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Like many newborn mammals, baby mice cry to get their mother's attention. But the mother doesn't instinctively recognize these calls; she must learn the sounds of her offspring-just as human parents must learn the cries of their infants. Now, a team of researchers has discovered that the hormone oxytocin, which has been tied to trust and maternal bonding, holds the key to how this learning occurs. Only after oxytocin  tweaks the brain of a female mouse does she respond with a mother's concern and attentiveness to crying pups.

new modules 12/15/16

Why is the North American population of monarch butterflies declining? In 1999, a study published in the journal Nature suggested that a variety of genetically modified corn was killing these iconic butterflies. While it was later shown that the conditions in this study did not mirror those in the field, the results garnered a lot of media attention and many people today still believe that monarchs are being killed by GMOs. This case familiarizes students with the plight of the monarchs, encourages them to think about how to test the hypothesis that a toxin is responsible for their decline, and takes a critical look at several studies that investigated the role of Bt corn in the life cycle of monarchs. This interrupted case takes 60-90 min to complete, requires little to no science background, and can be used to explore the ecology and wildlife management of monarchs; risk assessment, toxicity, and exposure; experimental design, the scientific method, hypothesis, and critical thinking; or the relationship between science, the media and the public.

In 2005, PLoS Medicine published a now-famous paper with the attention-grabbing but exasperating title, "Why Most Published Research Findings Are False".1 It was written by John Ioannidis, MD, PhD, an American doctor from Greece, a distinguished author of about 400 peer-reviewed papers, 40 books and book chapters or so, and much more. Ioannidis is a giant, and I am really nobody to criticize.

HIV is a disease of the gut, a concept that's easy to lose sight of with all the attention paid to sexual transmission and blood measurements of the virus and the CD4+ T cells it infects and kills. But the bottom line is that about two thirds of all T cells reside in the lymphoid tissue of the gut, where the virus spreads after exposure, even before it shows up in blood.

It's a sinister condition that affects millions of Americans: addiction. Whether it's alcohol, drugs, food or gambling, it can ruin lives. In support of National Recovery Month, which calls attention to substance abuse issues and treatment services, Reactions takes a look at the chemistry behind addiction.

"That changed when NASA created the Landsat program, a series of satellites that would perpetually orbit our planet, looking not out but down. Surveillance spacecraft had done that before, of course, but they paid attention only to military or tactical sites. Landsat was a notable exception, built not for spycraft but for public monitoring of how the human species was altering the surface of the planet."

The bacteria in our guts can break down food the body can't digest, produce important nutrients, regulate the immune system, and protect against harmful germs. And while we can't control all the factors that go into maintaining a healthy gut microbiome, we can manipulate the balance of our microbes by paying attention to what we eat. Shilpa Ravella shares the best foods for a healthy gut.

In this case study, students follow "Mr. Okoro" as he makes the long journey with his sick daughter "Ada" to seek medical attention at the nearest clinic in Enugu, Nigeria. It is the rainy season, and "Dr. Fabian" from the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria has been called in to investigate a suspected outbreak of malaria. Students learn about the circumstances in Ada's background that may have led to her illness, and then adopt the perspective of Dr. Fabian as she investigates the outbreak. They consider the epidemiological triangle, the different stages of the Plasmodium parasite lifecycle and how it leads to malaria, and evaluate the broader societal factors and future implications of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa. The case was designed for upper-level global health, public health, and human biology courses, but could also be adapted for general biology, health studies, infectious disease, and epidemiology courses.

"What is Ambitious Science Teaching? Great teaching can be learned. This web site provides a vision of ambitious science instruction for elementary, middle school and high school classrooms. Ambitious teaching deliberately aims to support students of all backgrounds to deeply understand science ideas, participate in the activities of the discipline, and solve authentic problems. We feature 4 core sets of teaching practices that support these goals. These core sets make up the Ambitious Science Teaching Framework. The framework has been based on classroom research from the past 30 years-research that has asked, "What kinds of talk, tasks, and tools do students need in order to fully engage in meaningful forms of science learning?""