How to motivate students to learn Metabolic Biochemistry in a Biomedical Sciences curricula

Teaching methodologies used in biochemistry classes at the University level are traditionally dependent on theorical classes. The assessment is usually based on written tests performed at the end of the semester. However, most students who learn metabolism by this traditional method consider the study of metabolic biochemistry a terrifying and unforgettable experience. Understanding biochemical metabolic pathways was the proposed goal of the Medical Biochemistry curricular unit. To this end, the multi-method active learning approach was used in order to increase students’ motivation towards the learning process and to allow the development of skills associated with group conflict resolution, critical thinking and communication skills. Overall, students and learning facilitators were highly motivated by the diversity of learning activities, particularly due to the emphasis on correlating theoretical knowledge with human health and disease. As a quality control exercise, the students were asked to answer a questionnaire on their evaluation of the teaching/learning experience. Thus, the initial analysis of the student’s perception questionnaires permits to conclude that the approach undertaken yields results that surpass the traditional teaching methods. Investing in preparing attractive and motivating classes increases students and teacher’s general satisfaction and the learning/teaching process becomes more efficient.

“METABOLIC RIDE” a conceptual evaluation tool for metabolic biochemistry teaching for graduate and postgraduate students in biological sciences and related areas

A disciplina de bioquímica no geral é considerada de alto grau de dificuldade. Contudo, a aplicação de jogos lúdicos como metodologia de ensino vem se disseminando em várias disciplinas. “METABOLIC RIDE” é uma ferramenta de avaliação conceitual e de percepção para o ensino de bioquímica, visando rever conceitos difundidos em sala de aula, promovendo um desafio competitivo aos estudantes sem negar as ferramentas que estão a sua disposição, estimulando diversas aptidões dos mesmos, como a sua criatividade. Ainda, possibilita correlacionar a importância das rotas metabólicas e suas interligações a fim de sedimentar que os caminhos metabólicos não estão separados, como um mapa ferroviário. Ademais, este jogo se mostrou uma excelente ferramenta de avaliação complementar, mostrando que quando devidamente estimulados alguns grupos foram capazes de mostrar uma capacidade produtiva e criativa. Além disso, mostrou-se novas formas de abordar temas complexos em bioquímica com práticas lúdicas.

Whither life? Conjectures on the future evolution of biochemistry

Life has existed on the Earth for approximately four billion years. The sheer depth of evolutionary time, and the diversity of extant species, makes it tempting to assume that all the key biochemical innovations underpinning life have already happened. But we are only a little over halfway through the trajectory of life on our planet. In this Opinion piece, we argue: (i) that sufficient time remains for the evolution of new processes at the heart of metabolic biochemistry and (ii) that synthetic biology is providing predictive insights into the nature of these innovations. By way of example, we focus on engineered solutions to existing inefficiencies in energy generation, and on the complex, synthetic regulatory circuits that are currently being implemented.

Regulatory principles in metabolism–then and now

The importance of metabolic pathways for life and the nature of participating reactions have challenged physiologists and biochemists for over a hundred years. Eric Arthur Newsholme contributed many original hypotheses and concepts to the field of metabolic regulation, demonstrating that metabolic pathways have a fundamental thermodynamic structure and that near identical regulatory mechanisms exist in multiple species across the animal kingdom. His work at Oxford University from the 1970s to 1990s was groundbreaking and led to better understanding of development and demise across the lifespan as well as the basis of metabolic disruption responsible for the development of obesity, diabetes and many other conditions. In the present review we describe some of the original work of Eric Newsholme, its relevance to metabolic homoeostasis and disease and application to present state-of-the-art studies, which generate substantial amounts of data that are extremely difficult to interpret without a fundamental understanding of regulatory principles. Eric's work is a classical example of how one can unravel very complex problems by considering regulation from a cell, tissue and whole body perspective, thus bringing together metabolic biochemistry, physiology and pathophysiology, opening new avenues that now drive discovery decades thereafter.