Free course

Cell signalling

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This free course, Cell signalling, explains the general principles of signal transduction and specifically, how even the simplest organisms can detect and respond to events in their ever-changing environment.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

define and use each of the terms printed in bold in the text
understand the basic principles of signal transduction mechanisms, in particular the concepts of response specificity, signal amplitude and duration, signal integration and intracellular location
give examples of different types of extracellular signals and receptors, and explain their functional significance
describe the mechanisms by which different receptors may be activated by their respective ligands
describe and give examples of the structure and properties of the major components of signal transduction pathways.

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First Published: 09/08/2012

Updated: 24/03/2016

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Average rating 4.1 out of 5, based on 13 ratings.

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John McDonald 1 April 2025 5:21PM

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A very detailed course. I've studied a number of the OpenLearn Sciences Courses and this is indeed an Advanced Course, probably at 3rd year degree level. There is much more detail than one could readily retain unless making a very serious attempt to understand and memorise. I would however have liked the course to bring in the concepts of targeted cancer and immunotherapies that are aimed at interfering with many of these signalling pathways and their targets. That would demonstrate how science has leveraged this knowledge to develop targeted therapeutics.

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favour Adeboye 16 December 2024 11:24AM

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very simple to understand and further enhance my knowledge of cell concept

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Cell signalling

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