Cloning is an amazing technology that allows us to make exact copies of living organisms.  From duplicating organs to designer babies, the possibilities are endless; however, there are numerous drawbacks to cloning creatures. In this lesson you will explore how cloning works and identify your core values and feelings on the concepts. And finally, you will produce a presentation that outlines the benefits and drawbacks  of this technology.StandardsBIO.B.2.4Explain how genetic engineering has impacted the fields of medicine, forensics, and agriculture (e.g., selective breeding, gene splicing, cloning, genetically modified organisms, gene therapy).

The course focuses on casting contemporary problems in systems biology and functional genomics in computational terms and providing appropriate tools and methods to solve them. Topics include genome structure and function, transcriptional regulation, and stem cell biology in particular; measurement technologies such as microarrays (expression, protein-DNA interactions, chromatin structure); statistical data analysis, predictive and causal inference, and experiment design. The emphasis is on coupling problem structures (biological questions) with appropriate computational approaches.

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:

"Cancer cells are abnormal cells that rapidly proliferate and often find ways to evade the immune system’s attempts to stop them. Such cells often overexpress the genes MYC and ARF6 and have a mutated version of the KRAS gene. These changes are inextricably linked and result in significant resistance to cancer therapies. KRAS activates MYC gene expression and possibly promotes the translation of the messenger RNA for both MYC and ARF6. Then MYC induces expression of genes related to mitochondrial formation and energy production. Meanwhile, ARF6 protects the mitochondria from oxidation-induced injury. ARF6 may also promote cancer invasion, metastasis, and immune evasion. Thus, KRAS, MYC, and ARF6 cooperate to help cancer spread and to avoid the immune system and immune-based treatments. These harmful associations are common in pancreatic cancer and can be strengthened by mutations in other genes like TP53..."

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

In this class, students engage in independent research projects to probe various aspects of the physiology of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14, an opportunistic pathogen isolated from the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. Students use molecular genetics to examine survival in stationary phase, antibiotic resistance, phase variation, toxin production, and secondary metabolite production.
Projects aim to discover the molecular basis for these processes using both classical and cutting-edge techniques. These include plasmid manipulation, genetic complementation, mutagenesis, PCR, DNA sequencing, enzyme assays, and gene expression studies. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication are also emphasized.
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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:

"Ruminants’ ability to break down human-inedible plant fibers stems from the microbes in their rumen. This process is primarily driven by microbes that can ferment plant fibers into volatile fatty acids (VFAs), followed by the rumen epithelial layer absorbing and partially metabolizing these VFAs. Recently, researchers examined how microbes and epithelial cells interact and contribute to VFA metabolism in lactating dairy cows. Metagenomic binning allowed researchers to categorize and examine the metabolic capacity of even uncultivated microbes and identify bacterial genomes with both cellulose/xylan/pectin degradation capabilities and associations with VFA biosynthesis. They then used gene expression data to construct a single-cell map of the rumen epithelial cell subtypes. Searching gene expression profiles for VFA transporters highlighted key epithelial cell subtypes. Leveraging this data highlighted interactions where microbes potentially influenced the gene expression of host epithelial cells..."

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

Express yourself through your genes! See if you can generate and collect three types of protein, then move on to explore the factors that affect protein synthesis in a cell.

This exercise is designed to help students identify the parts of a gene and an mRNA. The exercise requires a synthesis of their understanding of the various steps of gene expression.

The Geniverse software is being developed as part of a five-year research project funded by the National Science Foundation. Still in its early stages, a Beta version of the software is currently being piloted in six schools throughout New England. We invite you to try the current Beta version, keeping in mind that you may encounter errors or pages that are not fully functional. If you encounter any problem, it may help to refresh or reload the web page.

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:

"Extracellular vesicles (EVs) function in many physiological events ranging from normal cellular activity to pathogenic processes. Some EVs prepared in vitro have exhibited therapeutic effects in preclinical models of immune or neurodegenerative disease. In a recent study, researchers generated EVs enriched with HSPB8 (small heat shock protein B8) in vitro from oligodendroglia (OLs). HSPB8 protects cells from oxidative stress-mediated cell death by supporting autophagic activity and could be carried by EVs. Both the native OL-EVs and the HSPB8-enriched OL-EVs were internalized by a microglial cell line and primary mixed neural cultures without inducing cell death. The HSPB8-enriched OL-EVs increased the endogenous production of HSPB8 mRNA. Both EV subsets helped maintain cellular homeostasis during chronic inflammation by increasing autophagic vesicle formation..."

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

In this course, we will explore how animals determine and maintain cell fate. We will discuss changes to DNA structure and packaging, special proteins (known as “master regulators”) with the ability to alter cell fate via transcription, cell-cell signaling, and RNA localization.
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.

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:

"Coral reefs are important ocean ecosystems. However, they have been declining in recent years due to human activities, including elevated nitrate in the water. Corals maintain complex relationships with numerous microbes, including the dinoflagellate algae Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria. To better understand the impact of nitrate on coral and their resident microbes, researchers recently examined coral and microbial gene expression changes in larval Pocillopora damicornis. Under elevated nitrate conditions, the Symbiodiniaceae algae generally hoarded more nutrients for its own growth. Normally Symbiodiniaceae share nutrients with the coral, so this was a shift from a mutualistic relationship to a parasitic one, which led to impaired development in the larval coral. However, the prokaryotic microbes might reduce this negative interaction by restraining Symbiodiniaceae growth, which partially restores coral larval development..."

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

In this activity, learners explore the "nuts and bolts" of gene chips. Learners construct a simple model of a DNA microarray (also known as gene chips) and learn how microarrays can be used to identify and treat disease--including cancer. This resource includes references and an explanation of microarrays.

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.

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:

"Amphibians are one of the most vulnerable animal groups on the planet, with over 40% of their species threatened with extinction. A major driver of that vulnerability is the fungal pathogen _Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis_ (Bd). Bd is linked to the decline of at least 500 amphibian species, the greatest loss in biodiversity due to a pathogen ever recorded. The amphibian skin microbiome community structure has been linked to health outcomes of Bd infection, but the functional importance of the microbiota is not yet fully understood. To close this gap and potentially discover biomarkers or disease control methods, researchers investigated the microbiome of midwife toads. They examined both wild populations with naturally occurring Bd infection and controlled laboratory exposure. Infection with Bd led to changes in the microbial community structure, gene profile, and metabolic function in laboratory and wild toad populations..."

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

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:

"Wastewater treatment plants are a critical piece of infrastructure that depend on microbes, both resident and incoming. Incoming microbes can be beneficial but may include parasites that need to be removed. Resident microbes, meanwhile, help break down organic waste. While much is known about bacteria in wastewater treatment plants, eukaryotes are frequently overlooked. Recently, researchers examined the whole microbiome of 10 wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland. They utilized metagenomics to measure which microbes were present and metatranscriptomics to analyze their activity. Bacteria were the most numerous— but eukaryotes, particularly protists, showed the most activity, and there was a surprising number and range of active parasites, which were particularly prevalent in the inflow. Network analysis suggested predation by resident microbes likely helped remove parasites..."

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

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.

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:

"Does skeletal muscle have a memory? That’s the question researchers from the UK set out to answer in one of their most recent studies. Their finding: Yes, muscle memory is real. But it’s not quite the same type of memory you might be thinking of. This is memory of previous muscle growth—even after a period of muscle loss. The implications for athletes looking to bulk up is clear. But the results could also clue clinicians in on how to help patients retain muscle mass into older age. The researchers analyzed more than 850,000 sites on human DNA, discovering distinct patterns in how genes in these regions were chemically marked or unmarked during periods of exercise or no exercise. One cluster of genes lost its tags during muscle growth following exercise, kept them off after a period of no exercise, and lost even more during a second exercise period. Known as an epigenetic modification, this “untagging of DNA” is associated with switching gene expression on..."

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

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:

"Human activity is driving an increase in the amount of atmospheric reactive nitrogen. California grassland growth is typically limited by the amount of available nitrogen. Thus, more available nitrogen leads to more plant biomass, which means more carbon is deposited in the soil. Both the increase in nitrogen itself and the increase in carbon affect soil microbes. To better understand these impacts, a recent study examined microbial metabolic functioning in experimental grassland plots in California. These plots had been maintained for 14 years with increased nitrogen deposition mimicking the predicted levels for the end of the 21st century. This increased deposition led to an increased abundance of fast-growing bacterial species, as well as an increased capacity to use easily accessible, or labile, carbon sources. In contrast, the community's capacity to degrade recalcitrant carbon sources was unchanged or even decreased by elevated nitrogen..."

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

Looking at how regulatory DNA sequences can repress or promote gene transcription (particularly in bacteria operons).

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:

"It may be surprising to learn that drugs like morphine can actually make it harder to heal from injuries, including surgery. Researchers report that using opioids to manage this type of acute pain can make the pain last longer, potentially drawing out the need for pain relief. Although it’s unclear exactly why this happens, scientists are beginning to uncover some of the physiological causes of this delayed healing. And they think it has something to do with the brain’s immune system. That conclusion comes from an in-depth look at how morphine affects recovery in mice. Using a mouse model of orthopedic surgery, researchers looked at the consequences of postoperative morphine use. Mice were subjected to tibial fracture and repair and given a 7-day course of either morphine or an inactive vehicle. Some mice underwent a sham operation – they were anesthetized and received skin incisions, but no bone fracture – followed by the same treatment regimen..."

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