This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" explores genetic modification of salmon and possible consequences.

In this activity, students will create a segment of DNA out of wire and play-doh.  Using a simple computer code, they will make their DNA talk by connecting a Makey Makey circuit board and hooking it up to a computer.

Sign up for a free account on the Gizmo website (https://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=Controller.dspFreeAccount) for free access to two simulations that were collaboratively developed by the teams at Explore Learning and the Wisconsin Fast Plants Program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These simulations replace those previously available on our website that were developed nearly two decades ago and no longer function on modern operating systems. Fast Plants Gizmos were created as a collaboration between ExploreLearning and the Wisconsin Fast Plants Program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They weredesigned to support many of the experiments that students can do using Fast Plants seeds and plants. By using these Gizmos in combination with firsthand experiences growing Fast Plants, students can compare simulated growth, development and reproduction with observations of living Fast Plants. In addition, the Gizmos genetic simulation makes it possible for students to gather data from a significantly larger plant population than is typically grown in classrooms. These Gizmos also stand alone, supporting topics both in plant life cycles and Mendelian genetics and can be used by any student. Simulation, Simulations, Genetics, Inheritance

This video segment from Kentucky Life describes how scientists control pollination of one of the few remaining American chestnut trees to develop blight resistant trees.

This investigation begins with a phenomenon that is evidenced in most every produce aisle: Many of the vegetables that botanists classify as Brassica look and taste different. This investigation aligns with middle and high school Next Generation Science Standards as well as with agricultural science Plant Career Path Standards. Provided as an Open Source Lesson in Gather-Reason-Communicate format, this investigation supports teachers as students learn about the life cycle of flowering plants, how environmental and genetic factors influence an organisms's growth, how humans influence plants through plant breeding, and how scientists can use classification as a tool for understanding relatedness among organisms. This includes a lesson plan and supporting resources including videos, an interview, readings, and protocols.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Define population genetics and describe how population genetics is used in the study of the evolution of populationsDefine the Hardy-Weinberg principle and discuss its importance

This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" looks at the meaning and significance of the effort to decode the human genome.

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?

Antibiotics save people’s lives...and make bacteria stronger and more likely to kill us.  What is the best practice to balance these conflicting issues? In this problem-based learning module, the students will be evaluating real-life medical situations in conjunction with actual staff at those institutions and offering action plans to be ‘implemented’ there.  In order to accomplish this, the science unit will be interlocking with social studies and a language arts unit that will have them identifying target audiences and sculpting a way to present their findings.  This unit has the potential to be a full problem-based unit as well as highly interdisciplinary--it’s connected to full units in social studies and language arts which stand alone but can be fully integrated if desired.

This annotated slideshow adapted from KET's Electronic Field Trip to the Forest illustrates how blight decimated the American chestnut tree and the methods scientists use to identify and pollinate the remaining trees to create blight-resistant trees.

In this video profile adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about geneticist and rock musician Pardis Sabeti, whose innovative insights into natural selection demonstrated how beneficial mutations spread quickly through a population.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about RNAi's potential to treat a wide range of genetic and infectious diseases.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, scientists discuss a family of genes called FOXO that can significantly extend life span in worms—and in humans.

This video segment from NOVA: "The Killer's Trail" investigates the potential for DNA evidence to solve murder cases, even those from the distant past.

This video from Nature offers a description of desirable traits in beef and dairy cattle.

In this video excerpt from NOVA, find out how the discovery of a gene defect has led to the development of a new drug to treat patients with cystic fibrosis.

In this video excerpt from NOVA, learn about the advantages, disadvantages, and ethical implications of screening for genes associated with diseases, including those linked to breast and ovarian cancers.

Instructional video on the formation of catenane after replication of circular bacterial chromosome.

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.

Students learn how DNA fingerprinting has been used in criminal investigations and discuss the limitations of and problems with DNA testing.

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.