Students will learn how species shift along environmental gradients (temperature, precipitation, and …
Students will learn how species shift along environmental gradients (temperature, precipitation, and vegetation) in response to climate change over the last 20,000 years, from the time of the Last Glacial Maximum through deglaciation and the Holocene. The activity involves making maps of species distribution using the Neotoma database. Students will develop skills in data analysis and interpretation over a two-to-four class arc.
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In this video segment adapted from NOVA: Becoming Human, learn how the …
In this video segment adapted from NOVA: Becoming Human, learn how the analysis of rock layers and ocean sediments supports the theory that rapid climate change may have jump-started human evolution two million years ago.
Cloning is an amazing technology that allows us to make exact copies …
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).
This textbook on Coastal Dynamics focuses on the interrelation between physical wave, …
This textbook on Coastal Dynamics focuses on the interrelation between physical wave, flow and sediment transport phenomena and the resulting morphodynamics of a wide variety of coastal systems. The textbook is unique in that it explicitly connects the dynamics of open coasts and tidal basins; not only is the interaction between open coasts and tidal basins of basic importance for the evolution of most coastal systems, but describing the similarities between their physical processes is highly instructive as well. This textbook emphasizes these similarities to the benefit of understanding shared processes such as nonlinearities in flow and sediment transport. Some prior knowledge with respect to the dynamics of flow, waves and sediment transport is recommended.
Based on the 2010 Scientific American paper by Hazen, and the more …
Based on the 2010 Scientific American paper by Hazen, and the more technical 2008 paper of Hazen et al, both of which explore the effect of the biosphere on the tremendous number of mineral species that occur on Earth compared to the lesser number we believe we are seeing on other planets. This tackles the idea of mineralogy/geochemistry evolving over time as do biological systems, rather than being a static system with no hysteresis or temporal aspect to it. Students work in small groups to decide which groups of minerals have been most affected by a variety of biological influences, and how. Then the class as a whole compares their conclusions group by group.
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How genetics can add to our understanding of cognition, language, emotion, personality, …
How genetics can add to our understanding of cognition, language, emotion, personality, and behavior. Use of gene mapping to estimate risk factors for psychological disorders and variation in behavioral and personality traits. Mendelian genetics, genetic mapping techniques, and statistical analysis of large populations and their application to particular studies in behavioral genetics. Topics also include environmental influence on genetic programs, evolutionary genetics, and the larger scientific, social, ethical, and philosophical implications.
This trip followed the Columbia River across the basalt flows of the …
This trip followed the Columbia River across the basalt flows of the Columbia Plateau through the Columbia Gorge that bisects the Cascade Range and then turned south along Oregons spectacular coastline. The opportunities to integrate biology and geologic processes were limited only by time as students explored the plant and animal life of rocky and sandy beaches dune fields and coastal forests. The southernmost portion of the trip extended from Crescent City, CA (site of the 1964 tsunami) through the Klamath Mountains on the Oregon/California boundary one of the most geologically dynamic landscapes in North America. The tectonic history of the region with its resulting shifts in climate patterns and merging of previously isolated land forms along with an unusual abundance of ultramafic rocks have driven the evolution of one of the most diverse floras in North American populations of carnivorous Darlingtonia (Pitcher plants) provided a dramatic example of the unusually large number of plant species endemic to the serpentine soils of this region.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
This classroom activity for high school students uses a collection of Hubble …
This classroom activity for high school students uses a collection of Hubble Space Telescope images of galaxies in the Coma Cluster. Students study galaxy classification and the evolution of galaxies in dense clustered environments.
This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by …
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:
"High-quality reference genomes are needed to understand the physiology and function of uncultured microbes in complex ecosystems. Metagenomics has been an incredibly useful tool for studying microbial communities, but assigning sequence assemblies accurately to genomes is difficult in microbial species or strains that lack a reference genome. These 'consensus genomes' have lower resolution than those generated from cultured isolates. Combining single-cell genomics with metagenomics may allow us to overcome these methodological weaknesses. Thus, researchers recently developed a framework called SMAGLinker, which integrates single-cell genomes from microfluidic droplets and uses them as guides for metagenome assembly. Compared to metagenomics alone, SMAGLinker showed more precise contig binning and higher recovery rates of rRNA and plasmids in a mock microbial community. In human gut and skin microbiota samples, SMAGLinker returned more genomes than the conventional metagenomics frameworks..."
The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.
Visualize how comets carrying chemicals necessary for life could have made their …
Visualize how comets carrying chemicals necessary for life could have made their way to Earth billions of years ago in this video segment adapted from NOVA.
Amino acids, essential ingredients for life, may have been delivered to Earth …
Amino acids, essential ingredients for life, may have been delivered to Earth by comets billions of years ago, as visualized in this video segment adapted from NOVA.
This course provides an introduction to the technology and policy context of …
This course provides an introduction to the technology and policy context of public communications networks, through critical discussion of current issues in communications policy and their historical roots. The course focuses on underlying rationales and models for government involvement and the complex dynamics introduced by co-evolving technologies, industry structure, and public policy objectives. Cases drawn from cellular, fixed-line, and Internet applications include evolution of spectrum policy and current proposals for reform; the migration to broadband and implications for universal service policies; and property rights associated with digital content. The course lays a foundation for thesis research in this domain.
This genomics education lesson plan was formulated and tested on some year …
This genomics education lesson plan was formulated and tested on some year 6 students with the help of their teacher Michelle Pardini at the Hong Kong ICS School. Using the example of the ongoing citizen science Bahinia Genome project from Hong Kong it hopes to serve as a model to inspire and inform other national genome projects, and aid the development of crucial genomic literacy and skills across the globe. Inspiring and training a new generation of scientists to use these tools to tackle the biggest threats to mankind: climate change, disease, and food security. It is released under a CC-BY SA 4.0 license, and utilised the following slide deck and final quiz. Promoting open science, all of the data and resources produced from the project is immediately put into the public domain. Please feel free to utilise, adapt and build upon any of these as you wish. The open licence makes these open education resources usable just with attribution and posting of modified resources under a similar manner. Contact BauhiniaGenome if you have any questions or feedback.Bauhinia Genome overviewFor a slidedeck for the lesson plan laid out here you can use the set in slideshare here.
Community is key to open education, with an often-overlooked aspect of community …
Community is key to open education, with an often-overlooked aspect of community management and evolution being how knowledge is stewarded within such networks. We from We Are Open in collaboration with participate are running a series of workshops called "Community Conversations" where we talk about different aspects of community management. This one is our fourth Community Conversations session and it was timed to coincide with Open Education Week, an initiative of OE Global.
The rate of obesity continues to climb in the United States in …
The rate of obesity continues to climb in the United States in all age groups. National reports, including the Trust for America’s Health annual report State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America, highlight key findings and policy recommendations. The need to continue to work towards stabilization of the obesity epidemic could not be more important as consequences of this chronic disease can be dire, potentially affecting physical health with an increase in risk for chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and several types of cancer as well as potentially affecting behavioral health. Curbing the high rates of obesity is particularly of importance when considering the prevalence of childhood obesity, which is on the rise not only in the United States but is also increasing globally. Although there are certain risk factors such as genetics that are not modifiable in this group, there are many dietary, physical activity and environmental factors that are modifiable through lifestyle changes. This course will explore ways to address these lifestyle changes for children through adults with both federally- and NGO- based community interventions that are working towards combating overweight and obesity and how they aim to do so with a health equity lens in mind.
Hank introduces us to comparative anatomy, which studies the similarities and differences …
Hank introduces us to comparative anatomy, which studies the similarities and differences in animal anatomy to support the theory of evolution and the shared ancestry of living things.
Chapters: 1) Comparative Anatomy 2) Locomotion 3) Heterotophy 4) Convergent Evolution 5) Biolography 6) Tissues a) Epithelial Tissue b) Connective Tissue c) Muscle Tissue d) Nerve Tissue 7) Organs 8) Organ Systems Review
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