This contains visual material for the MC1R protein in humans, as well as visual material on the Y298C mutation in Spirit Bears. 

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Advances in genomic laboratory and bioinformatics techniques have allowed us to infer microbial ecology information from genomes. This ability has led to great advances in microbiome science; however, there is not yet a standard comprehensive workflow for functional annotation. Some software tools annotate metabolic functions, but the new tool 'METABOLIC' improves upon this and expands into biogeochemical pathways like the carbon cycle. METABOLIC takes sequence inputs from isolates, metagenome-assembled genomes, or single-cell genomes. The data can be processed through two workflow scales: genome and/or community. The genome-scale workflow annotates the genomes and validates motifs of conserved protein residues. It also analyzes metabolic pathways and calculates the microbial contributions to individual biogeochemical processes and cycles. The community-scale workflow adds to this by first determining the genome abundance in the microbiome..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This website provides a resource for the heritability of all human traits that have been investigated with the classical twin design. The traits have been classified into 28 broad trait domains, as well as according to the standard classification schemes of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) or the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10). Currently the database includes information from 2748 papers, published between 1958 and 2012, reporting on 17804 traits on a total of 14,558,903 twin pairs. Have Fun!

This course is the first in a three-course sequence that introduces biology in preparation for advanced study in areas of biological science such as medicine, dentistry, cell biology, microbiology, or veterinary medicine. Biol& 211 introduces students to cellular structure and function. Major topics studied include: energy capture and utilization, cellular reproduction, inheritance, genetic mutation, protein synthesis, gene expression, and biotechnology.

Pair this activity with lessons on selective breeding. Students will identify desirable genetic traits in apples and use a coin flip to simulate the steps and time involved to breed a new cultivar of apple. (Photo by Tom Paolini on Unsplash.com)

Watch this video to learn about geneticist George Amato! You will learn what he does and how he conducts his research. You will also get to read his answers to questions asked by kids just like you!

Meiosis is the process by which gametes (eggs and sperm) are made. Gametes have only one set of chromosomes. Therefore, meiosis involves a reduction in the amount of genetic material. Each gamete has only half the chromosomes of the original germ cell. Explore meiosis with a computer model of dragons. Run meiosis, inspect the chromosomes, then choose gametes to fertilize. Predict the results of the dragon offspring and try to make a dragon without legs. Learn why all siblings do not look alike.

In this experience you will be looking at the life work of Gregor Mendel, a simple monk who is now considered the father of modern genetics.  His work provides the backbone for our understanding of why we inherit traits from our parents. Through this seminar you will be asked to reflect on how genes are transferred. In addition, you will reflect on the life of Mendel, as he received no credit for incredible work during his lifetime.BIO.B.1.2Explain how genetic information is inherited.

Students explore the relationships between genetics, biodiversity, and evolution through a simple activity involving hypothetical wild mouse populations. First, students toss coins to determine what traits a set of mouse parents possesses, such as fur color, body size, heat tolerance, and running speed. Next they use coin tossing to determine the traits a mouse pup born to these parents possesses. These physical features are then compared to features that would be most adaptive in several different environmental conditions. Finally, students consider what would happen to the mouse offspring if those environmental conditions were to change: which mice would be most likely to survive and produce the next generation?

Welcome to the Teachers' Corner of Small Things Considered. In this section, we include the posts we deem most adequate for teaching purposes. We have reorganized them into subject areas geared for a typical microbiology course. To date, this material has been used for various forms of intellectual enrichment, e.g., suggested readings, class presentations, a source of topics for term papers. You can also find here our Talmudic Questions, which we characterize as those whose answers cannot be found in Google. We are told that some of these questions have been used in exams ranging from tests for undergraduate courses to qualifying/prelims for graduate students.

How can a tick bite cause a meat allergy? And does cranberry juice do anything to help cure a urinary tract infection? To answer these and other questions, we are going to take a dive into the molecular world of microbes. In this class, we will use the primary research literature to explore the molecular interactions between pathogens and their hosts that allow microbes to cause infectious diseases. We will examine the factors that pathogens use to colonize a host and how the host response can impact the outcome of the infection. By the end of the class, students will have both developed critical scientific skills in evaluating scientific literature and an appreciation of the microbes influencing our lives and health every day.
This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.

Mendel was the father of genetics, but he wasn’t the final source of all information about the topic. After Mendel’s time we learned a great deal about genetics. Some of this information seemed to conflict with some of the information Mendel gleaned from his pea plants. We call this Non-Mendelian genetics. This lesson will challenge you to compare the concepts before and after Mendel and reflect on how you have inherited traits.StandardsBIO.B.2.1 Compare Mendelian and non-Mendelian patterns of inheritance.

This initial module from the GENIQUEST project introduces the dragons and the inheritance of their traits, then delves into meiosis and its relationship to inherited traits. Students examine the effects of choosing different gametes on dragon offspring, and learn about genetic recombination by creating recombination events to generate specific offspring from two given parent dragons. Students learn about inbred strains and breed an inbred strain of dragons themselves.

Students will breed fruit flies through several generations and record their data using mathematical models in order to demonstrate the inheritance of trait variations.

This course provides a foundation for understanding the relationship between molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, and medicine. It develops explicit connections between basic research, medical understanding, and the perspective of patients. Principles of human genetics are reviewed. We translate clinical understanding into analysis at the level of the gene, chromosome and molecule; we cover the concepts and techniques of molecular biology and genomics, and the strategies and methods of genetic analysis, including an introduction to bioinformatics. Material in the course extends beyond basic principles to current research activity in human genetics.

Instructional video on molecular mechanism of homologous recombination in meiosis.

Although textbooks describe this process and show illustrations, it is difficult to grasp without seeing a live demonstration.

Created for Biology 41 General Genetics at Tufts University.

Discover what controls how fast tiny molecular motors in our body pull through a single strand of DNA. How hard can the motor pull in a tug of war with the optical tweezers? Discover what helps it pull harder. Do all molecular motors behave the same?

This assignment uses a computer simulation of fruit fly genetics to have students design and interpret monohybrid crosses of a trait with simple dominant and recessive alleles. Detailed instructions with animated examples, background material, a sample report and a rubric are included.