Think Garden: Photosynthesis

This video explains the process of photosynthesis through a fun poem with stop motion animation. Learn about what chloroplasts and chlorophyll do, and why sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, glucose, and carbohydrates are important to the process.

Animal and Plant Cell

Think you can tell a yam from a yak? Examine these still images of typical plant and animal cells from Biology by Kenneth R. Miller and Joseph Levine. What similarities and differences can you find?

Animal Cloning 101

Learn about clones and explore the methods scientists use to create clones in the lab in this interactive activity from the Dolan DNA Learning Center.

Bioengineering Body Parts

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, scientists discuss their attempts to grow human body parts in a jar.

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Brain Trauma

Find out how serious head concussions can be in this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW.

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Cancer Nanotech

This interactive slideshow adapted from NOVA scienceNOW shows some of the nanoscale structures that scientists are using in the experimental diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer.

Can We Slow Aging?

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.

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Cell Division

In this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium, explore the step-by-step process by which an animal cell divides to make more cells.

Cell Explorer

Explore the parts of a virtual animal cell in this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium. Learn about various cell structures and the roles they play in cell division, cellular respiration, and protein synthesis.

Cell Membrane: Just Passing Through

This interactive feature describes some of the most important structures and functions of the cell membrane.

Cell Transcription and Translation

In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Nebraska, learn how and where transcription and translation occur within a cell and observe both processes in detail.

Cellular Structure and Function

Students explore cell structures, the role of the membrane, and the similarities and differences among specialized cells.

Cow's Eye Dissection

In this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium, watch videos of a cow eye dissection and see how an eye works.

Decision-Maker Bees and the Human Brain

Learn about the similarity between the pattern of communication within a bee colony and neural networks in the human brain, in this video adapted from NOVA scienceNOW.

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Dengue Virus Invades a Cell

In this visualization adapted from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, discover the role that dengue viral proteins play in a human cell as the virus prepares to replicate.

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The Discovery of Penicillin

This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey tells the story of researcher Sir Alexander Fleming, whose luck and scientific reasoning led to the groundbreaking discovery of penicillin.

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Electron Transport Chain

This illustration from Biology by Kenneth R. Miller and Joseph Levine describes the steps of the electron transport chain, the second stage in the process of cellular respiration.

Ethanol Biofuel

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, learn about one scientist's idea for using biotechnology to make ethanol a more efficient alternative to gasoline.

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Exploring Structure and Function in Biological Systems

In this media-rich lesson, students analyze structure and function relationships at different levels of organization in nonbiological systems and then perform a similar analysis using biological systems.

The Expression of Genetic Information

In this media-rich lesson, students explore the preservation and expression of genetic information within the cell. They analyze a short DNA sequence, translate an RNA sequence, and relate a sequence difference to a particular trait.

Gallery of Cells

While all cells have a great deal in common, there is no end to the variation among them. These images provide a sense of the wondrous diversity found in the world of cells.

Gallery of Visual Illusions

Are your eyes playing tricks on you? Discover more about eyesight and the brain as you test your eyes with these visual illusions adapted from the University of Washington's Neuroscience for Kids Web site.

Growing Bacterial Cultures

This animation produced by WGBH and Digizyme, Inc. demonstrates the techniques researchers use to isolate transformed bacteria and expand their population in order to obtain large quantities of a protein of interest.

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How Do Cells Make Proteins?

In this interactive activity from the Exploratorium, explore the steps of protein synthesis in which the cells use genes to make proteins for critical body functions.

How the Body Responds to Exercise

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, follow novice runners as they train for a marathon, and discover how quickly the body responds to regular aerobic exercise.

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Illuminating Photosynthesis

This interactive feature from the NOVA: "Methuselah Tree" Web site details the process of photosynthesis and its role in the oxygen/carbon dioxide cycle.

Immune Cells in Action

In this video segment from The Secret of Life Teaching Modules: "Nothing to Sneeze At: Viruses," watch as a virus attacks a cell, and learn how the immune system reacts to this onslaught.

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Is Lactic Acid a Four Letter Word?

This essay by Patti and Warren Finke describes the process by which our bodies transform food energy into energy that our cells can use.

Krebs Cycle

This illustration from Biology by Kenneth R. Miller and Joseph Levine describes the steps of the Krebs cycle, the critical first stage in the process of cellular respiration.

Looking for Intelligence in the Brain

Meet scientists who are using the latest imaging techniques to search for intelligence in the brain, in this video adapted from NOVA scienceNOW.

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Malaria Treatment and Prevention Strategies

In this video segment adapted from Rx for Survival, watch a graphic representation of the malaria parasite and hear from experts about the physical and economic effects of the disease on the human population, as well as treatments and preventive measures.

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Marathon Mouse

In this lesson from NOVA scienceNOW, students explore how our bodies respond to exercise at the cellular level.

Mitochondria

Often referred to as the powerhouses of the cell, mitochondria provide the energy that powers nearly every cellular process. This essay by John Ross describes in detail the structures and functions of these amazing organelles.

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Mitochondria Functions and Training

This essay by Owen Anderson describes the effects of physical exercise on the number and function of mitochondria inside muscle cells.

Mitochondrial Flyover

This video segment illustrates the three-dimensional structure of a mitochondrion, the organelle that powers nearly every cellular process in your body.

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Mouse Party

In this interactive activity from The University of Utah, examine the molecular mechanisms that affect the brains of mice on drugs. Learn how different drugs create different responses in the brain and alter the natural state of a mouse.

Muscles and Mitochondria

Students learn about the role of mitochondria in a cell's energy production.

Interfering with Fear

Discover how cognitive psychologist Sian Beilock is working to overcome how we experience mental pressure and to maximize our brain’s performance, in this video adapted from NOVA scienceNOW.

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Nucleus, Cytoplasm, Membrane

Explore the form and function of three of the most important cell parts -- the nucleus, cytoplasm, and membrane -- in this video segment adapted from Carolina Biological Supply's An Introduction to the Living Cell.

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The Nuts and Bolts of DNA Replication

In this animation from Secret of Life: "Immortal Thread," watch how DNA unzips and replicates under normal conditions, and how mistakes called mutations are incorporated into genes.

Romiya Glover

In this video from Science City, meet Romiya Glover, a chemist who develops products for HIV/AIDS testing. She describes the multidisciplinary nature of her job, how she decided to go into science, and how her work benefits others.

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Organelles in the Cytoplasm

In this video segment from An Introduction to the Living Cell, explore the inner workings of a cell, including some of its most important organelles.

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Photosynthesis

This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" looks at photosynthesis, the chemical process plants use to make their own food.

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Picky Eaters

In this lesson from NOVA scienceNOW, students take a taste test as they explore the role of genetics in our sense of taste.

Plant Structure and Function

Students learn how the structure of different plant parts relates to their function.

The Potential Health Hazards of Vinyl Siding

Follow one family's investigation into the toxins generated through the production and disposal of vinyl siding, in this video segment adapted from Blue Vinyl.

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The Powerhouse of the Cell

This video segment describes the critical role that mitochondria play in nearly every cellular process in your body.

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Producing Penicillin

In this video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey, follow two scientists and their Nobel Prize-winning efforts to cure bacterial infections using penicillin.

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Protein Purification

This animation produced by WGBH and Digizyme, Inc. demonstrates how a protein of interest is isolated from other contents in a transformed bacterial cell—a process called purification—using a lab technique called hydrophobic interaction chromatography.

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Ruminants

Why do cows chew their cud? This video segment from Secret of Life: "Accidents of Creation" describes the physical adaptations that have made ruminants some of the most important, and certainly the most efficient, plant eaters on earth.

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Secrets in the Salt

This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW describes a team of scientists searching for evidence of ancient life within a salt deposit that formed 250 million years ago.

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Single-Celled Organisms

This video segment explores the astounding diversity of the world's smallest life forms: single-celled organisms.

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Stem Cells and Horses

In this audio report from QUEST produced by KQED, explore how researchers are treating horses so that humans may one day have another option for repairing torn ligaments.

Stem Cells Breakthrough

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, follow the scientific process that led to a revolutionary method for creating stem cells without the use of human embryos.

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The Teenage Brain

Why do teenagers act the way they do? This video segment from FRONTLINE: "Inside the Teenage Brain" explores the work scientists are doing to explain some of the mysteries of teenage behavior.

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Therapeutic Uses of Stem Cells

This interactive activity adapted from the HHMI Outreach Program at Harvard University explores the many potential uses of stem cells to treat and cure disease.

Transforming Bacteria

This animation produced by WGBH and Digizyme, Inc. demonstrates the experimental technique used to introduce DNA plasmids inside bacterial cells, a process called bacterial transformation.

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West Nile Virus Outbreak in NYC

Learn how doctors in both the veterinary and human health fields unraveled the mystery of the deadly West Nile virus outbreak in New York City in this video segment adapted from Rx for Survival.

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What Is a Supertaster?

This video excerpt from NOVA scienceNOW looks at why some people are more sensitive to tastes than other people.

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Where Do You Get Your Energy?

In this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium, explore how our cells harvest energy from food.