Topic: Introductory Biology

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Resource	Grade Level	Media Type
1900 Air Pollution Examine this graph from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "What's Up with the Weather?" Web site to see dramatic increases in three greenhouse gases over the last two hundred years.	9-12	HTML Document
Advances in Neurotechnology In this video segment from Greater Boston, learn how a man with severe motor disabilities can operate a computer and move a prosthetic hand by simply thinking the commands, thanks to the combined efforts of bioengineers and neuroscientists.	6-12	QuickTime Video
The Advantage of Sex Why did sex evolve? The likely answers, in this essay for the Evolution Web site by science journalist Matt Ridley, may surprise you.	9-12	HTML Document
All in the Family In this Evolution Web feature, test your skills at judging who's who on the tree of life while you learn about the tools and methods of cladistics.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Allopatric Speciation These images from the Smithsonian Institution depict Nancy Knowlton's work with snapping shrimp in Panama. Knowlton found that the closing of the isthmus -- dividing the Pacific Ocean from the Caribbean -- resulted in new species of shrimp.	9-12	JPEG Image
Alzheimer's Disease This video segment from the Secret of Life School Video: "Genetic Medicine: Tinkering with Our Genes" explores the potential for gene therapy to cure diseases like Alzheimer's.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Ancient Farmers of the Amazon This video segment from Evolution: "Evolutionary Arms Race" tells the story of the leafcutter ant and the fungus it farms -- an example of mutually beneficial symbiosis.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Animal Body Plans: Homeobox Genes The homeobox genes that define the basic body plan of mice and fruit flies are illustrated in this graphic from The Human Evolution Coloring Book by Adrienne Zihlman. The accompanying article describes how these genes act as "molecular architects" in all animal species.	9-12	PDF Document
Arctic Tundra This video segment from Wild Europe: "Wild Arctic" explores the struggle for survival in one of Earth's most extreme environments.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Biological Invaders This video segment from Evolution: "Extinction!" shows the impact of invasive species on native ecosystems.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Biomes This interactive resource adapted from NASA describes the different temperature, precipitation, and vegetation patterns in seven biomes: coniferous forest, temperate deciduous forest, desert, grassland, rainforest, shrubland, and tundra.	3-12	Flash Interactive
Blood Flow and Thermoregulation In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta, learn about the ways your body can regulate its temperature.	7-12	Flash Interactive
Blood Vessels Help Tumors Grow In this video segment, adapted from NOVA, Dr. Judah Folkman uses the scientific method to discover how cancer cells induce the formation of new blood vessels, which in turn nourish those cancer cells.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Bt Corn This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" looks at corn that has been genetically modified to resist one insect pest, and the multiple concerns it raises.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Build a Family Tree Both sexes can use this interactive feature that lets you use DNA information from the Y chromosome to complete a male family tree. From the NOVA: "Lost Tribes of Israel" Web site.	9-12	Shockwave Interactive
Carnivorous Plants In this video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, learn about carnivorous plants that act as both producers and consumers in an ecosystem. See sundews and blatterworts capture and digest insects.	K-12	QuickTime Video
Caves: Extreme Conditions for Life This video segment adapted from NOVA raises the provocative idea that if life can exist in the most extreme environments on Earth — such as in dark, toxic caves — then perhaps living things can also survive in harsh environments on other planets.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Cell Differentiation In this video segment from The Secret of Life school video, "Sex and the Single Gene" follow as a single fertilized egg cell divides, differentiates, and assembles into the tissues and organs of a new organism.	6-12	QuickTime Video
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.	7-10	Flash Interactive
Cell Membrane: Just Passing Through This interactive feature describes some of the most important structures and functions of the cell membrane.	6-12	Flash Interactive
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.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Changing Arctic Landscape In this video adapted from the Artic Athabaskan Council, learn how warmer temperatures in the Arctic are transforming the landscape, triggering a host of effects such as permafrost thawing and insect infestations.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Chris Schneider: Rethinking Conservation In this interview filmed for Evolution: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea," biologist Chris Schneider discusses the relationship between conservation and speciation.	9-12	HTML Document
Chromosome Viewer This interactive feature provides a microscopic view of the 24 Human chromosomes. Each chromosome is labeled with the names of some of the genetic conditions and traits associated with particular regions on that chromosome.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Classical vs. Transgenic Breeding This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" explains that genetic engineering and classical breeding both alter the genetic makeup of crop plants.	9-12	QuickTime Video
The Common Genetic Code Paul Nurse describes his research that showed that humans share some genes with organisms as different from us as simple brewer's yeast. Footage from Secret of Life: "Immortal Thread."	9-12	QuickTime Video
Compare the Poles Explore the defining features of the Arctic and the Antarctic in this interactive activity adapted from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.	3-12	Flash Interactive
Complex Relations In this text excerpted from chapter 3, "Struggle for Existence," of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, Darwin draws on firsthand and historical information for his observations about evolution.	9-12	HTML Document
Contaminants in the Arctic Food Chain The levels of contaminants found in particular animals vary widely depending on where they fit into the Arctic food chain, as described in this video segment adapted from LOKE Films and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme.	5-12	QuickTime Video
Contaminants in the Arctic Human Population In this video segment adapted from LOKE Films and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, learn how human populations in the Arctic are affected by industrial contaminants in the food chain.	5-12	QuickTime Video
Continental Divide: The Breakup of Pangaea Examine geological evidence found in fossils, rock deposits, and ancient mountains that supports the theory of continental drift in this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium.	6-12	Flash Interactive
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.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Dance of Development Watch the "dance" of development as a zebrafish egg divides and differentiates on its way to becoming an embryo in this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Darwin: Reluctant Rebel This video segment from Evolution: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea," together with interviews with Daniel Dennett and James Moore, depicts Darwin struggling with publicizing his revolutionary theory.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Darwin's Diary Delve into the private thoughts of a reluctant revolutionary in this Evolution Web feature.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Darwin's Letters: Collecting Evidence This group of letters is a sample of the extensive correspondence Darwin carried on with a wide group of friends and colleagues as he collected evidence to support his theory of evolution by natural selection. From Charles Darwin's Letters: A Selection 1825-1859.	9-12	HTML Document
Darwin's Letters to Lyell In this letter written to his friend and mentor Charles Lyell less than three weeks after the publication of On the Origin of Species, Darwin describes the reaction of the great anatomist Richard Owen to his theory. From Charles Darwin's Letters: A Selection 1825-1859.	9-12	HTML Document
Deep Sea Vents and Life's Origins Deep-sea vents are home to strange, luminescent life forms that thrive through chemosynthesis. This video segment from NOVA: "Volcanoes of the Deep" hypothesizes life's beginnings in this extreme environment.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Deep Time Explore 4 billion years of life on Earth and discover major transformations, geological changes, and extinction episodes in this Evolution Web feature.	6-12	Flash Interactive
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.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Desert Biome This video segment from NOVA: "A Desert Place" describes the physical characteristics and organisms that define the desert biome.	3-12	QuickTime Video
DNA Databases This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" investigates the promises and concerns surrounding the use of DNA databases.	9-12	QuickTime Video
DNA Evidence This audio segment is a National Public Radio story on New York State's DNA profiling of criminals.	9-12	QuickTime Audio
DNA Fingerprint Photos These photographs supplied by Genelex Corporation depict actual DNA fingerprints and show the types of information that can be gleaned from them.	9-12	PDF Document
DNA Makes History Read how DNA was used to solve the mystery of the Romanov family's execution. From Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications by Ricki Lewis.	9-12	PDF Document
DNA on the Witness Stand In this article, Dr. Eric Lander of the Human Genome Project comments on the use of DNA as an identification tool -- the theoretical versus the practical results.	9-12	PDF Document
DNA Workshop How does DNA perform those all-important functions of replication and protein synthesis? This interactive feature from the A Science Odyssey Web site will help you explore and understand the secrets of DNA.	9-12	Shockwave Interactive
Double Immunity Dr. Stephen O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute discovers a 700-year-old mutation that makes a person resistant to HIV infection. From Evolution: "Evolutionary Arms Race."	9-12	QuickTime Video
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.	9-12	JPEG Image
The Embryo Takes Shape This video segment from NOVA: "Life's Greatest Miracle" explores the developmental process of an embryo beginning just two weeks after fertilization.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Energy Flow in the Coral Reef Ecosystem This video segment, adapted from NOVA, describes the energy flow in a coral reef, including its food web.	3-12	QuickTime Video
E. O. Wilson: Ants and Ecosystems This segment is from an interview with ant specialist and biologist E.O. Wilson, filmed for Evolution: "Evolutionary Arms Race."	9-12	QuickTime Audio
Evolution of the Eye Zoologist Dan-Erik Nilsson demonstrates how the complex human eye could have evolved from simple light-sensitive cells. From Evolution: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea."	9-12	QuickTime Video
Evolution on Double Time This excerpt from Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea by Carl Zimmer describes how gene duplication may have been the key to the rapid evolution of the early stages of life on Earth.	9-12	HTML Document
Evolution Revolution From the Evolution Web site, explore the rise of a revolutionary idea and the controversies that surround it.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Evolving Ideas: Did Humans Evolve? This video from Evolution explores the evolution of humans from a common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, and other apes.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Evolving Ideas: How Does Evolution Really Work? The process of evolution through natural selection is the focus of this video segment from Evolution, which presents a field study of hummingbird speciation in Ecuador.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Evolving Ideas: How Do We Know Evolution Happens? This video from Evolution focuses on one of the several lines of evidence for evolution -- fossils, highlighting the evolution of whales from land-dwelling mammals to the aquatic creatures we know today.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Evolving Ideas: Who Was Charles Darwin? This video from Evolution highlights Charles Darwin's personal struggle to bring to light his theory of evolution through natural selection.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Evolving Ideas: Why Does Evolution Matter Now? In this video from Evolution, an exploration of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in the Russian prison system highlights one reason it is important to understand evolution.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Explore a Stretch of Code Try your hand at reading a segment of genetic code in this interactive feature from the NOVA "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site.	9-12	Shockwave Interactive
A Family Disease This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" explores the implications of genetic testing for breast cancer.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Finch Beak Data Sheet This graphic from Ecology and Evolution of Darwin's Finches by Peter Grant presents data from the Galapagos Islands, showing that a severe drought put selective pressure on the population of Darwin's finches and resulted in a change in the average beak size in the next generation.	9-12	PDF Document
Finding Cures Is Hard This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" explains the difficulty of curing genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Finding Disease Genes This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" explains the process of finding genes that cause disease.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Finding Lucy This Evolution video segment depicts the landmark hominid fossil finds by Don Johanson and his team in Ethiopia.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Fish with Fingers In this video segment from Evolution: "Great Transformations," paleontologist Jenny Clack explains that vertebrates evolved fingers before they invaded land.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Floral Arrangements Explore a few of the ways plants pollinate each other in this video segment from Sexual Encounters of a Floral Kind.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Forensic DNA Analysis This video segment from NOVA: "The Killer's Trail" investigates the potential for DNA evidence to solve murder cases, even those from the distant past.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Fossils Fossils are indicators of past life. This collection of still images produced for Teachers' Domain features examples of fossils from plants, animals, and insects.	3-12	Flash Image
From DNA to Protein This narrated animation schematically shows the process of protein synthesis. Adapted from Interactive NOVA: "Secret of Life."	9-12	QuickTime Video
Frozen Frogs This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW shows how the common wood frog freezes solid every winter, an adaptation that allows the organism to survive the cold winter.	6-12	QuickTime Video
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.	9-12	JPEG Image
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.	5-12	Flash Interactive
Gel Electrophoresis This interactive activity from the Dolan DNA Learning Center illustrates the process of gel electrophoresis, in which DNA fragments are separated by size as they migrate at different rates through a gel matrix.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Gene Control The development of creatures that appear to have nothing in common is directed by a surprisingly small number of genes. In this video segment, learn about the power of master control genes. Footage from The Secret of Life: "Birth, Sex & Death."	6-12	QuickTime Video
Genetic Art Take a peek at the artistic side of science in this virtual exhibit, featuring work by Eva Sutton, Alexis Rockman and Sidney Harris.	9-12	PDF Document
Genetic Drift and the Founder Effect This image of polydactyly illustrates one symptom of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, which is commonl

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Topic: Introductory Biology