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Traditionally, science in the United States has been taught in isolated disciplines such as chemistry, biology and physics without clear connections being made between the subjects. The 8+1 effort encourages K-12 teachers to use the eight science concepts to build understanding within and between their courses as students advance through the grades.

Today's frontiers in science often occur at these disciplinary edges. Aided by the explosion in technology and scientific discoveries, new fields are arising that were hardly imagined a generation ago such as synthetic biology, digital organisms and genomics.

The traditional lecture format is the not the best method for teaching science. Again to draw an analogy with physical education, lectures are of limited use when the subject being taught is an activity.

The competitive model for science education, and for education in general, is poor training for how work is actually accomplished. Corporations compete, athletes compete, politicians compete, but the vast majority of working people have to cooperate if they want to get anything done.

Competitive grading systems discourage recreational interest. This is true in school athletic programs and it is also true for science classes. Just as students who get picked last for sports teams conclude athletics is not for them, students who fail to make the cut in science classes, conclude that they lack the "science gene," and should not even try to understand the subject.

Turns out, biological sex determination in mice is kind of an ongoing battle. It doesn’t end during fetal development. It doesn’t even end at birth.

For now, the main thing we can take away from this discovery is a gentle reminder that our bodies really are weird and wonderful. Even if you’re already used to thinking about gender as a fluid concept, it can be strange to realize how flexible biological sex is, as well. Don’t get too hung up on the idea that “male” and “female” must be set-in-stone categories. Nature certainly doesn’t treat sex that way.