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This animated short video tells the story of Alfred Russel Wallace, who independently formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection at the same time as Charles Darwin.Co-directed by Flora Lichtman and Sharon Shattuck of Sweet Fern Production, the video tracks A. R. Wallace's life from growing up in England to his voyages with Henry Walter Bates and later adventures in the Malay Archipelago. The 8-minute video ends with an examination of the naturalist's legacy. (The video is presented here with permission from Sweet Fern Productions.)

Lauren is an Environmental Studies graduate from NYU and former Sustainability Manager at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and the amount of trash that she has produced over the past three years can fit inside of a 16 oz. mason jar. Lauren Singer is author of the Zero Waste blog, Trash is for Tossers and founder of organic cleaning product company, The Simply Co. Through her blog, she has empowered millions of readers to produce less waste by shopping package-free, making their own products and refusing plastic and single-use items.

This case is an exploration of the process of natural selection using white clover (Trifolium repens) as an example. In general, two forms of white clover can be found around the world in various habitats. One type is able to produce cyanide in its leaves, while the other is not. This variation within the clover species, along with the fact that cyanide production is paired with the production of a white stripe on the leaf, is used to teach the process of evolution through natural selection. 

With increasing U.S. government support for biofuel production in the late 2000s came increased pressure to convert more land to cornfields for ethanol. To make way for more corn, millions of acres of prairie grassland were plowed under, destroying an extremely diverse wildlife habitat that also served as a large carbon reservoir. This case study focuses on the reasons for and consequences of large carbon losses when prairie grasslands are converted to agricultural lands. Many students are challenged when faced with linking together energy flows, decomposition, and nutrient cycles.  This case gives students the opportunity to consider different pools in the carbon cycle and the fluxes between them in order to model (on paper) an integrated picture of why carbon is lost when prairie grasslands are plowed and planted to cornfields.  Students also consider ways that carbon loss from land conversion due to ethanol production might be avoided via government incentive programs or mitigated via changes to farming practices. This case study was developed for an introductory ecology, environmental science, soil science, or agriculture course.

Human-engineered microbes are workhorses of the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, churning out biofuels, drugs, and many other products. But they can cause big problems if they become contaminated by other microbes or viruses or escape into the environment. Now, a new type of microbe that can survive only on artificial nutrients promises better security against such mishaps. The strategy, described in two papers in this week's issue of Nature, might ultimately be used to control genetically engineered plants or other organisms released into the wild to create products or clean up pollution.

IN recent weeks, two major medical organizations have issued independent warnings about toxic chemicals in products all around us. Unregulated substances, they say, are sometimes linked to breast and prostate cancer, genital deformities, obesity, diabetes and infertility. "Widespread exposure to toxic environmental chemicals threatens healthy human reproduction," the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics warned in a landmark statement last month.

Currently there is considerable confusion surrounding the use of the term "organic" as applied to food and other consumer products, but within the agriculture industry the term has a well-defined meaning related to the practices that are allowed in the production of a crop. This case study was written to inform students about organic agriculture and its implications with regard to food nutritional value as well as its costs.  The case is presented as a dilemma in the context of buying produce in the grocery store. Concepts presented include the difference between organic and conventional agricultural practices, the analysis of food to quantify nutrient levels, the history of the organic movement, and the economic and environmental impacts of organic agriculture. The activity was designed for use in a lower level general science course (with a cursory review of the scientific literature) or in an upper level chemistry course (with a thorough analysis of the literature).

Meiosis, the form of cell division unique to egg and sperm production, sets the stage for sex determination by creating sperm that carry either an X or a Y sex chromosome. But what is it about the X or Y that determines sex? Before a meiotic cell divides, its two sets of chromosomes come together and cross over, or swap, segments. The first animation shows normal crossing over, where the X and Y chromosomes exchange pieces only at their tips. The second animation shows a rare mistake in which the Y chromosome transfers a gene called SRY to the X chromosome, resulting in sex-reversed babies. Studies of sex-reversed individuals led researchers to identify the master switch for sex determination, the SRY gene, which tells a fetus to become a boy.

Meiosis, the form of cell division unique to egg and sperm production, sets the stage for sex determination by creating sperm that carry either an X or a Y sex chromosome. But what is it about the X or Y that determines sex? Before a meiotic cell divides, its two sets of chromosomes come together and cross over, or swap, segments. The first animation shows normal crossing over, where the X and Y chromosomes exchange pieces only at their tips. The second animation shows a rare mistake in which the Y chromosome transfers a gene called SRY to the X chromosome, resulting in sex-reversed babies. Studies of sex-reversed individuals led researchers to identify the master switch for sex determination, the SRY gene, which tells a fetus to become a boy.

The alpha-gal-free pig has one express purpose for now: to develop medical products, like blood thinners, that won't set off adverse reactions.

Axiflow Lateral Flow Nitrocellulose Membrane offers a reliable media for development, manufacturing and implementation of lateral flow diagnostic point of care tests, these lateral flow membranes are available in many sizes with different-different categories. Visit our website and view specifications of these products.

A selection of articles to further your understanding of the production and function of blood within the human body; the views about blood that predominated for centuries and the medical practices that such views helped to engender; the advancements in the medical use and collection of blood brought on by war, most notably World War II; modern-day techniques for the collection, storage, and use of blood. Some articles are augmented by video clips from RED GOLD: THE EPIC STORY OF BLOOD. (The free RealPlayer plug-in is required to view the clips.)

Health care costs have been a hot button topic in recent years, and rightfully so. The United States spends an extraordinary amount of money on health care each year - $9,523 for every man, woman and child to be exact. This totals over 1 trillion dollars, accounting for roughly 17 percent of the United States' gross domestic product (GDP). The federal government spends 27 percent of its total budget on health care. Astonishingly more than it spends on the military, food and agriculture, education, transportation, and international affairs combined. So where is all the money going? Strangely enough, to combat just a few diseases.

This case study is centered on a real scenario from 2013 in which the Kickstarter fundraising platform included a fundraising proposal from a group wanting to use synthetic biology to make glowing plants. The proposal raised controversy because the Glowing Plant group offered to give away their genetically-modified glowing plant product to investors.  Kickstarter subsequently changed its policy to prevent use of genetically modified organisms as rewards or incentives to investors. This case study was developed for a college first-year seminar focused on the ethics of synthetic biology, and was introduced during the first week of the semester. The case uses the jigsaw teaching method to introduce students both to the mechanics of synthetic biology and to questions about how we should distribute the benefits and burdens associated with new or emerging technologies. It could be adapted for courses in introductory college biology, genetics or bioethics.

Plant species belonging to divergent branches of the evolutionary tree are known to have independently evolved caffeine production. According to scientists at Western Michigan University, caffeine-producing plants have taken a number of different biochemical routes to synthesize the stimulant. Coffee, tea, cocoa, orange, and guaraná plants make caffeine using an array of enzymes and substrates, the researchers reported in PNAS this week (September 20).

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.

For anyone with a deep, enduring faith in the meaning of nature, it may come as something of a shock to learn that the word "natural" means nothing at all-at least when it comes to the business of marketing processed food. Every year, U.S. corporations sell tens of billions of dollars worth of food products labeled as "natural." Yet, to this day, the Food and Drug Administration has never formally defined the term. The word is a kind of orphan child, undefined by government, misused by industry and without a provenance or a use for the average American consumer.

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.

animation on insulin prduction 4:12

That LSU-based research yielded Embera, and in three to five years it could come to market. Goeders and his financial backers at Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana are confident their product will help battle substance addiction.

A promising new natural treatment for Alzheimer's disease is moving toward clinical trials. This will be a major step forward as there is nothing on the market that slows the progression of Alzheimer's; natural products chemist has patented a botanical compound, withanamides.