Utopia or dystopia? It’s up to us. In the 21st century, powerful …
Utopia or dystopia? It’s up to us. In the 21st century, powerful technologies have been appearing at a breathtaking pace—related to the internet, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and more. They have amazing potential upsides, but we can’t ignore the serious risks that come with them. Brave New Planet is a podcast that delves deep into the most exciting and challenging scientific frontiers, helping us understand them and grapple with their implications. Dr. Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, is a geneticist, molecular biologist, and mathematician who was a leader of the Human Genome Project and for eight years served as a science advisor to the White House for President Obama. He’s also the host of Brave New Planet, and he’s talked to leading researchers, journalists, doctors, policy makers, activists, and legal experts to illuminate how this generation’s choices will shape the future as never before. Brave New Planet is a partnership between the Broad Institute, Pushkin Industries, and the Boston Globe.
Construct a protein through cereal additions. Model the central dogma of molecular …
Construct a protein through cereal additions. Model the central dogma of molecular biology by constructing a colorful chain using a simple code (and some delicious cereal).
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:
"New findings from the ACTIONI-O study suggest that when it comes to tackling weight loss, people with obesity and healthcare professionals don’t always see eye to eye. Reported misconceptions about the factors contributing to obesity and about patient attitudes suggest much room for improving communication and education. In what’s considered the largest study of its type, researchers surveyed more than 14500 people with obesity and more than 2700 healthcare professionals treating patients with obesity in 11 countries. Surveys designed foreach group asked about perceived attitudes, behaviors, and barriers to effective obesity care. For example, patients were asked whether they consider their weight loss completely their responsibility. While clinicians were asked, among other things, to rank criteria they consider in determining whether to spark a discussion with a patient about obesity, such as patient weight, BMI, or mental state..."
The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.
BRIGHT Girls was a project to build broader participation in the sciences, …
BRIGHT Girls was a project to build broader participation in the sciences, led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and funded by the National Science Foundation. We sought to increase students' motivation and capacity to pursue careers in STEM by engaging them in studies of nearby natural environments. The developed lesson plans may be used in formal or informal educational settings, e.g., in a summer academy or across multiple class periods. These investigations help students explore the relationships among life history and ecosystems, connecting biology to geology and remote sensing.
SSAC Physical Volcanology module. Students build a spreadsheet and apply the ideal …
SSAC Physical Volcanology module. Students build a spreadsheet and apply the ideal gas law to model the velocity of a bubble rising in a viscous magma.
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This unit will teach students about “Carbon and Ecosystems.” They will begin …
This unit will teach students about “Carbon and Ecosystems.” They will begin by analyzing the four spheres: biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere and how they are interconnected. They will understand that one system cannot exist without the other in order to maintain proper functioning within our planet. The students will learn about the various types of ecosystems that exist and how living organisms depend on other living and non-living organisms for survival. This being said, students will examine how the spheres interact and how changes in one, affects another. Students will understand that ecosystems are fueled by the energy from the sun and cycles from which they are powered.
It will focus on what the carbon cycle is and its’ influence in our lives. Carbon is essential for all life on Earth and is also in our atmosphere. It regulates the Earth’s temperature and provides an essential source of the energy to fuel our economy. The carbon cycle describes how carbon moves throughout the Earth’s spheres. By gaining a deeper understanding of how carbon moves, we can better regulate our daily decisions to help sustain our future.
Students will utilize previously gained knowledge about the impact of land management …
Students will utilize previously gained knowledge about the impact of land management practices on ecosystems to design, conduct and analyze an experiment to measure biodiversity and/or invertebrate ecosystem role in a field community. They will identify ecosystems that have been heavily and lightly impacted by human activities and make predictions about biodiversity in the area. They will then test and analyze the information gathered and apply what this means about the biodiversity in these ecosystems and the implications this may have on the region.
Bug-go is designed to help the players learn to identify some insects …
Bug-go is designed to help the players learn to identify some insects while learning which insects are beneficial and interesting facts about others. The game should be played similar to the game bingo.
Build Your Own Earth is a freely available web site to explore …
Build Your Own Earth is a freely available web site to explore the factors that affect Earth's climate. Climate model simulations reveal the annual distributions of 50 different quantities. An accompanying homework for undergraduates is included that could be adapted for other students.
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How can we design buildings to withstand an earthquake? This activity uses …
How can we design buildings to withstand an earthquake? This activity uses simple materials and gives learners a chance to experiment with structures that can withstand an earthquake. Two optional activities explore building damage by subjecting models to ground vibration on a small shake table.
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Bring the rainforest to life in your classroom! Give your students hands-on …
Bring the rainforest to life in your classroom! Give your students hands-on experiences that will build their understanding of the importance of tropical rainforests and the need for protecting these valuable ecosystems. Explore topics including the water cycle in the Amazon, the life cycle of rainforest plants, rainforest conservation challenges, and more. You can use this kit to prepare your students for a field trip to the Academy's Rainforest Exhibit. Or, if you can't make it to the Academy, use the kit on its own to bring the rainforest to you! This version of the rainforest kit is for grades 4 - 8.
Lab 1: the students begin by describing on a worksheet their own …
Lab 1: the students begin by describing on a worksheet their own ideas of delta formation using concept sketches and written descriptions of the stages of formation, with only broad guidance from the instructor. They are also asked to describe the key features of their concept sketches, and to hypothesize how those features might develop (the processes). The students have all been exposed to deltas in Physical Geology, but likely only have rudimentary knowledge of them. Once they have completed the worksheet, the entire class moves to a lab with a stream table in it, preset to run a "model delta." The model has both a web cam and a time-lapse web cam set up over the table to record the development. The students help start the water flowing and the cameras recording, then watch as it develops over the next 2-3 days.
Lab 2: In the second lab, we use grain-size analysis of the stream-table delta as a means of testing some of their ideas from lab 1. The students as a class develop a strategy to sample the stream-table delta for grain size, using a laser grain-size analyzer. Each pair of students collect one sample, but are also asked to predict the changes in grain size distribution for samples elsewhere in the delta. The particle size analyzer rapidly provides results to the students near the end of lab.
Lab 3: the final lab is a field trip to a pair of gravel pits that expose the guts of two natural stranded deltas, including topset and foreset beds. The students are asked to assess the landforms on a topo map before arriving, and to describe the deposits at each site we visit. On the final writeup, the students need to synthesize all the elements of the three labs, along with input from our readings in the textbook (Easterbrook) and McPhee's "Control of Nature."Â
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In association with rock and mineral ID tables, this lab introduces students …
In association with rock and mineral ID tables, this lab introduces students to basic rocks and minerals via grouping and comparison, rather than as individual samples. I use this lab in my environmental geology course, where we don't have enough lab time to examine each set of rocks and minerals separately, but students need a basic familiarity with these materials and a context in which to place them. I find these groupings teach them how to look at rocks and minerals and give them the cursory experience identifying geologic materials necessary to go on successfully in the course.
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All living beings are made up of cells. Some of them are …
All living beings are made up of cells. Some of them are made up of only one cell and others have many cells. Also in: Dutch | French | Hungarian | Spanish
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