Biotechnology:

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Biotechnology

RESOURCE	GRADE LEVEL	MEDIA TYPE
Agarose Gel Demos Watch a "how-to" video on the proper technique of preparing an agarose gel for use in gel electrophoresis in this video segment from Austin Community College. A supplementary video shows the proper technique for pouring an agarose gel.	9-12	Video
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.	9-12	Interactive
Associate Scientist Andres Berrio In this video segment produced for Teachers' Domain, Andres Berrio, an associate scientist at Biogen Idec, discusses what he has done to succeed in the biotechnology field.	9-12	Video
Biotechnology Student Profile Follow a high school student who is exploring the field of biotechnology by taking community college classes and job shadowing in this video segment adapted from Pathways to Technology.	9-12	Video
Careers In Biotechnology This interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain examines several career paths available in the biotechnology field.	8-12	Interactive
Chemist and Biologist Catherine Drennan In this video produced for Teachers' Domain, learn about MIT professor Cathy Drennan's research into microorganisms that remove carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere.	9-12	Video
DNA Extraction This interactive activity adapted from the University of Nebraska's Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary illustrates how DNA, which is normally locked inside of cells, is extracted from living tissue.	9-12	Interactive
DNA Libraries This interactive resource adapted from the Dolan DNA Learning Center explores the different types of DNA libraries used to store and access genetic information.	9-12	Interactive
DNA Separation Lab in the Classroom and in Real-World Research This video produced by WGBH features students in the Amgen-Bruce Wallace Biotechnology Lab Program preparing a recombinant DNA molecule, and examines how this work relates to the way real-life scientists approach similar work.	9-12	Video
DNA Sequencing This interactive activity adapted from the Dolan DNA Learning Center looks at two techniques used to sequence DNA: the Sanger method and an automated process based on the Sanger method.	9-12	Interactive
Electrophoresis and Gel Analysis In this animation produced by WGBH and Digizyme, Inc., see how molecules of DNA are separated using gel electrophoresis, and how this process enables scientists to compare the molecular variations of two or more DNA samples.	9-12	Video
Engineering Biofuels In this video segment adapted from KQED's QUEST, find out how synthetic biologists use the techniques of metabolic engineering and directed evolution to make more effective biofuels.	9-12	Video
Epigenetics In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn how what you eat, drink, or smoke may affect the instructions your epigenomes send to your genes, and as a result, change how your DNA is expressed.	9-12	Video
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.	9-12	Video
Gene Cloning This interactive activity adapted from the University of Nebraska's Library of Crop Technologies details the steps involved in producing clones of genes that can then be used to transform the characteristics of an organism.	9-12	Interactive
Genetically Engineering the Avian Flu In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about a radical biotechnology experiment aimed at figuring out how to stop the avian flu virus.	9-12	Video
Genetic Engineering and Working with DNA In this animation produced by WGBH and Digizyme, Inc., see how bacterial plasmids are engineered to clone or express genes that code for proteins such as human insulin.	9-12	Video
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.	9-12	Video
Killer Microbe Learn how biotechnology is used to analyze the evolution of a formerly harmless bacterium into a highly drug-resistant and lethal pathogen in this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW.	9-12	Video
Longevity Genes What is the secret to a long life? Hear from scientists using biotechnology to analyze relationships between specific genes and longevity in this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW.	9-12	Video
Making an Agarose Gel This video adapted from the University of Leicester demonstrates the step-by-step process of making and pouring an agarose gel, a key component in gel electrophoresis.	9-12	Video
Personal DNA Testing In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, take a behind-the-scenes look at the process of personal DNA testing, and hear more about the innovative Personal Genome Project.	9-12	Video
Pipetting Demos Watch two "how-to" videos on the proper technique of pipetting in this video segment from Austin Community College.	9-12	Video
Polymerase Chain Reaction This interactive activity adapted from the University of Nebraska's Library of Crop Technologies depicts steps in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique and explains how it is used to efficiently copy sections of DNA for analysis.	9-12	Interactive
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.	9-12	Video
Protein Purification Lab in the Classroom and in Real-World Research This video produced by WGBH features students in the Amgen-Bruce Wallace Biotechnology Lab Program purifying a protein, and also examines the motivations people have for choosing a career in science.	9-12	Video
Quality Control Microbiologist In this video produced for Teachers' Domain, go behind the scenes with a quality control microbiologist and find out why this job is so important to drug manufacturing.	9-12	Video
Recombinant DNA Lab in the Classroom and in Real-World Research This video produced by WGBH features students in the Amgen-Bruce Wallace Biotechnology Lab Program inserting a recombinant DNA molecule into bacterial cells, and illustrates how industry and academic scientists use the exact same techniques.	9-12	Video
Research Assistant Sandra Bustamante In this video produced for Teachers' Domain, meet Sandra Bustamante, a university research assistant who started her career with a biotechnology certificate and is now using nanotechnology—rather than needles—to deliver vaccines.	9-12	Video
Reverse Evolution Machine In this video adapted from KQED's QUEST, learn how scientist David Haussler is using biotechnology to reconstruct ancient genomes in an effort to find out how animals have evolved over time.	9-12	Video
Running an Agarose Gel This video adapted from the University of Leicester provides step-by-step instructions for loading samples into an agarose gel and then running the gel to separate DNA molecules according to their size.	9-12	Video
The Structure of DNA This animation adapted from Garland Science Publishing takes a close look at the DNA double helix and its individual components, describing their chemical structures and how they function together to make the DNA molecule unique.	9-12	Video
Synthetic Biologist Karmella Haynes In this video produced for Teachers' Domain, meet researcher Karmella Haynes, a synthetic biologist who is using biotechnology to create living "devices" that help visualize how cancer develops.	9-12	Video
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.	8-12	Interactive
Tissue Engineering In this video segment from Design Squad, see where medical science meets tissue engineering in an implantable device designed to help people suffering from liver disease.	9-12	Video
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.	9-12	Video
Using a Micropipette This video adapted from the University of Leicester demonstrates the proper use of different-sized micropipettes to measure precise volumes of liquid in the lab.	9-12	Video
Using Biotechnology to Detect and Treat Disease In this media-rich lesson, students learn how biotechnology's techniques and tools are being used to help identify and fight disease, and examine the ethical and privacy issues associated with genetic testing.	9-12	Lesson Plan
Working with Small Volumes This video from BenchFly.com demonstrates a lab technique that can be helpful when pipetting very small volumes of liquid.	9-12	Video