All Systems Are Go
Test your knowledge of the digestive, respiratory, and other human body systems in this interactive game from Kinetic City. Race the clock to put Arnold's organs back into his body one system at a time.
|
5-8 |
Flash Interactive
|
Amazing Heart Facts
This feature from the NOVA "Cut to the Heart" Web site highlights facts about the heart -- including its size and placement -- and will help you to understand the importance of this wondrous organ in our bodies.
|
6-8 |
HTML Document
|
Anglerfish
This video segment from NOVA: "Animal Imposters" shows the lightning-fast strike of the anglerfish.
|
6-8 |
QuickTime Video
|
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?
|
9-12 |
JPEG Image
|
Animal Coverings
It takes a thick skin to withstand the hardships that life has to offer. This collection of images shows a variety of animals, each with a slightly different type of protective covering.
|
K-5 |
JPEG Image
|
Animal Hearing
This video segment discusses the physical adaptations that give several nocturnal animals a heightened sense of hearing. Footage from NOVA: "Mystery of the Senses: Hearing."
|
3-8 |
QuickTime Video
|
Animal Mouths
This collection of images of six different creatures, including insects and carnivorous vertebrates, illustrates the wide range of mouth types that exist within the animal kingdom.
|
K-8 |
JPEG Image
|
Animal Mouth Structures
Students observe several animals' mouth structures and explore
how these structures help the animal obtain, handle, and eat food.
|
3-5 |
Lesson Plan
|
Biome in a Baggie
This ZOOMSci video segment shows how to create self-contained environments and explore how plants grow under different conditions.
|
K-8 |
QuickTime Video
|
Bird Beak Gallery
This collection of images of 10 different birds illustrates the diversity of bird beaks.
|
K-8 |
Flash Image
|
Bird Food
There are almost as many types of bird beaks as there are types of food that birds like to eat. This collection of images shows a wide range of beaks and the types of foods handled by each.
|
K-8 |
Flash Image
|
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
|
Body Breakdowns
This interactive feature from the NOVA "Surviving Denali" Web site details the variety of ways the body can fail while climbing a high-altitude peak.
|
6-8 |
HTML Interactive
|
Brain Geography
Which part of your brain controls your ability to swallow? Your instinct to survive? And how do all the brain's parts function cooperatively? Find out with this interactive feature from the NOVA: "Coma" Web site.
|
6-8 |
HTML Interactive
|
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 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.
|
7-12 |
Flash Interactive
|
|
6-12 |
Flash Interactive
|
|
|
9-12 |
Lesson Plan
|
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
|
Cellular Service
The goal of this interactive game is to keep a group of target cells healthy by using blood to deliver and take away various substances to and from the cells.
|
6-8 |
Flash Interactive
|
|
|
9-12 |
Lesson Plan
|
The Circulatory System
Students explore the interrelationship of structure and function in the circulatory system.
|
6-8 |
Lesson Plan
|
Colorful Creatures
For animals, bright, flashy coloration can serve as a warning or as an invitation. Either way, colorful skin, feathers, and scales yell, "Notice me!" This collection of images shows examples of some of the world's most colorful creatures.
|
K-5 |
JPEG Image
|
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
|
Deep-Sea Bestiary
This document from the NOVA: "Into the Abyss" Web site describes the physical and behavioral traits of some of the least-known and most unlikely creatures on earth.
|
6-8 |
HTML Document
|
Dengue Virus Visualization
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
|
|
|
6-8 |
PDF Document
|
Duck Development
This video segment from NOVA: "The Shape of Things" follows the growth of a duck embryo, from a single fertilized egg cell to a complex, hatching duckling.
|
6-8 |
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
|
Evolution of Camouflage
This video segment from Evolution: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" illustrates the remarkable camouflage of a praying mantis against its leafy backdrop.
|
3-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
|
|
9-12 |
Lesson Plan
|
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.
|
9-12 |
Lesson Plan
|
Fighting Back
Help the immune system fight off an infection in this interactive feature from the NOVA: "Surviving AIDS" Web site.
|
6-8 |
Shockwave Interactive
|
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
|
From the Heart
This video segment describes the basics of the circulatory system: how the heart pumps the blood that carries oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.
|
6-8 |
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
|
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 Tool Kit
The shared set of genes for body segments, possessed by all animals, are discussed in this video segment from Evolution: "Great Transformations."
|
6-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Germinator
This ZOOMSci video segment teaches you how to germinate seeds in a plastic bag and helps you understand some of the factors that influence the germination process.
|
K-8 |
QuickTime Video
|
The Science Behind Appetite
This video segment, adapted from NOVA, tells the story of a ballerina battling anorexia. It explains how serotonin regulates appetite, and presents some of the health risks that accompany the eating disorder.
|
5-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
How Cancer Cells Grow and Divide
This animation from NOVA: "Battle in the War on Cancer: Breast Cancer" describes how oncogenes cause cancer and how cancerous cells can spread throughout the body.
|
6-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
How Cancer Grows
Follow the growth of a carcinoma from initial mutation to widespread metastasis in this feature from the NOVA: "Cancer Warrior" Web site.
|
6-12 |
Flash Interactive
|
How Cells Divide: Mitosis vs. Meiosis
How exactly does meiosis mix and halve chromosomes? Find out through this feature from NOVA: "18 Ways to Make a Baby," which provides a step-by-step, side-by-side comparison of meiosis and mitosis.
|
6-12 |
Flash Interactive
|
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.
|
7-10 |
Flash Interactive
|
How the Woodpecker Avoids a Headache
This diagram from Rainbird Publishing describes the specialized physical characteristics that allow woodpeckers to create some of the most secure nests in the bird world.
|
6-8 |
GIF Image
|
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.
|
3-12 |
Flash Interactive
|
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.
|
6-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Inside a Seed
This image from Biology by Kenneth R. Miller and Joseph Levine illustrates the five most important parts of a seed: the seed coat, the endosperm, and the embryo's primary root, cotyledon, and embryonic leaves.
|
6-8 |
JPEG Image
|
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.
|
9-12 |
PDF Document
|
Jaws and Teeth of Mammals
This image from Biology by Kenneth R. Miller and Joseph Levine illustrates the relationship between structure and function by comparing the jaws and teeth of two animals with very different ways of life: the wolf and the horse.
|
6-8 |
JPEG Image
|
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.
|
9-12 |
JPEG Image
|
Life Before Oxygen
This Interactive NOVA: "Earth" video segment looks at ancient organisms that lived anaerobically, the origins of photosynthesis, and the new forms of life this process made possible.
|
3-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Life Cycle of a Seed Plant
In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta, learn about each step in the life cycle of a seed plant.
|
6-12 |
Flash Interactive
|
Life of a Tree
In this interactive activity adapted from the National Arbor Day Foundation, take a sixty-two-year journey observing the inner layers, rings, and environmental factors that affect a tree's growth and life cycle.
|
6-12 |
Flash Interactive
|
Living vs. Nonliving
Students explore the chracteristics that distinguish living from nonliving things.
|
K-5 |
Lesson Plan
|
Map of the Human Heart
See how the human heart moves blood through the body in this animated feature from the NOVA: "Cut to the Heart" Web site.
|
K-8 |
HTML Document
|
Masters of Disguise
In the face of danger, what's a spineless animal to do? This video segment introduces the concept of camouflage -- how animals achieve it and how this form of disguise benefits both predators and prey.
Footage from NOVA: "Animal Impostors."
|
K-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
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.
|
9-12 |
PDF Document
|
|
|
9-12 |
PDF Document
|
Mitochondrial Flyover
This video segment illustrates the three-dimensional structure of a mitochondrion, the organelle that powers nearly every cellular process in your body.
|
9-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Mitosis
This video segment, adapted from the Interactive Secret of Life videodisc, explains the stages of mitosis, the process of dividing equally a cell's massive jumble of DNA just prior to cell division.
|
6-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
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.
|
9-12 |
Flash Interactive
|
Mouthparts and Digestion
Students discover how the structure of an animal's mouthparts and digestive
system gives clues to what the animal eats.
|
6-8 |
Lesson Plan
|
|
|
9-12 |
Lesson Plan
|
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.
|
9-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
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.
|
6-12 |
MPEG 4 Video
|
On Human Cloning
Three cloning experts share their opinions in these interviews from the NOVA "18 Ways to Make a Baby." Web site.
|
9-12 |
HTML Document
|
OPERATION: Heart Transplant
Perform a virtual heart transplant in 19 easy steps with this interactive feature from the NOVA: "Electric Heart" Web site.
|
6-8 |
Shockwave Interactive
|
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.
|
9-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Photosynthesis
This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" looks at photosynthesis, the chemical process plants use to make their own food.
|
3-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Plants-in-Motion
While we tend to think of plants as stationary, they are in constant, though very slow motion, as they respond to environmental factors. Watch plants move in time-lapse videos in this interactive activity adapted from Indiana University.
|
K-12 |
Flash Interactive
|
|
|
6-8 |
Lesson Plan
|
The Powerhouse of the Cell
This video segment describes the critical role that mitochondria play in nearly every cellular process in your body.
|
9-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
|
|
6-8 |
PDF Document
|
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.
|
6-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Scientific Processes
In this interactive activity adapted from NOVA, expand your understanding of the scientific process. Watch two videos featuring animations and interviews with scientists, and notice how the processes unfold and vary from one investigation to the other.
|
9-12 |
Flash Interactive
|
Seeds Away
This collection of images shows several types of plant seeds, each with a different mechanism for dispersing from the parent plant.
|
6-8 |
JPEG Image
|
Shape of Things: Trees
This video segment from NOVA: "The Shape of Things" describes the pervasiveness of branching systems, which are found in all multicellular organisms.
|
6-8 |
QuickTime Video
|
Single-Celled Organisms
This video segment explores the astounding diversity of the world's smallest life forms: single-celled organisms.
|
6-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Sock Seeds
In this ZOOMSci experiment, you're invited to walk through a grassy or weedy field in your stocking feet, then plant a sock and see what grows.
|
K-8 |
QuickTime Video
|
Stem Cell Debate
This essay from the NOVA "Life's Greatest Miracle" Web site explores the debate over the use of embryonic stem cells in scientific research.
|
9-12 |
HTML Document
|
Stem Cell Research
Students learn how cell specialization takes place in vertebrate embryos, and analyze the different points of view in the stem cell debate.
|
9-12 |
Lesson Plan
|
Stem Cells: Seeds of Hope?
This video explores the basic scientific and ethical questions surrounding the use of stem cells in medical research.
|
9-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
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.
|
6-8 |
QuickTime Video
|
Unhinged!
This video segment explores the integral relationship between structure and function in snakes.
|
6-8 |
QuickTime Video
|
Whale and Human Ears
What do whale ears look like? You might be surprised! These two versions of this diagram -- one with the anatomical parts labeled and one that students can label themselves -- compare the anatomy of a whale ear to that of a human ear. From Marine Biology: Environment, Diversity, and Ecology by David Lerman
|
3-5 |
PDF Document
|
|
7-10 |
Flash Interactive
|
