The University of California system has changed dramatically over the last few decades. Budget cuts and the general demonization of anything public have taken their toll. Still, there’s great research being done throughout the campuses and somehow, the educational mission continues. My alma mater’s online courses((*) are a great way to get quick refreshers on any subject. Across the bridge, UCSF even offers a Mini Medical School where Professors explain important topics, in detail, to interested non-specialists.
Here’s Prof. Tracy Fulton of UCSF’s Biochemistry and Biophysics department delving into cholesterol, what it does, what the body does with it, and how it all works at the subcellular level.
(*) August 2018 update: As of 2015, Cal has taken down its online courses due to a bizarre legal challenge. Students from Gallaudet University sued on grounds that the courses were not accessible to students with disabilities. Additionally, IP pirates were reissuing material for their own profit. Berkeley’s alternative through ‘Edx’ is a disturbing flaming garbage heap of trendy crap. No physics, chemistry, mathematics, or literature but plenty on marketing analytics, datascience, and Ruby on Rails development.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-I6u17rpXs