This activity uses DNA sequences, protein sequence, and chromosome-density maps to re-trace the ancestry of humans and some of their closest relatives.

This is a handout which includes an assignment based on the topic of teratogen's exposure during pregnancy. This  information has the purpose to create awareness to a pregnant woman about the harm her baby is experiencing in the womb when exposed to toxic substances.  The letter is written from the baby's experience. Through this assignment, students will give voice to an unborn baby. They will assess two students' letters by completing two peer reviews

Thomas Hunt Morgan's pioneering fruit fly work that helped validate the chromosomal theory of inheritance.

How is it that all cells in our body have the same genes, yet cells in different tissues express different genes? A basic notion in biology that most high school students fail to conceptualize is the fact that all cells in the animal or human body contain the same DNA, yet different cells in different tissues express, on the one hand, a set of common genes, and on the other, express another set of genes that vary depending on the type of tissue and the stage of development. In this video lesson, the student will be reminded that genes in a cell/tissue are expressed when certain conditions in the nucleus are met. Interestingly, the system utilized by the cell to ensure tissue specific gene expression is rather simple. Among other factors - all discussed fully in the lesson - the cells make use of a tiny scaffold known as the “Nuclear Matrix or Nucleo-Skeleton”. This video lesson spans 20 minutes and provides 5 exercises for students to work out in groups and in consultation with their classroom teacher. The entire duration of the video demonstration and exercises should take about 45-50 minutes, or equivalent to one classroom session. There are no supplies needed for students’ participation in the provided exercises. They will only need their notebooks and pens. However, the teacher may wish to emulate the demonstrations used in the video lesson by the presenter and in this case simple material can be used as those used in the video. These include play dough, pencils, rubber bands (to construct the nuclear matrix model), a tennis ball and 2-3 Meters worth of shoe laces. The students should be aware of basic information about DNA folding in the nucleus, DNA replication, gene transcription, translation and protein synthesis.

The trp operon is a well-studied operon when it comes to gene regulation. It is involved in the biosynthesis of the amino acid tryptophan.

Understanding Biodiversity presents an overview of biodiversity, its importance and relevance to humans, all living things, and the Earth. It includes species pages and a template to engage and involve students in real-life data collection.

This laboratory manual is intended for use in a biology laboratory course taken by non-science majors, pre-biology, and pre-allied health majors.

Laboratory exercises provide students with experience in basic laboratory skills, gathering and organizing data, measuring and calculating, hypothesis testing, analysis of data, writing, and laboratory safety. The skill sets are designed to promote the development of critical thought and analysis. Students work with living and preserved specimens, and laboratory reagents and equipment.

it would be ideal if students already have learned that DNA is the genetic material, and that DNA is made up of As, Ts, Gs, and Cs. It also would help if students already know that each human has two versions of every piece of DNA in their genome, one from mom and one from dad. The lesson will take about one class period, with roughly 30 minutes of footage and 30 minutes of activities.

Using a literature review and primary sources that were part of the review, students examine data to evaluate if this data can predict future life choices. Students will learn content in Math, Biology and Language Arts during this literacy-based lesson that supports students in using textual evidence to develop and support claims.

In this activity students examine karyotypes from five individuals to try to identify which chromosomes determine gender in humans. This activity is also a good illustration of meiotic non-disjunction.

In a class discussion format, the teacher presents background information about basic human genetics. The number of chromosomes in both body cells and egg and sperm cells is covered, as well as the concept of dominant and recessive alleles. Students determine whether or not they possess the dominant allele for the tongue-rolling gene as an example.

An interview with biologist Gro Amdam, one of the members of the group that brought us the bee genome. Hey just what is a genome and could bees hold the answer to aging? In this show we learn the answers to these questions and why researchers are buzzing around bees.

Students use DNA profiling to determine who robbed a bank. After they learn how the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is used to match crime scene DNA with tissue sample DNA, students use CODIS principles and sample DNA fragments to determine which of three suspects matches evidence obtain at a crime location. They communicate their results as if they were biomedical engineers reporting to a police crime scene investigation.

Writing a Wikipedia article about a genetic disease is a good culminating activity for a genetics course or module, as it requires synthesizing and interpreting a wide range of genetic information. This assignment also includes a potential service component, which is normally very difficult in genetics.

This lesson introduces students to the concepts of evolution, specifically the evolution of humans. So often our students assume that humans are well adapted to our environments because we are in control of our evolutionary destiny. The goal is to change these types of misconceptions and get our students to link the concepts learned in their DNA, protein synthesis, and genetics units to their understanding of evolution. Students will also discover that humans are still evolving and learn about the traits that are more recent adaptations to our environment. The lesson is designed to take two one-hour class periods to complete. The activities will allow students to draw connections between environmental pressures and selected traits, both through data analysis and modeling. Most activities can be done without any special materials, although the Modeling Natural Selection activity needs either a tri-colored pasta, or tricolored beans, to be completed effectively.

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:

"A fundamental law of genetics states that offspring do not inherit traits from their parents that were acquired in response to environmental conditions. Recent research in the field of epigenetics, however, is turning this principle on its head. Several recent studies have come to the remarkable conclusion that unhealthy diets in males can contribute to the development of metabolic diseases in their offspring. Even when those offspring are raised with healthy diets_._ Now, a study has identified small RNAs as the molecules responsible for the transmission of these disorders. For a long time scientists thought that inheritance of traits only occurred via DNA being passed from parent to offspring. It is now clear, however, that the experiences of one generation can have an effect on the next. When parents have a high-stress lifestyle or an unhealthy diet, for example, chemical modifications can occur on genes that are then passed to their children. This is termed ‘epigenetic inheritance..."

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:

"Of the 20 standard amino acids, 18 can be coded by two to six synonymous codons. The preference for certain synonymous codons over others is a phenomenon known as “codon usage bias,” and it's been found in all genomes examined to date. Growing evidence suggests that codon usage regulates protein structure and gene expression through translation-dependent and translation-independent mechanisms. In fact, codon usage has been discovered to play an important role in controlling the speed of translation elongation during mRNA translation, as well as in regulating protein folding and function in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Additionally, studies show that intrinsically disordered domain structures are sensitive to codon usage. These disordered structures play a critical role in many biological processes and are sites for important post-translational modifications..."

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