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Transgenic organisms, which contain DNA that is inserted experimentally, are used to study many biological processes. In this lab, you will create a transgenic fly to study circadian rhythms.

This case study centers on symbiotic relationships between insects and bacteria using Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, and the recently discovered bacterial species Sodalis praecaptivus. Until recently, the only known Sodalis species of bacteria were symbiotically associated with several different species of insects. However, free-living non-symbiont Sodalis species are being tested in several different insect species to determine if they can transition into symbiotic relationships. A pre-class assignment (see Supplemental Materials) directs students to read an open access research journal article providing a comprehensive review of S. praecaptivus and describing an experimental weevil model that parallels that of the fruit fly. A PowerPoint presentation shown in class (see Supplemental Materials) provides further background before students work in small groups to complete the case study focusing on results from D. melanogaster and S. praecaptivus model experiments.  Although developed for a genetics course, this interrupted case is appropriate for an upper-level biology course. It can be completed within a 75-minute class meeting, or adapted for shorter time periods.

Organic food has become the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. food industry, with sales that increase by double digits annually. That's a lot of kale flying off the shelves. Buying it makes us feel like we're helping ourselves and the planet. But here's the truth: There are no health benefits from eating organic food. And it is likely worse for the environment.

1:20 Stages of Mitosis, a promotional piece, begins with a fly-through of cells preparing to undergo mitosis (cell division).

Focusing on this species of fruit fly, he and the other researchers in the lab of molecular biologist Sean B. Carroll, had made a prolonged assault on one of the key questions in evolutionary biology: how nature endows creatures with their colorful patterns, from a leopard's dark spots to a butterfly's bold swirls. In different species the patterns serve to attract mates, provide camouflage or provide other advantages in the struggle to survive. But what causes the colors to fall so precisely into place?

And no copycat is stranger or more accomplished than the mimic octopus. True to its name, it impersonates a variety of other animals on the fly, morphing from an octopus to a banded sole to a lionfish to a sea snake. But this is no random assemblage of impressions: All of these creatures are toxic or venomous.

4:47 video Over the past few weeks, the Nobel committees have been announcing the 2015 laureates. This year's winners in the physics and chemistry categories made discoveries about the tiny neutrinos flying through all of us, and the ways our bodies repair DNA.

Early classification systems probably grouped organisms as to whether they were beneficial or harmful. Another ancient classification system recognized 5 animal groups - domestic animals, wild animals, creeping animals, flying animals, and sea animals.

calorimetry carbon transfer: snails/elodea investigating bacterial growth mutations in fruit flys Gel Electrophoresis bacterial transformation comparing hominoid skulls testing antibacterial agents plant transpiration exploring plant responses insects and crime scene analysis interpreting bird response blood typing

Imagine you swallowed a small bird and suddenly gained the ability to fly … or you ate a cobra and were able to spit poisonous venom! Well, throughout the history of life (and specifically during the evolution of complex eukaryotic cells) things like this happened all the time. Adam Jacobson explains endosymbiosis, a type of symbiosis in which one symbiotic organism lives inside another.

hose who would much rather prefer to burn the midnight oil than get up early in the morning can find solace in a new research that suggests they might be genetically predisposed to being nocturnal. It is your genes that allow you to be more productive at night-time instead of the day. Researchers from the University of Leicester in the UK have identified about 80 genes that are closely linked to a preference for either morningness or eveningness. Though these genes were identified in fruit flies and appear unrelated to your own body clock, most of these buggers are found in us mammals as well.

Virtual lab activities 

Recently, in an article in the New Republic, 'The Animals That Can Save Your Life', journalist Emma Young introduces readers to the emerging science of training animals to detect things humans cannot.