering solution in current biological and biomedical research;
and
3) an ability to combine engineering and biological knowledge
together to their career development
 Case studies Chemistry of Life
(11 Hours) (8 Hours)

Biology for
Engineers
Biological (36 Hours)
Inheritance of Life
Diversity and
(5 Hours)
Evolution
(6 Hours)

Molecular Basis of
Inheritance
(6 Hours)
Chemistry of Life
• Elements of life and their bonding ability
• Introduction to biomolecules: water, phospholipid; Energy storage
molecule, carbohydrates, Proteins and their structure; Enzymes;
bioenergetics & effect of pH
Inheritance in life
• Introduction to Mendelian Genetics - Experiments and terms;
Monohybrid, Dihybrid, Test cross. Chromosomal theory & genetic
diseases.
Molecular basis of inheritance
• Transformation experiments; DNA-the hereditary material; structure
of DNA,
• Replication; problems in replication; RNA, transcription, template,
non-template, coding and non-coding, Translation- genetic code, start
and stop
Biological Diversity and
evolution
• Modularity and incremental change; Form and function, Symbiosis,
coevolution, communal benefit, commensalism, parasitism;
• Biological control systems; Bioinspiration and biomimetics
Case studies
• Nature’s number: similarity of structure and function between
biological units of different sizes, their golden proportion, and
allometric relationships would be discussed.

• Evolution of hemoglobin: 4 billion years ago, the earth was young and
no life in it, it was also believed that there was no oxygen in the air.
How does the hemoglobin evolved to store oxygen in the late
evolution would be discussed
Case Studies
• Bio nano-machine: ATP synthase is perhaps the world’s smallest
nanoscale rotary motor is found in biological systems. The machine
produces the energy currency-ATP is about 10nm. The mechanism of
the nanomotor that drive the motor to pump protons, which converts
chemical energy into mechanical force would be discussed.
• Seeking clues in DNA:
There is a growing interest in exploring the individual genome using
various genetic testing technology.Studying individual DNA will acutely
give the basic health risks of that individuals. The methods and
benefits involved in studying DNA will be discussed.
Case studies
Photosynthesis: an energy efficient mechanism
Utilizes light energy and optimize the available sources in atmosphere, such
as carbon dioxide and Nitrogen. The energy efficient mechanism will be
discussed.
Biotechnology:
Recombinant DNA technology, joining together of DNA molecules from two
different species that are inserted into a host organism to produce new various
products that are of value to science, medicine, agriculture, and industry will be
discussed
Case studies
• Sickle cell anemia:
Sickle cell disease is inherited; it is passed from parent to child. The
mutation at gene and protein with structural changes in sickle
and normal cell and possible treatment ideas will be discussed
• Inheritance from Plant World:
An example would be taken from Green revolution as to how the
resistance gene was transferred for better yielding disease
resistant wheat plants
• Epigenetics in Human Population : Role of the environment
in governing the genes that are expressed and hence the sample
population in an area
Case studies
• Origin of life:
Different theories and logical conclusion.
• Circulation and gas exchange:
General properties of circulatory systems in different animals
• Vaccination:
Immunity development in our body for certain diseases.
• Antibiotic Resistance : How it is developed and can we overcome this in
future ?
 Evaluation Process
In-Semester Assessment
End-Semester Assessment
 15 (Test)+ 15 (Test)+ 20
(Assignment) = 50  50 marks
marks  End semester Examination
 Assessment based on
 Tests (2 Tests)
 Assignments (5 Nos)

Relative Grading
 Marks of In-semester & End-Semester Assessments are added and used for
relative grading
 10-point grading system is used

Letter Grading System

Grade A+ A B C D E F (Fail) AP
Grade Value 10 9 8 7 6 5 0 Not Graded
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Policies
• Here not to create problems
• Not a policeman, but a teacher
• No gifts please