This case study is designed to help students learn about the ecosystem services of Earth (Biosphere 1) by examining the challenges faced by the designers who tried to replicate its components in Biosphere 2. In 1991, four men and four women entered Biosphere 2, a man-made closed ecological system in Arizona, to see if eight biospherians could be sustained by this miniature version of Biosphere 1. The project succeeded in producing most of the food needed, but required additional oxygen before the end of the two-year experiment. After an introduction to Biosphere 2, students learn about the four main types of ecosystem services and discuss how Biosphere 2 might provide these services. At the end of the case, students calculate their own ecological footprint, demonstrating how humans are overreaching the ecosystem services of Biosphere 1, just as the biospherians could not be sustained by the ecosystem services included in Biosphere 2. The case is suitable for an introductory undergraduate course in biology, ecology, or environmental science.
Overseen by the Surgeon General, the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is a diverse team of more than 6,500 highly qualified, public health professionals. Driven by a passion to serve the underserved, these men and women fill essential public health leadership and clinical service roles with the Nation's Federal Government agencies.
Made possible through Toyota USA Foundation funding, the REMS curriculum options include nine online lesson plans and interactive activities themed to examine three pressing challenges in the US: preserving sustainable, competitive manufacturing; distributing products and services across the world; and developing and delivering efficient health care services. Each of the lesson plans provides age-appropriate math and science curriculum that tie to the Common Core Learning Standards for elementary, middle and high school students.
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.
Known officially as the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male, the 40-year experiment run by Public Health Service officials followed 600 rural black men in Alabama with syphilis over the course of their lives, refusing to tell patients their diagnosis, refusing to treat them for the debilitating disease, and actively denying some of them treatment.
"Teachers' Domain is a free digital media service for educational use from public broadcasting and its partners. You'll find thousands of media resources, support materials, and tools for classroom lessons, individualized learning programs, and teacher professional learning communities."
In 1932, the Public Health Service, working with the Tuskegee Institute, began a study to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes of justifying treatment programs for blacks. It was called the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male."
The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), a 501(c)(3) organization, is a unique federation of voluntary health organizations dedicated to helping people with rare "orphan" diseases and assisting the organizations that serve them. NORD is committed to the identification, treatment, and cure of rare disorders through programs of education, advocacy, research, and service
Habitat loss and disease in the American prairie pushed the black-footed ferret to the edge of extinction. Now these underground-dwelling mammals are making a comeback, through a captive-breeding program run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There, baby ferrets-called kits-are raised and released into the wild.
New ways of visualizing scientific and medical data and concepts can enhance discovery and learning. The NIH 3D Print Exchange provides access to a community-contributed database of bioscientific 3D-printable files. Download a model and print it with your own 3D printer or through a 3D print service provider.
Hank gives the run down on the top five ways humans are negatively impacting the environment and having detrimental effects on the valuable ecosystem services which a healthy biosphere provides.
In this video Paul Andersen explains how biodiversity measures the variety of genes, species, and ecosystems on the planet. Biodiversity provides resources and ecosystem services for humans on the planet. He also explains how biodiversity is decreasing on the planet due to habitat destruction, invasive species, climate change, over harvesting, and pollution. Relevant treaties and laws designed to preserved biodiversity is also included.
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.
4:32 video Dr. Debbye Turner Bell profiles one 7-year-old Virginia boy who has found a creative way to improve the lives of countless Epilepsy patients and seizure sufferers.
The theory of evolution by natural selection is simple, elegant, and profound. Yet, a large number of undergraduate students including biology majors, medical students, and pre-service science teachers maintain a large set of misconceptions that interfere with a solid understanding of the process of natural selection. It is also well known that lecturing is an insufficient strategy to help students confront and correct these misconceptions. This activity uses the evolution of coat color in oldfield mice (Peromyscus polionotus) as the basis of a case study in which students investigate the role of variation, heritability, and selection in the evolution of a trait. Students examine graphs, data, and excerpts from a series of papers that have been published about this system over the last 100 years. The content is delivered as an interrupted case and encourages peer-to-peer teaching and interaction. The case is appropriate for use in non-major, introductory, or advanced biology courses.
Séguin, a research scientist in forest genomics with the Canadian Forest Service, inserted bacterial DNA into spruces that effectively made them immune to spruce budworm, a pest that can chew needles off tens of millions of hectares of trees in a single outbreak.
While there is controversy over genetic engineering, some scientists say it could also help fight climate change by creating trees that grow bigger, faster, resist disease and can even turn carbon into a stable white powder that falls to the ground - in other words, trees that would be better at pulling carbon from the atmosphere.
Sheffield Support Dogs is the only charity in the UK to train seizure alert dogs. Each one costs £10'000 to train, which is raised entirely through donations.
As a renter, there are few things more unsettling than discovering that your home has bed bugs. These pesky insects are notoriously difficult to get rid of and can quickly turn a comfortable living situation into a nightmare. If you find yourself dealing with bed bugs in a rental property, it's important to act quickly and follow the proper protocol to ensure that the problem is resolved as soon as possible.