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Life Science

Genetics

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Bt Corn

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

Video

Build a Family Tree

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

Interactive

Can We Slow Aging?

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. OER Level

9-12

Video

Classical vs. Transgenic Breeding

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

Video

The Costs and Benefits of Treating Gene Defects

The Costs and Benefits of Treating Gene Defects

In this video excerpt from NOVA, find out how whole genome sequencing saved the life of Alexis, a fraternal twin who was originally diagnosed with cerebral palsy but, in fact, had an even rarer genetic condition. OER Level

9-12

Video

Create a DNA Fingerprint

Create a DNA Fingerprint

Learn DNA profiling, the technique police use to catch the guilty and free the innocent. From NOVA: "The Killer's Trail" Web site. OER Level

6-12

Interactive

Deadly Letters: The Anthrax Mystery

Deadly Letters: The Anthrax Mystery

In this media rich lesson plan from NOVA scienceNOW, student teams investigate a fictional anthrax case by modeling DNA sequencing and tracking down the guilty lab.

9-12

Lesson Plan

Engineer a Crop: Transgenic Manipulation

Engineer a Crop: Transgenic Manipulation

You're the geneticist now. In this interactive feature from the NOVA/FRONTLINE "Harvest of Fear" Web site, use the latest in genetic technology to engineer your own "supercrop" of tomatoes.

9-12

Interactive

The Ethical Considerations of Personal Genomics

The Ethical Considerations of Personal Genomics

In this media-rich lesson, students explore some of the ethical, legal, and social issues related to personal genetic testing and genome sequencing.

9-12

Lesson Plan

The Ethics of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

The Ethics of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

In this video excerpt from NOVA, learn about the advantages, disadvantages, and ethical implications of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, a technique used to screen embryos created through in vitro fertilization for diseases. OER Level

9-12

Video

Explore a Stretch of Code

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

Interactive

Extracting Mummy DNA

Extracting Mummy DNA

This video segment adapted from NOVA explains how a DNA sample is taken from a 5,000-year-old mummy and what we can learn from it. OER Level

6-12

Video

A Family Disease

A Family Disease

This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" explores the implications of genetic testing for breast cancer.

9-12

Video

Finding Cures Is Hard

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

Video

Finding Disease Genes

Finding Disease Genes

This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" explains the process of finding genes that cause disease.

9-12

Video

Forensic DNA Analysis

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. OER Level

9-12

Video

Forensics

Forensics

Find out how DNA profilers analyze bits of tissue to identify human remains. From NOVA: "Lost on Everest" Web site.

9-12

Document

From the Cystic Fibrosis Gene to a Drug

From the Cystic Fibrosis Gene to a Drug

In this video excerpt from NOVA, find out how the discovery of a gene defect has led to the development of a new drug to treat patients with cystic fibrosis. OER Level

9-12

Video

Geneticist Pardis Sabeti

Geneticist Pardis Sabeti

In this video profile adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about geneticist and rock musician Pardis Sabeti, whose innovative insights into natural selection demonstrated how beneficial mutations spread quickly through a population. OER Level

6-12

Video

Genetic Modification

Genetic Modification

This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" looks at the potential created by understanding the human genome.

9-12

Video

Genetics Case Studies

Genetics Case Studies

Wrestle with ethical issues concerning genetic rights and practices from the NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site.

9-12

Document

Genetic Variation

Genetic Variation

This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" explores the genetic similarities and differences among organisms.

9-12

Video

Genome Facts

Genome Facts

This list from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site provides some of the basic, yet impressive, facts and figures about the Human Genome Project.

9-12

Document

Guess What's Coming to Dinner?

Guess What's Coming to Dinner?

Browse through a table full of genetically modified (GM) foods to see what's available now and what's to come. From the FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" Web site.

9-12

Interactive

HIV Immunity

HIV Immunity

Although repeatedly exposed to HIV, Steve Crohn's blood cells were never infected. Dr. David Ho investigates in this video segment from NOVA: "Surviving AIDS."

9-12

Video

How Cancer Cells Grow and Divide

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. OER Level

6-12

Video

How Cancer Grows

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

Interactive

How Cells Divide: Mitosis vs. Meiosis

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

Interactive

Human Chromosome 2

Human Chromosome 2

In this video segment adapted from NOVA: "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial," learn how modern genetics and molecular biology offer compelling support for evolution. The video features an interview with biologist Ken Miller. OER Level

6-12

Video

Human Genome Project

Human Genome Project

This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" looks at the meaning and significance of the effort to decode the human genome. OER Level

6-12

Video

Journey into DNA

Journey into DNA

Travel deep into the human body to see exactly where your DNA resides. From the NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site.

6-12

Interactive

Marathon Mouse

Marathon Mouse

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

9-12

Lesson Plan

Migration of the Monarch

Migration of the Monarch

This video segment from NOVA: "The Mystery of Animal Pathfinders" explores the migratorial exploits of monarch butterflies. OER Level

3-8

Video

Nature vs. Nurture Revisited

Nature vs. Nurture Revisited

Which dictates our existence -- our genetic makeup or the environment we grow up in? Kevin Davies offers an update on this long-standing debate, from the NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" Web site.

9-12

Document

One Wrong Letter

One Wrong Letter

This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" describes the genetics of Tay-Sachs disease.

6-12

Video

On Human Cloning

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

Document

Picky Eaters

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.

9-12

Lesson Plan

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

This video segment from NOVA: "18 Ways to Make a Baby" describes a technique used to determine the health of a developing embryo.

9-12

Video

The Process of Scientific Experimentation

The Process of Scientific Experimentation

Students expand their understanding of the "scientific method" of experimentation by watching video accounts of actual scientific research and exploring the factors involved in real scientific processes.

9-12

Lesson Plan

The Promise and Perils of Genetic Technologies

The Promise and Perils of Genetic Technologies

In this media-rich, self-paced lesson, students explore some of the technologies designed to detect and treat inherited diseases and the ethical debate surrounding them.

9-12

Self-paced Lesson

The Reproductive Role of Flowers

The Reproductive Role of Flowers

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, learn about the critical role of flowers in seed plant reproductive biology. OER Level

6-12

Video

Risky Genetics

Risky Genetics

In this lesson from NOVA scienceNOW, students explore genetic testing for specific diseases, and consider the pros and cons of discovering a person's genotype for a particular disease.

9-12

Lesson Plan

RNAi Discovered

RNAi Discovered

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn how RNAi, a mechanism that has evolved in cells to prevent viral infection, was discovered and how it works. OER Level

9-12

Video

RNAi Therapy

RNAi Therapy

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about RNAi's potential to treat a wide range of genetic and infectious diseases. OER Level

9-12

Video

The Role of Genetics in Obesity

The Role of Genetics in Obesity

In this video segment from NOVA scienceNOW, meet researchers who are studying obesity and trying to understand the role that hormones and genetics can play in regulating appetite. OER Level

6-12

Video

Scent of an Alewife

Scent of an Alewife

This video segment from NOVA: "Sea Behind the Dunes" tracks the return of spawning alewife fish from the open ocean back to the freshwater streams and ponds where they were born.

3-8

Video

Seeing Through Camouflage

Seeing Through Camouflage

This interactive feature from the NOVA "Leopards" Web site presents a wide variety of ways in which animals use coloration to their advantage.

6-8

Interactive

Sequence for Yourself

Sequence for Yourself

How do researchers read the tiny As, Gs, Ts, and Cs that comprise DNA? This step-by-step explanation shows you. From NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life."

9-12

Interactive

The Sequencing Race Begins

The Sequencing Race Begins

This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" looks at one of the key players in the race to decode the human genome.

9-12

Video

Should We Grow GM Crops?

Should We Grow GM Crops?

Learn the pros and cons of genetically modified (GM) crops, and cast your vote on whether they should be grown. From the FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" Web site.

9-12

Interactive

Should We Screen for Cancer Genes?

Should We Screen for Cancer Genes?

In this video excerpt from NOVA, learn about the advantages, disadvantages, and ethical implications of screening for genes associated with diseases, including those linked to breast and ovarian cancers. OER Level

9-12

Video

Stem Cell Debate

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

Document

Stem Cells Breakthrough

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. OER Level

9-12

Video

Super Salmon

Super Salmon

This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" explores genetic modification of salmon and possible consequences. OER Level

9-12

Video

Switching Genes On and Off

Switching Genes On and Off

This video segment adapted from NOVA reveals how "junk" DNA helped solve an evolutionary mystery: Why do certain species of fruit flies have wing spots while others don't? OER Level

8-12

Video

T. Rex Blood?

T. Rex Blood?

Learn about the surprising finding of preserved soft tissue in dinosaur fossils—including possible blood vessels and red blood cells—in this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW. OER Level

6-12

Video

Viewpoints: Harvest of Fear

Viewpoints: Harvest of Fear

What do the experts say about genetically modified (GM) foods? Read these interview excerpts from the FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" Web site to find out.

9-12

Document

Who Owns the Genome?

Who Owns the Genome?

This video segment from NOVA: "Cracking the Code of Life" examines the social and ethical implications of genome research.

9-12

Video