Students toss coins to determine what traits a set of mouse parents possess, such as fur color, body size, heat tolerance, and running speed. Then they use coin tossing to determine the traits a mouse pup born to these parents possesses. Then they compare these physical features to features that would be most adaptive in several different environmental conditions. Finally, students consider what would happen to the mouse offspring if those environmental conditions were to change: which mice would be most likely to survive and produce the next generation?

Bioethics is the study of the moral implications of new and emerging medical technologies and looks to answer questions such as selling organs, euthanasia and whether should we clone people. The series consists of a series of interviews by leading bioethics academics and is aimed at individuals looking to explore often difficult and confusing questions surrounding medical ethics. The series lays out the issue in a clear and precise way and looks to show all sides of the debate.

BioNook is Whitehead Institute's online biology resource, offering exciting learning enrichment for students, parents and teachers. Find videos, podcasts and stories on Whitehead Institute Science, as well as virtual workshop opportunities through BioNook’s After School Science Club, and ideas for nature-based activities.
Explore free materials on biology and research—from deep explorations of how science is done, to stories following the lives of scientists, to suggestions for fun outside activities and hands-on citizen science projects.

This 28-minute video lesson provides an introduction to DNA. [Biology playlist: Lesson 6 of 71].

BioME is an open access, online program providing 11 animated lesson on genetics and 17 embryology lessons. Lessons for molecular and cellular biology have been composed and will be added after they have been reviewed by content experts. The lessons can be used as visual aids for lectures and other presentations, as well as supplemental resources for student self-study. The animations are stop action progressions that advance from step to step, facilitating visualization and comprehension of the dynamic processes. Additional functions of the BioME program include practice questions, PopUps and downloadable excerpts.

This site contains user-friendly tools to launch DNA database searches, statistical analyses, and population modeling from a centralized workspace. Educational databases support investigations of an Alu insertion polymorphism on human chromosome 16 and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human mitochondrial control region.

This learning video introduces high school students to a topic they would not ordinarily study in school, biotechnology, and to different applications of biotechnology that relate to the main theme of the module - making the desert greener. After reviewing traditional methods used for manipulating plants to produce desired traits, students will learn about the methods of making transgenic plants. Dr. Ziad discusses a real world problem that is critical in his country, Jordan, where much of the land is desert. A prerequisite to this video lesson is some background in biology.

This blog post from the Fast Plants Team addresses the question "Are Wisconsin Fast Plants Genetically Engineered Plants?". This post describes the origins of Fast Plants (they are the result of conventional plant breeding, not genetic engineering), defines terms related to plant breeding and genetic engineering, and describes the selection criteria that led to the Wisconsin Fast Plant.

This blog post from the Wisconsin Fast Plants website describes the observation of plant hairs (trichomes) for conducting a selective breeding experiment (such as in AP Biology investigations). The number of hairs is variable in Fast Plants seed varieties, and selection for or against plant hairiness is heritable, with measureable gain/loss from selection in offspring generations. This post describes strategies for identifying and counting plant hairs, including instructions for use of free ImageJ software.

This blog post from the Wisconsin Fast Plants features open source educator resources, developed in 2023. These resources support the teaching of genetics concepts with tools focused on a Dihybrid Inheritance Study. This study provides a two-week approach for observing three generations of plant seedlings, germinated in Petri dishes. Observation of these three generations provides a model for inheritance of two traits found in Fast Plants seed varieties: Non-Purple Stem and Rosette-Dwarf. While observing traits in seedlings, students are guided to discuss norms for data collection and generate an evidence based model that explains the observed traits. This post is primarily a point of reference, giving background information about the Dihybrid Inheritance Study activity and providing links to free downloadable resources for teaching in your classroom. Resources include slideshows with photos of seedlings and discussion prompts, an implementation calendar, and handouts for preparation of Petri dishes in the classroom.

This blog post on the Wisconsin Fast Plants website features the recently released Wisconsin Fast Plants genetics simulations, powered by ExploreLearning Gizmos. Sign up for a free account on the Gizmo website (https://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=Controller.dspFreeAccount) for free access to two simulations that were collaboratively developed by the teams at Explore Learning and the Wisconsin Fast Plants Program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These simulations replace those previously available on our website that were developed nearly two decades ago and no longer function on modern operating systems. Fast Plants Gizmos were created as a collaboration between ExploreLearning and the Wisconsin Fast Plants Program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They were designed to support many of the experiments that students can do using Fast Plants seeds and plants. By using these Gizmos in combination with firsthand experiences growing Fast Plants, students can compare simulated growth, development and reproduction with observations of living Fast Plants. In addition, the Gizmos genetic simulation makes it possible for students to gather data from a significantly larger plant population than is typically grown in classrooms. These Gizmos also stand alone, supporting topics both in plant life cycles and Mendelian genetics and can be used by any student. Simulation, Simulations, Genetics, Inheritance

This blog post from the Wisconsin Fast Plants features open source educator resources, developed in 2023. These NGSS- and Ag-Standards aligned resources, named Investigating Brassicas Around the World with Fast Plants include a full lesson plan with supporting plant breeding activities, video about Brassica origins, and supplemental reading materials. This investigation is centered around the phenomenon question: "How is it that so many plants classified as Brassica look and taste different?". In this investigation, students are guided to gather evidence and develop claims to answer the phenomenon question. This post is primarily a point of reference, giving background information about the Investigating Brassicas Around the World lesson and providing links to free downloadable resources for teaching this lesson in your classroom.

This blog post from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Wisconsin Fast Plants, describes an investigation that educators can implement in the classroom to facilitate students' learning about variation and natural selection through firsthand observations and hands-on data collection in a very short time. The post offers an abbreviated example of how to conduct a classroom investigation with the Fast Plants Polycot seed variety. It covers topics like the benefits of using the Polycot seed variety in the classroom (easy to notice trait variations, large sample populations in a small classroom space), selecting traits for students to experiment with and observe, designing a selection investigation, observing and recording polycot generations data, and analyzing data.

This blog post from the Wisconsin Fast Plants website provides an overview and list of resources for teaching about heredity and inheritance patterns with Fast Plants seed varieties. This blog is primarily a point of reference for other Fast Plants teaching resources, but includes specific detail about monohybrid seed varieties with punnet squares. Further, links are included to video walkthroughs for Monohybrid (in soil), Monohybrid Seed Disks, and Dihybrid (in soil) investigations.

This blog post from the Wisconsin Fast Plants website provides an overview and list of resources for teaching about observable variation and measuring selection (focusing on leaf hairs/trichomes). This blog is primarily a point of reference for other Fast Plants teaching resources.

Utopia or dystopia? It’s up to us.
In the 21st century, powerful technologies have been appearing at a breathtaking pace—related to the internet, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and more. They have amazing potential upsides, but we can’t ignore the serious risks that come with them.
Brave New Planet is a podcast that delves deep into the most exciting and challenging scientific frontiers, helping us understand them and grapple with their implications. Dr. Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, is a geneticist, molecular biologist, and mathematician who was a leader of the Human Genome Project and for eight years served as a science advisor to the White House for President Obama. He’s also the host of Brave New Planet, and he’s talked to leading researchers, journalists, doctors, policy makers, activists, and legal experts to illuminate how this generation’s choices will shape the future as never before.
Brave New Planet is a partnership between the Broad Institute, Pushkin Industries, and the Boston Globe.

Submitted as part of the California Learning Resource Network (CLRN) Phase 3 Digital Textbook Initiative (CA DTI3), CK-12 Foundation’s high school Biology FlexBook covers cell biology, genetics, evolution, ecology, botany, zoology, and physiology. This digital textbook was reviewed for its alignment with California content standards.

During Fall 2021, all MIT students and the general public are welcome to join Professors Richard Young and Facundo Batista as they discuss the science of the COVID-19 pandemic. The livestream of the lectures is available to the public, but only registered students are able to ask questions during the Q&A.
Lectures will be given by leading experts on the fundamentals of coronavirus and host cell biology, immunology, epidemiology, clinical disease, and vaccine and therapeutic development. Guest faculty include Amy Barczak, Dan Barouch, Arup Chakraborty, Victoria Clark, Shane Crotty, Anthony Fauci, Britt Glaunsinger, Salim Karim, Shiv Pillai, Rochelle Walensky, Bruce Walker, Laura Walker, and Andrew Ward.

Barrangou and a team of researchers at Danisco first experimentally demonstrated the technique of CRISPR (Clusters of Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). To fight off the infecting bacteriophages, the bacterial immume systems (CRISPR-Cas9) specifically target genomic sequences. Cas9 is an enzyme that cuts DNA which is associated with the specialized stretches of CRISPR DNA.
This figure clearly depicts how the bacterium protects itself from the infecting viruses (bacteriophages).

An introduction to what cancer is and how it is the by-product of broken DNA replication.