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Student friendly online "your world" magazines, on a variety of topics.

NIMR scientists have devised a genetic multi-colour cell labelling approach for Drosophila, called Flybow, to facilitate the visualization of cells in neural circuits with single cell resolution. The research is published in Nature Methods.

neurons painted with different colors

Series of bioethical case studies

LONDON, England- (24 July 1997)- Move over Dolly, and make room for Polly, the first sheep cloned by nuclear transfer technology bearing a human gene. Investors hope the lamb will make them a mint, but more importantly, the arrival of Polly could be good news for hemophiliacs and others who rely on expensive protein therapy of their diseases.

The UK's leading cancer charity yesterday welcomed work by British scientists who created a breed of genetically modified hens that can produce cancer-fighting medicines in their eggs. The research could slash the cost of producing drugs and potentially save the NHS millions of pounds.

Scientists announced Monday that they had created mice with small amounts of human brain cells in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

video segment

Human activities currently add about nine gigatons of carbon to the atmosphere yearly. Photosynthetic organisms on land and in the ocean absorb about five of those gigatons through the natural uptake of CO2, leaving to humans the task of dealing with the rest. But no matter how much carbon there is, capturing it and preventing it from reentering the atmosphere is an immense engineering challenge; even today's best technology is orders of magnitude less effective than photosynthesis at trapping atmospheric carbon.

2:50 video

Before the discovery of insulin in 1921, being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. Despite the successful management of diabetes with purified animal insulin, potentially severe side effects were abundant, and alternative ways to produce insulin were needed. This case study guides students through the history of using insulin to treat diabetes, focusing on the development of recombinant DNA technology and the world's first bioengineered drug, recombinant human insulin, which is now used worldwide to treat diabetes. Through the course of this case, students consider the central dogma of molecular biology, the development of recombinant DNA technology, drug design, the importance of recombinant proteins to our society, and the ethical analysis and debates that occur as a result of some scientific discoveries. This case was developed as an introduction to an upper-division biotechnology course focusing on recombinant protein design and production, but could also be used in molecular biology, biochemistry, or introductory biology courses to highlight recombinant DNA and biotechnology.

Virtual lab activities 

Cattle with the mouse gene SP110 added to their genomes have immune cells that are better at slowing the growth of Mycobacterium bovis and are less susceptible to developing the internal symptoms of tuberculosis (TB), according to a study published this week (March 2) in PNAS.

In "Harvest of Fear," FRONTLINE and NOVA explore the intensifying debate over genetically-modified (gm) food crops. Interviewing scientists, farmers, biotech and food industry representatives, government regulators, and critics of biotechnology, this two-hour report presents both sides of the debate, exploring the risks and benefits, the hopes and fears, of this new technology.

1783 GMO food safety studies

Over 20 high quality virtual biology labs

In 3 minutes, this video tells the pertinent story of how recombinant DNA technology was used to produce human -- or synthetic -- insulin in large amounts and how it became the first biotechnology treatment approved by the FDA.

Technical details aside, Crispr-Cas9 makes it easy, cheap, and fast to move genes around-any genes, in any living thing, from bacteria to people. "These are monumental moments in the history of biomedical research," Baltimore says. "They don't happen every day." Using the three-year-old technique, researchers have already reversed mutations that cause blindness, stopped cancer cells from multiplying, and made cells impervious to the virus that causes AIDS. Agronomists have rendered wheat invulnerable to killer fungi like powdery mildew, hinting at engineered staple crops that can feed a population of 9 billion on an ever-warmer planet. Bioengineers have used Crispr to alter the DNA of yeast so that it consumes plant matter and excretes ethanol, promising an end to reliance on petrochemicals. Startups devoted to Crispr have launched. International pharmaceutical and agricultural companies have spun up Crispr R&D. Two of the most powerful universities in the US are engaged in a vicious war over the basic patent.