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To what extent should corn be used for the production of ethanol? Are we better off producing corn for food or producing corn for fuel? This case study uses a technique called "intimate debate" (also known as "constructive controversy") in order to examine this issue. Each student participates in a set of mini-debates for which there is no audience. Students are paired with a teammate; these teams then take turns arguing each side of the issue while seated across from their opponents who do the same. The session concludes with opposing teams reaching consensus. Detailed instructions are included in the case handout to prepare students for the experience before debate day. This case was used successfully in a sophomore/junior level, general education, environmental biology course. It would fit appropriately into any college course that discusses environmental issues related to farming practices, land use, alternative fuels, renewable energy, or sustainability.

This 5 lesson unit, which was designed by teachers in conjunction with scientists, ethicists, and curriculum developers, explores the scientific and ethical issues involved in stem cell research. The unit begins with an exploration of planaria as a model organism for stem cell research. Next, students identify stages in the development of human embryos and compare the types and potency of stem cells. Students learn about a variety of techniques used for obtaining stem cells and the scientific and ethical implications of those techniques. While exploring the ethics of stem cell research, students will develop an awareness of the many shades of gray that exist among positions of stakeholders in the debate. Students will be provided an opportunity to become familiar with policies and regulations for stem cell research that are currently in place in the United States, the issues regarding private and public funding, and the implications for treatment of disease and advancement of scientific knowledge. The unit culminates with students developing a position on embryonic stem cell research through the use of a Decision-Making Framework. Two culminating assessments are offered: In the individual assessment, students write a letter to the President or the President's Bioethics Committee describing their position and recommendations; In the group assessment, students develop a proposal for NIH funding to research treatment for a chosen disease using either embryonic or 'adult' stem cells.

The Ethics Primer provides engaging, interactive, and classroom-friendly lesson ideas for integrating ethical issues into a science classroom. It also provides basic background on ethics as a discipline, with straightforward descriptions of major ethical theories. Several decision-making frameworks are included to help students apply reasoned analysis to ethical issues. Although the Primer is designed for secondary school science classrooms, it has been used by teachers in a variety of classes and grade levels. It is particularly suited to social studies and integrated/interdisciplinary classrooms. It has also been used with adults. The Primer is not designed to be used cover to cover. Teachers should review materials and select lessons that fit their needs. The Primer is also intended to be used as a general resource, with a wide variety of topics.

Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) of Genetic Knowledge includes a short multimedia video introducing current and future societal issues associated with genetics and genomics. Short vignettes, containing a set of discussion questions, are provided to raise important ethical, legal or social issues.

This interdisciplinary case study uses the format of a progressive disclosure to explore certain advances in biotechnology and evaluate them within the framework of societal needs, concerns and pressures.  When faced with a heart valve transplant, a high school student and her mother must decide between multiple approaches, some current and others emergent. Highlighted in this case study are the topics of xenotransplantation, 3D bioprinting and the mature minor rule. The case includes a role-playing, public hearing activity that can be used to explore many aspects at the interface of technology and culture: religious rights, parental rights, public health care policy and safety, animal rights, economic issues of organ marketing, and psychological issues of body image.  This case study was originally designed for first year collegiate classes (introduction to biology, introduction to psychology) but is also applicable to AP high school. The flexible nature of the case also allows for expansion of several aspects for advanced classes across multiple disciplines.

The National Park Service Air Resources Division in an effort to increase the public's awareness of air quality issues has developed a series of five activities for elementary and secondary schools. The activities are for grades six through eight and help teach students about Acid Rain. The lesson plan was prepared as a part of The Uplands Field Research Laboratory, Volunteer in Parks, and Interpretation of Science Project. Funding was provided by the Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association.

In this interrupted case study, students shadow an endocrinologist as she tries to determine what is wrong with Angela Barber. Angela is a middle-aged woman presenting with symptoms suggestive of a thyroid issue. Students are given background information, patient history, and results from thyroid-specific blood tests. The exercise emphasizes the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis and particularly highlights the role of negative feedback. Students will use results from serum thyrotropin and thyroid hormone level tests, as well as patient symptoms, to come up with a diagnosis. In preparation for the diagnosis, students are asked to compare the endocrine profiles of patients with Graves' disease, Hashimoto's disease, iodine deficiency (primary hypothyroidism), and various tumors. The case was developed for college-level biology majors in a physiology course, but also has been used successfully for pre-nursing students in a non-majors anatomy and physiology course. Thus, this activity would be suitable for majors in physiology or pre-medical students, as well as allied health majors.

ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - If drug-resistant infections in people and animals are allowed to spread unchecked, some 28 million people will fall into poverty by 2050, and a century of progress in health will be reversed, the World Bank said on Monday. By 2050, annual global GDP would fall by at least 1.1 percent, although the loss could be as much as 3.8 percent - the equivalent of the 2008 financial crisis - the Bank said in a report released ahead of a high-level meeting on the issue at the United Nations in New York this week.

The threat of antibiotic resistance has become so dire that the United Nations General Assembly is holding a meeting to discuss it this month in New York City. Although WHO has been sounding the alarm on antibiotic resistance for years, this month's high-level U.N. meeting represents only the fourth time in the international body's history that its General Assembly-a global deliberative body that primarily grapples with issues like war and economics-has held a meeting to tackle a health topic.

In a creative stroke inspired by Hollywood wizardry, scientists from Harvard Medical School and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have designed a simple way to observe how bacteria move as they become impervious to drugs. The experiments, described in the Sept. 9 issue of Science, are thought to provide the first large-scale glimpse of the maneuvers of bacteria as they encounter increasingly higher doses of antibiotics and adapt to survive - and thrive - in them.

In the August 1 issue of CELL, researchers from the Gene and Stem Cell Therapy Program at Sydney's Centenary Institute revealed another function of introns, or noncoding nucleotide sequences, in DNA. They reported that gene-sequencing techniques and computer analysis allowed them to demonstrate how granulocytes use noncoding DNA to regulate the activity of a group of genes that determines the cells' shape and function.

Based on a comprehensive analysis of the scientific evidence, as required by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), the FDA has determined that AquAdvantage Salmon meets the statutory requirements for safety and effectiveness under the FD&C Act. The salmon are safe to eat, the introduced DNA is safe for the fish itself, and the salmon meet the sponsor's claim about faster growth. Because the sponsor has met these requirements, the FDA must approve the application. The FDA has also analyzed the potential environmental impact that an approval of the AquAdvantage Salmon application would have on the quality of the human environment in the United States and has issued its final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.

To address this issue, we have developed case studies that track the evolution of traits from their origination in DNA mutation, to the production of different proteins, to the fixation of alternate macroscopic phenotypes in reproductively isolated populations.

In the February 19, 2014 issue of Science Translational Medicine (Sci Transl Med. 2014 Feb 19;6(224):224ra24), Bettegowda and colleagues in the Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research center at Johns Hopkins report on an exciting approach to the detection of pancreatic cancer. Bettegowda and colleagues applied cutting edge DNA sequencing to blood samples from a large number of patients with a number of different cancers. They found that many cancers, even some small curable cancers, shed mutant DNA into the blood.

An elderly woman living independently with some help from her family is brought to the local emergency room because she is confused and vomiting. While her son suspects a stroke, a quick battery of laboratory tests indicates that her current problems are the result of impaired kidney function, an old-fashioned home remedy for ulcers, and her prescribed blood pressure medication. The combination of patient- and drug-related factors produces an acid-base disorder responsible for her confusion. This disorder further disrupts her kidney function. The case illustrates secretion and reabsorption processes in the kidney tubule which regulate plasma and urinary electrolytes (including calcium) and pH. The role of bicarbonate in maintaining systemic pH is emphasized. Interactions among the renal, respiratory and nervous systems in the regulation of systemic pH are also illustrated. Further, basic principles of pharmacotherapy and issues related to the appropriate use of medications are introduced. The case was developed for use in a physiology or human anatomy and physiology course, but it might be used in undergraduate nursing courses as well (e.g., pharmacology, pathophysiology).

A team of Indian biologists has demonstrated that a key component of the water buffalo genome can be manipulated to produce foreign proteins in the buffalo's milk (J. Biotechnol. 2015, DOI:10.1016/j.jbiotec.2015.02.001). The findings suggest the possibility of modifying the genetic material of water buffalo-that is, creating transgenic buffalo-to produce protein drugs, says team member Subeer S. Majumdar, of the National Institute of Immunology, in New Delhi.

 Do the principles of the Belmont Report address all the ethical issues that arise in evolving research scenarios? (November, 2013) Watch the full video - http://www.peopleandperspectives.org/... People & Perspectives (P&P) is a digital oral history library supported by Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research (PRIM&R). Visit http://www.peopleandperspectives.org to learn more. P&P features stories of those working in research ethics, many of whom were involved in the early years of the field. Those featured include IRB and IACUC professionals, research staff, committee members, institutional officials, researchers, subjects, advocates, regulators, industry representatives, ethicists, and others who consider themselves part of the human subjects and animal care and use enterprise.

Fact sheets explain ecological issues, define terms and concepts, and provide references for additional information.

The resource covers basic logic and faulty arguments, developing student's critical thinking skills. Suitable for year 8-10, focused on science issues, the module can be adapted to suit classroom plans.

collection of 9 short videos illustrating climate change "Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present." -2014 National Climate Assessment The 2014 National Climate Assessment provides an in-depth look at climate change impacts on every region of the United States and important sectors of our economy. In these videos, scientists and citizens from around the country personify the scientific information detailed in the report.