Using the History of Aspartame Transcarbamoylase to Teach Undergraduates about Biochemical Research

TCE

The Chemical Educator

ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)

Table of Contents

Abstract Volume 3 Issue 3(1998), S1430-4171(98)03209-4

Using the History of Aspartame Transcarbamoylase to Teach Undergraduates about Biochemical Research

Richard L. Taber

Department of Chemistry, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Published online: 1 June 1998

Abstract. A historical approach to students reading research papers about aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) is described. The literature exercise makes students think about the origin of biochemical research on regulatory enzymes and allows them to follow the evolution of the research over more than four decades of investigation. In the process, the students find themselves identifying with the investigators, not only reading the papers for their content, but formulating ideas about the future course of ATCase research. The students finish the project by writing a research proposal on an aspect of their own choosing of ATCase research.

Key Words: In the Classroom; aspartate transcarbamoylase; education; history

(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: dtaber@cc.colorado.edu )

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