This introductory course in "Modern Biology" covers topics found in the fields of cellular biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics. It does not cover organismal biology or taxonomy. This course is a requirement for biology majors at Carnegie Mellon University. The course is carefully planned to provide the background biology students will need for advanced biology classes. Non-biology majors will also find this course useful as it explains many of the concepts and techniques currently discussed in the popular press. Plans for a complete on-line Biology course are under development. This Modern Biology course is built around six Key Concepts that provide unifying explanations for how and why structures are formed and processes occur throughout your study of biology. Because it is not possible to cover the breadth of modern molecular biology in one semester, an understanding of these Key Concepts will provide a basis for extension of your knowledge to biological systems beyond the specifics covered in this course. One of the major goals of the course therefore is for you to not only learn the definitions of the concepts but also learn to recognize when they are operating the process being studied. The Key Concepts are: Bioselectivity, Energy, Equilibrium, Ionic State, Rate Control, Solubility.

A brief overview of research in Jean-Claude Bradley's laboratory at Drexel University, including the synthesis of anti-malarial compounds and some screen shots of the Open Notebook Science project UsefulChem.

This collection of videos, animations and documents comes from the NCSSM AP chemistry online course. Chapter fourteen provides practice and demonstrations related to gas phase, solubility, and complex ion equilibria in chemistry.

This lesson focuses on how food packages are designed and made. Students will learn three of the main functions of a food package. They will learn what is necessary of the design and materials of a package to keep food clean, protect or aid in the physical and chemical changes that can take place in a food, and identify a food appealingly. Then, in the associated activity, the students will have the opportunity to become packaging engineers by designing and building their own food package for a particular type of food.

This second-semester course will cover several of the tools needed to study chemistry at a more advanced level. We will identify the factors that affect the speed of a reaction, learn how an atom bomb works on a chemical level, and discover how chemistry powers a light bulb. We will end with discussion of organic chemistry, a topic that is as important to biology as it is to chemistry. (Chemistry 102; See also: Biology 106)

This lesson will allow students to explore an important role of environmental engineers: cleaning the environment. Students will learn details about the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which was one of the most publicized and studied environmental tragedies in history. In the accompanying activity, they will try many "engineered" strategies to clean up their own manufactured oil spill and learn the difficulties of dealing with oil released into our waters.

This hands-on experiment will provide students with an understanding of the issues that surround environmental cleanup. Students will create their own oil spill, try different methods for cleaning it up, and then discuss the merits of each method in terms of effectiveness (cleanliness) and cost. They will be asked to put themselves in the place of both an environmental engineer and an oil company owner who are responsible for the clean-up.

An overview of the role of blogging in the dissemination of primary research data in the UsefulChem project. Speaker: Jean-Claude Bradley.

This activity provides students with the opportunity to create a food package for a specific food. The students have three components to focus on in the design of their food package. The package will have to keep the food clean, protect or aid in the physical and chemical changes that can take place in the food, and identify the food appealingly.