Ten Recent Advances in Evolution By Carl Zimmer Posted 10.26.09 NOVA To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Origin of Species, here's a list—by no means exhaustive—of some of the biggest advances in evolutionary biology over the past decade. These advances include not just a better understanding of how this or that group of species first evolved, but insights into the evolutionary process itself. Ten significant leaps forward in evolution research in the past decade, as chosen and described by noted science writer Carl Zimmer Enlarge Photo credit: (Earth) © NASA; (text) © WGBH Educational Foundation Darwin envisioned natural selection acting so slowly that its effects would be imperceptible in a human lifetime. If he were alive today, Darwin would be astonished at the pace and nature of discoveries being made in evolutionary biology, including the witnessing of evolution in action. Thanks to powerful, cheap DNA sequencing technology, scientists can now pinpoint the molecular changes underlying this rapid evolution.
Hands-on Activities for Teaching Biology to High School or Middle School Students by Drs. Ingrid Waldron and Jennifer Doherty, University of Pennsylvania The expression "hands-on, minds-on" summarizes the philosophy we have incorporated in these activities - namely, that students will learn best if they are actively engaged and if their activities are closely linked to understanding important biological concepts. Many of our activities are explicitly aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, as indicated by (NGSS) in the descriptions below and the links to the right. Additional information is provided in Summary Tables and in the Teacher Preparation Notes for these activities. To accommodate limited budgets, most of our activities can be carried out with minimum equipment and expense for supplies. Additional resources for teaching biology are available at More Minds on Activities for Teaching Biology. Read More Intro and Biological Molecules Is Yeast Alive? Enzymes Help Us Digest Food(revised, July, 2016) Who Took Jerell's iPod? More Minds-on Activities
Q4B Concept Inventories | Questions For Biology Listed below are the Concept Inventories that are being developed by various members of the Q4B team. For information regarding specific inventories, click on the links to read the rationale behind development, how many questions have been – or will be – developed, the anticipated development timeframe until the inventory is ready for use, and any other inventory-specific information such as important teaching notes/guides. We encourage interested instructors from tertiary institutions to get in touch with team members to obtain concept inventories for use in their classes; in all cases, we ask instructors to send messages to the individuals who have worked on the inventories in which they are interested. Messages can be sent via secure forms on the People page. Validated Concept Inventories (for which complete packages can be provided) 1: Biological Experimental Design Concept Inventory (BEDCI) 2: Meiosis 3: Population Dynamics 4: Speciation 6: Transcription and Translation 1: Adaptation
Human Physiology - Respiration BIO 301Human Physiology Respiration Respiratory System: Primary function is to obtain oxygen for use by body's cells & eliminate carbon dioxide that cells produce Includes respiratory airways leading into (& out of) lungs plus the lungs themselves Pathway of air: nasal cavities (or oral cavity) > pharynx > trachea > primary bronchi (right & left) > secondary bronchi > tertiary bronchi > bronchioles > alveoli (site of gas exchange) Respiratory system www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/factsheets/ozone/ithurts.htm Respiration The exchange of gases (O2 & CO2) between the alveoli & the blood occurs by simple diffusion: O2 diffusing from the alveoli into the blood & CO2 from the blood into the alveoli. Breathing is an active process - requiring the contraction of skeletal muscles. The external intercostals plus the diaphragm contract to bring about inspiration: www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1999/emphside.html Diaphragm To exhale: Intra-alveolar pressure during inspiration & expiration Role of Pulmonary Surfactant
Cell Cycle & Cytokinesis - BioChemWeb.org Cell Cycle Regulation and the Control of Cell Proliferation (Cell Growth + Cell Division) Cell Cycle Research - General resource with links to relevant recent literature, news and job listings. (Ion Channel Media Group) Cell Division - Undergraduate-level lectures on cell division. (Cell Biology Lectures, Mark Hill, University of New South Wales, Australia) The Eukaryotic Cell Cycle and Cancer - Introduction to the eukaryotic cell cycle as it relates to the genetics of cancer. (Phillip McClean, North Dakota State University) (Just above Beginner's Level) ICRF FACS Laboratory Cell Cycle Analysis - Methods for cell cycle analysis using flow cytometry. (FACS Laboratory, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, UK) The Interactive Fly: Evolutionarily Conserved Pathways (Society for Developmental Biology). See also the Apoptosis, Cell Senescence and Signal Transduction pages. Mitosis, Meiosis and the Mechanics of Cell Division See also the Cytoskeleton, Cell Motility and Motors page. Cancer Resources
Biology Gives Students a “Minute to Win It” - St. John Fisher College It was the first week of classes, and Biology Department faculty members were concocting a way to bring new students together with mentor students to start the year off right. Last year, the Biology Department started a Peer Mentoring program in an effort to facilitate student integration into both the department and academic life of the College. The icebreaker the faculty came up with for the beginning of this semester – called “Minute to Win It” – was designed to require mentors and mentees to work as a team to help them connect. The teams attempted six different tasks, and had 60 seconds to complete each one. According to Virginia Maier, Health Professions Advisor, the games were developed via trial and error experimenting with some of the lab equipment, and were named in the same fun spirit as the games from the actual television show. The games included:
AAAS Science Assessment ~ Home Ombouwen van reguliere lessen tot context-concept lessen Auteur: Fred Janssen In dit artikel wil ik laten zien dat het ombouwen van reguliere lessen tot context-concept lessen niet heel moeilijk hoeft te zijn of veel tijd hoeft te kosten. Ik zal een aantal mogelijkheden stapsgewijs beschrijven in opklimmende moeilijkheidsgraad. De eerste stap verwijst niet naar een bepaald type context-concept onderwijs maar naar belangrijke voorwaarde voor het uitproberen van nieuw onderwijs: lestijd. De aanpak hier wordt geillustreerd met voorbeelden uit de biologie maar de hier beschreven aanpak is voor alle vakken bruikbaar. Stap 1: Van kaft tot kaft naar verantwoord schrappen Veel docenten ervaren overladenheid als een belangrijke belemmering om context-concept onderwijs in te voeren. Neem eindtermen als leidraad De stof die leerlingen aan het eind van hun middelbare school moeten kennen en kunnen is omschreven in eindtermen. In onder- en bovenbouw biologiemethoden staat gemiddeld genomen 40% (!) Stap 2: Van concept eerst naar context Dit kan door:
educreations teacherswithapps Educreations Interactive Whiteboard, by Educreations, Inc, is an incredible, yes that’s right, INCREDIBLE app. This newly released app comes with the huge bonus of being FREE! We think this app has the edge needed to push education in the right direction and to begin modernizing teaching as we know it. Educreations Inc had the wherewithal to realize the need to add the option to use multiple pages for the same lesson; this is another feature that makes this app a standout. This revised Bloom’s Taxonomy pyramid shows classification of levels of intellectual behavior that is important in the learning process. It is obvious that the developers in this new start-up company spent much time and consideration while incorporating user-friendly features into this app.
Fitness Advice, Workout Videos, Health & Fitness | Bodyrock.tv Hi Bodyrockers, Well this is it… The May Bodyrock 30 day fat loss challenge has arrived!! If you haven’t joined in with us then this is the perfect time to start. This is the mother of all posts, but we wanted to cover all of the bases and make sure that we brought you guys the best program out there. The first step you need to take is to perform the Fit Test and see where your fitness level is at from day one. Scroll down and watch the first video. You will complete 4 exercises for 50 seconds on with a 10 second rest in between each exercise, completing them three times through. New Workouts will be posted Monday – Friday. Finally please help us extend a huge BodyRock welcome to our latest Guest Host Teshia who will be leading the New BodyRock.Tv Flow classes. Enjoy your workout!!! Freddy Watch the video below with Lisa to get started The 30 Day Timetable: Click Here to download a copy – Cross off the days to keep you on track BodyRock Burn: Beginner Level Fit Test & Tutorial Video: 1) Squats
Pocket Heart on the App Store Biology101.org Interactives archive: Biology Anatomy of ChildbirthReview the three stages of having a baby as well as some of the risks women face. Anatomy of the CoelacanthThis survivor from the age of dinosaurs has body parts found in no other living creature. Anatomy of a CrocExamine a Nile crocodile and see what makes this amazing reptile tick. Anatomy of a HiveInvestigate the physical, behavioral, and social infrastructure inside a bees' nest. Anatomy of Photo 51When you know how to look at it, this shadowy X-ray photograph speaks volumes about the shape of DNA. Bacteria TalkIn this interview, Bassler describes the 600 species of bacteria on your teeth each morning, and much more. Brain GeographyLearn how to model a brain and find out more about the cerebellum, spinal cord, brain stem, and cerebral cortex. Build a SteroidFollow the steps a chemist takes to synthesize a disease-fighting drug. Classifying LifeWhat do a polar bear and a sea cucumber have in common? Coelacanth QuizDoes this fish lay eggs? Guess What's Coming to Dinner?
Developing Independent Learners – The 7 Monkeys! The 15 minute forum tonight was led by our two science NQTs – Faye Hedley (@f_hedley) and Becky Owen. They shared a strategy they have been using called ‘The 7 Monkeys’. The 7 Monkeys is a way of enabling students to learn a concept, process or idea independently with minimal teacher input. Each ‘monkey’ is a different activity that the students undertake to support their learning. Why monkeys? This is how the process works. Firstly…. Set the students a question e.g. Students will then use the following ‘monkeys’ to work through this. Monkey 1 – Read The first monkey is to read a piece of text that relates to the concept, idea or process. Monkey 2 – Highlight Once they have read through the text, students are then asked to highlight key words or points within the text. Monkey 3 – Drawing Now it’s time for some drawing! They are only allowed to use 4 words to label their diagram. Monkey 4 – Explain Monkey 5 – Developing depth Monkey 6 – Answer the question Monkey 7 – Peer Assessment Summary