Middle School Resources
Why include biotechnology in your middle school science curriculum? Studying basic biotechnology concepts and developing basic biotechnological skills (as well as those in the related disciplines of genetics and forensics) can help students understand the relevance of science to daily life, foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills, spark interest in STEM careers, complement career and […]
DNA Learning Center: Resources for Teaching Remotely
Teaching biotechnology remotely can be challenging. Let our learning partners at the DNA Learning Center help keep your students engaged and learning from behind their devices. When students in classrooms around the world were displaced and educators had to deal with a new teaching environment, our partners at the DNA Learning Center (DNALC) at Cold […]
DNA Barcoding: Solving Old and New Problems in Biology
A History of DNA Barcoding DNA Barcodes: The beginning Paul Hebert of the University of Guelph coined the term DNA barcode to mean a unique DNA sequence that identifies each living thing in the same way that the unique pattern of bars in a Universal Product Code (UPC) identifies each consumer product. DNA barcoding relies […]
The Genome Age: Exploring Human Variation and Evolution
Allow students to use their own DNA differences (polymorphisms) to explore human variation, relatedness, and evolution. Why the mitochondrial genome? This experiment examines single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the nucleotide sequence of a portion of the mitochondrial (mt) chromosome. The mt chromosome is an oddity in the human genome. It retains several features of the […]
The Genome Age: The Challenge to Science Education
The genome frontier invites educators to involve students in biotechnology and the trove of data that is changing how we think about life. In his book Coming into the Country, John McPhee describes his experiences in that last great American frontier, the Alaskan wilderness of 1976. That time, just before the opening of Alaska’s oil […]
Genetic Differences Affecting Taste and Smell
To Smell, or Not to Smell–That Is the Question Why is coffee a morning necessity for some people but entirely too bitter for others? What makes roses smell lovely to some, while others can smell nothing at all? As humans, we perceive tastes and smells differently, and to understand why those differences exist we need […]
The Genome Age: Detecting Transgenes in Genetically Modified Food
Capitalize on students’ interest in forensic science as they use polymerase chain reaction to detect foreign genes in important food plants. Molecular genetic techniques have been used to add transgenes into the genomes of a number of important food plants, and these foreign genes can be readily detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The experiment […]
The Genome Age: The Genetics of PTC Tasting
Explore the molecular genetic basis of PTC tasting. An assay for a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) that predicts the ability to taste the bitter compound phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) is introduced to educators and students. This experiment links genotype to phenotype and puts a contemporary spin on an old standby of classic genetics. The History of PTC […]