The lab includes a number of short videos explaining aspects of research methods or relating the evolutionary history of stickleback fish. We recommend that you view these videos, especially when going through the lab for the first time. Throughout the lab, bolded words in the text are defined in the glossary under the "Reference" tab.
Students begin by watching the online video clip and completing a worksheet. After that assignment, instructors can decide which of the two activities (or both!) to use in class. In Activity 1, students identify the locations on chromosomes of genes involved in cancer, using a set of 139 "Cancer Gene Cards" and associated posters. In Activity 2, students explore the genetic basis of cancer by examining cards that list genetic mutations found in the DNA of actual cancer patients. Small-group work spurs discussion about the genes that are mutated in different types of cancers and the cellular processes that the affected genes control.
The Activity 1 and 2 Overview document provides short summaries of the two activities along with key concepts and learning objectives, background information, references and rubrics, and answers to students' questions. Both cancer discovery activities are appropriate for first-year high school biology (honors or regular), AP and IB Biology. Activity 2 is also appropriate for an undergraduate freshman biology class.
Studying odors from corpses may sound macabre, but it's actually a virtuous vocation. Researchers in this field are helping find missing bodies lost in natural disasters or hidden by murderers. ↓↓More info and references below↓↓
This interactive infographic from the National Academies Press highlights essential practices for K-12 science classrooms from A Framework for K-12 Science Education with references to the contents of the full report.
"We risk being in a post-antibiotic world," said Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, referring to the urinary tract infection of a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman who had not traveled within the prior five months.
Frieden, speaking at a National Press Club luncheon in Washington, D.C., said the bacteria was resistant to colistin, an antibiotic that is reserved for use against "nightmare bacteria."
Metacognition refers to awareness of one's own knowledge-what one does and doesn't know-and one's ability to understand, control, and manipulate one's cognitive processes (Meichenbaum, 1985). It includes knowing when and where to use particular strategies for learning and problem solving as well as how and why to use specific strategies. Metacognition is the ability to use prior knowledge to plan a strategy for approaching a learning task, take necessary steps to problem solve, reflect on and evaluate results, and modify one's approach as needed.
Pharmacogenomics can play an important role in identifying responders and non-responders to medications, avoiding adverse events, and optimizing drug dose. Drug labeling may contain information on genomic biomarkers and can describe:
Drug exposure and clinical response variability
Risk for adverse events
Genotype-specific dosing
Mechanisms of drug action
Polymorphic drug target and disposition genes
The table below lists FDA-approved drugs with pharmacogenomic information in their labeling. The labeling for some, but not all, of the products includes specific actions to be taken based on the biomarker information. Pharmacogenomic information can appear in different sections of the labeling depending on the actions. For more information, please refer to the appropriate labeling guidance.
Avian influenza refers to the disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza (flu) Type A viruses. These viruses occur naturally among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species. Avian flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with avian flu viruses have occurred. The links below offer information about avian influenza for different audiences.
In molecular biology, ligation refers to the joining of two DNA fragments through the formation of a phosphodiester bond. An enzyme known as a ligase catalyzes the ligation reaction. In the cell, ligases repair single and double strand breaks that occur during DNA replication. In the laboratory, DNA ligase is used during molecular cloning to join DNA fragments of inserts with vectors - carrier DNA molecules that will replicate target fragments in host organisms.
As the leader of a project called Finding of Rare Disease Genes (FORGE) in Canada, Kym Boycott is one of the top experts in the world in the application of exome sequencing to solve rare disorders. The Canadian project involves a network of doctors and scientists all across the country looking to identify patients with rare childhood conditions and refer them when appropriate for sequencing and analysis.
Well, it didn't happen only to you. It is often surprising how difficult it can be to find concrete biological numbers, even for properties that have been measured numerous times. To help solve this for one and all, BioNumbers (the database of key numbers in molecular biology) was created. Along with the numbers, you'll find the relevant references to the original literature, useful comments, and related numbers.
Epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression caused by non-genetic mechanisms, thus by alterations other than in the DNA sequence. Epigenetic changes can persist throughout an organism's lifetime and be passed on to multiple generations.
Site offers 4 part "crash course" in epigenetics