Latest text review
questions
Final exam review sheet
Online quiz #3 available Wed at 5 pm through Thursday at 7
pm
Sexually transmitted disease
information
For Wed, Dec 7th - Stem cells and assisted reproductive
technologies
For our last day of new
material we will have a discussion of the science and
ethics of stem cell and assisted reproductive technologies.
To prepare for this discussion read the following resources
before class:
1. Use these pages from the NIH and the
University of Utah to take notes on:
a) What is special about stem cells that sets them apart
from other cell types?
b) What are the different types of stem cells (embryonic,
adult and induced pleuripotent)? How are they
collected/made, and what is special about each?
c) What could stem cells be used for?
2. Read this page from the Center for American
Progress on some of the ethical
issues surrounding assisted reproductive technology. You
can also get more background from the CDC.
a) What are assisted reproductive technologies?
b) What are some of the ethical considerations surrounding
these technologies?
c) How common are these procedures, and who regulates how
they are used?
For Mon, Dec 5th - Development of the zebrafish visual
system
Download
this pdf of a paper that
identified genetic mutations that affect vision in
larval zebrafish. We will only be reading parts of the
paper, so there is no need to print the entire thing.
Takes notes on the following and be ready to discuss in
class:
1. According to the “Introduction” and
“Synopsis” of this paper, what was the goal of
the authors? What was the purpose of this study?
2. The authors used a chemical to mutagenize (cause DNA
mutations in) their zebrafish. How did the authors
determine if the offspring of these zebrafish inherited
mutations that affect vision?
3. What are optokinetic (OKR) and optomotor (OMR)
responses? Watch the supplemental videos cited on the
second to last page of the paper. You can find them by
googling the DOI codes cited on this page.
4. According to the second section of the
“Results” section, titled “Two Behavioral
Screening Assays”, what are the positives and
negatives of the two screening methods (OKR vs. OMR)?
5. Check out Figure 6 in the paper. It is a nice example of
the types of graphs you have been building this semester.
We will look over this graph in class.
6. According to the “Discussion” section, how
many new genetic mutations did they find that affect
vision? In what parts of the visual system are these genes
used? What part of the visual system did not seem to be
affected in their mutants?
For Wed, Nov 30th
1) Read
this chapter from Neil
Shubin’s Your Inner Fish on embryo
development. Shubin is a paleontologist who
studies early vertebrate evolution, and has an interest
in the evolution of animal development.
A former class of mine saw him talk in
Cleveland a few years ago. Enter
answers to the following questions in Angel:
a) What are the
“germ layers” that Karl Ernst von Baer
discovered? What does each become as the embryos develops?
b) Shubin describes the early embryo as a “tube
within a tube”. What are these two tubes?
c) Hilde Mangold’s dissertation advisor, Hans
Spemann, won a Nobel Prize for her discovery of the
“organizer”. What is the organizer, how was it
discovered, and why was its discovery important? Why
didn’t Mangold share the Nobel for her work? Sound
familiar?
d) The fruit fly played an important role in the discovery
of Hox
genes. What
important role does this group of genes play in the
development of a fruitfly embryo (you can view a tutorial
on Hox
genes
here? What is significant
about the discovery that these same genes (with only
slightly different DNA sequences) play the same role in
other animals, like mammals?
2) Check out this tutorial comparing the embryos
of different vertebrates.
For Mon, Nov 21st
Use online resources to
research the following, taking notes for class:
1. What is the timeline for fertilization? How long after
ovulation is the egg viable? How long after ejaculation is
the sperm viable? What is the window for fertilization of
the egg (how many hours before and after ovulation and
ejaculation)?
2. Identify the following parts of the male reproductive
system (the slides posted in Angel will be helpful, but
there are also lots of good online resources): scrotum,
testis, seminiferous tubule, epididymis, ductus (vas)
deferens, urethra, prostate, bulbourethral gland, seminal
vesicle, bulb and glans of penis, prepuce, urethral
orifice.
3. Identify the following parts of the female reproductive
system: ovary, uterine (fallopian) tube, fimbriae, uterus,
endometrium, myometrium, cervix, fornix, vagina, clitoris
(glans and prepuce), labia majora, labia minora, vestibule,
urethral orifice, vaginal orifice.
4. Finish watching the video and take notes on the
mechanism that determines whether humans embryos become
male or female.
For Fri, Nov 18th
Watch this video from NOVA on
reproduction (with a great John
Lithgow narration). Watch at least the first half for
Friday (the first 20 minutes), and the rest for Monday.
Take notes on the following questions:
a) What are the costs and benefits of sexual reproduction
compared to asexual reproduction?
b) What event during meiosis increases the different
genetic combinations in a sperm or egg cell?
c) What are the differences in how humans make sperm and
eggs? Which is more abundant?
d) While not directly addressed by the video, would you
expect men or women to be more choosy about who they mate
with? Why?
e) How soon after ovulation must an egg cell be fertilized?
Where does this fertilization take place? How long does it
take sperm to get there?
f) What role do proteins on the surface of eggs and sperm
play in fertilization?
For Wed, Nov 9th
We will discuss two
examples of methods used to change human behavior, the
transorbital lobotomy and the use of psychotropic drugs. To
prepare for this discussion you should watch the following
two videos:
1) This segment from a PBS special
on the
doctor that developed the transorbital lobotomy. Also
check out the website for the whole episode,
and this radio segment from
NPR.
2) An episode on Frontline on the use of behavior changing medications in
children
3) Use the above videos and any web resources you find
helpful to answer the following questions. Submit answers
in Angel by 2 am on Nov 9th:
a) When was the transorbital lobotomy first developed and
for what purpose? What conditions was it meant to treat?
b) When was the procedure discontinued, and why?
c) What were the first drugs developed to treat psychiatric
disorders?
d) What do you see as the pros and cons of using drugs to
treat diagnosed psychiatric disorders in children?
e) Do you get the sense from your viewing that there is
sufficient scientific data to make conclusions regarding
the safety and effectiveness of using psychotropic drugs in
children. Why or why not?
For Mon, Nov 7th
1) Read
this story on a genetic mutation
that eliminates the ability to sense pain and take notes
on the following questions:
a) How did scientists know that this was a genetic
disorder?
b) What is the genetic basis of this disorder? What goes
wrong to prevent the sensation of pain? Is there something
wrong with the brain in these individuals?
2) Read the comic book handout on the structure of the eye
in preparation for Monday’s lab. Look for the
following structures: cornea, pupil, iris, sclera, lens,
retina, rods, cones, optic nerve, aqueous humor, vitreous
humor, fovea, blind spot, and the best name ever - the
canal of schlemm.
For Fri, Nov 4th
1) Graph the average
2-point discrimination distance for each of the four body
regions measured in last week’s lab using Excel. Was
there a difference between regions? Do your findings make
sense? Be ready to share your graph and discuss your
answers in class.
2) Read this story from the New York Times
about the
scientist who discovered the different functions of the
two hemispheres of the cerebrum. Be ready to discuss
what each hemisphere does, and how Michael Gazzaniga and
his collaborators figured it out. What role did
“split brain” patients play in this
discovery? How did this work change our understanding of
the general way in which functions are distributed in
the brain?
For Wed, Nov 2nd
Read this blog post on Parkinson’s
disease and be ready to
discuss
For Mon, Oct 31st
1) Watch the
HIV in Africa talk online
if you
missed it live. We will talk about it in class on
Monday.
2) Read this blog post on how nanotechnology
is being used to heal damaged spinal cords.
3) and this post about how scientists
are visualizing multitasking in the human brain. This
post discusses data collected using a technique
called fMRI. We will talk about
this in class.
4) Enjoy these images of the nervous
system.
5) Read over these instructions for your blogging
assignment for the remainder of
the semester. We will talk about this on Monday, but
feel free to sign up for a week when your blog post will
be due before then.
For Wed, Oct 26th
1) Use this
flash based tutorial to learn about how
action potentials are produced and travel down a neuron.
2) Check out the new videos on neurons and action
potentials posted to the class YouTube channel.
For Mon, Oct 24th
1) Read
this article from the New York Times on the discovery of a
100,000 year old painting studio in South Africa.
2) Read this article from the journal
Science on a 2 million year old
human ancestor, Australopithecus
sediba, and take notes on the
following questions:
a) Where was this species discovered? Where in Africa were
other famous hominin fossils, like those for Lucy,
discovered?
b) We talked earlier in the week about what Lucy and her
species (Australopithecus
afarensis) tell us about early
hominin evolution. What does Au. sediba
add to our
understanding of how human features evolved?
c) What is the relationship between the genus
Australopithecus
and our own
genus, Homo.
Is there a particular species of Australopithecus
that is the
direct ancestor to the genus Homo?
d) What aspects of the Au. sediba
brain are
transitional between the more primitive Au.
afarensis brain and modern humans?
How did the paleontologists studying Au. sediba
visualize the
brain of this species?
e) What debate are paleontologists having over the driving
forces for evolutionary changes in the human pelvis?
3) Attend the talk on HIV in Africa, 7 pm, Dauch College
Ridenhour Room (Online recording here)
For Mon, Oct 17th
1) Watch this TED talk on human evolution.
2) Come to lab with questions about the exam.
3) Review blood calcium homeostasis. What is homeostasis,
and what role does vitamin D, parathyroid hormone and
calcitonin play in this process?
For Fri, Oct 14th
1) Listen to
this NPR story on recent drug
shortages, and pay attention to
the person that needs calcium supplementation in their
nutrient solution.
2) Listen to this second NPR story on a recent study that
suggests that an injectable contraceptive used in Africa
leads to greater rates of HIV infection. Pay attention
to how certain these findings are, and the details of
what type of study would be needed to confirm
them.
For Wed, Oct 12th
1) Read
this New York Times article
on natural
selection in a human population in Canada and take notes
on the following questions:
a) What trait is changing due to natural selection in this
population?
b) What was special about this population that allowed
geneticists to detect evidence of natural selection?
c) How do the findings in the science paper reported in
this article impact our understanding of human evolution,
and/or evolution in general?
2) Listen to this NPR story on last week’s
Nobel Prize winners in medicine.
3) And this NPR story on the Nobel Prizes is
very funny.
For Mon, Oct 10th
Read Bryson pages 381-391
and the handout from Jay Hosler’s Sandwalk
Adventures (will be handed out in
class on Friday) and answer the following questions on
Angel:
1) Based on the Bryson reading and the two Hosler handouts
you have read, write a brief summary in your own words of
Darwin’s idea of natural selection.
2) Apply your summary to one specific example of natural
selection that we have discussed? For example, how does
natural selection produce antibiotic resistance in bacteria
or vaccine resistance in viruses?
3) Darwin sat on his years of data supporting his ideas of
natural selection and evolution. What prompted him to
finally publish his ideas?
4) Darwin’s ideas were not immediately accepted by
the scientific community. Describe one criticism that
weakened his arguments at the time they were published.
For Fri, Oct 7th
1) Sometime during this
week listen to this segment from NPR on drug shortages. It
also includes some comments on nutrition and the importance
of calcium that will be relevant for this week and next.
2) Friday we will discuss current recommendation for a
healthy diet. Read over the recommendations from the
Center for Science in the Public
Interest (CSPI) and the
Harvard School of Public Health
and be
ready to discuss the similarities and differences
between each. Does there seem to be a consensus on what
makes a healthy diet? What are the areas of consensus,
and the differences?
3) Notice that the CSPI page gives citations to scientific
papers at the bottom. Google the JAMA reference and find
the actual article. Print out the first page of the paper
(the pdf version, not the web version) and bring it to
class.
For Wed,
Oct 5th
1) Watch this talk by chef Jamie Oliver
on food and
obesity (21:53).
For Mon, Oct 3rd
Answer the following
questions based on the PTC PCR experiment results. These
can be found in the Content section of Angel. Submit your
answers through Angel.
1)
Explain how the pattern of
bands on the DNA gel shows you your genotype. How many
different band patterns were possible, and which pattern is
produced be each genotype?
2) Did your
genotype match your phenotype? Explain.
3) Where there any mismatches in the class data between a
subject's genotype and phenotype? If so, which
subjects?
For Fri, Sep 30th
1) Use these instructions to submit a 500-800
word analysis of the costs and benefits and public
policy surrounding the new human papillomavirus (HPV)
vaccine. You should submit an electronic copy on
Turnitin by 2 am on Friday, September 30th, and bring a
hard copy to class on Friday for discussion.
For Mon,
Sep 26th
1) Watch
this video on blood flow through
the heart, and then use this tutorial to learn more about the
mammalian heart.
2) Watch this tutorial on gel
electrophoresis and come to lab ready
to talk about how it works.
3) Review the Jay Hosler comic book pages on drug
resistance in bacteria.
Later in the week we will be talking about the debate over
whether to require children to get the new HPV vaccine. A
related assignment will be posted here
soon.
For Fri, Sep 23th - we will be continuing our DNA analysis
and talking about vaccines
1) Read
this document for instructions
on an
exercise using NCBI and complete the exercise for
Friday. You will need to hand in a hard copy of your
results, as detailed in the instructions.
2) Watch this tutorial on restriction
enzymes and come to class ready
to discuss what these proteins do
For Mon, Sep 19th
1) Watch
this animation on how PCR
works
2) and this music video
3) Read pages 312-320 in Bryson on the immune system
4) Come to class ready with questions for Wednesday’s
exam
For Fri, Sep 16th
1) Watch
this video on the flu
2) Fill in the genotypes for each person on your color
blindness and huntington’s disease pedigrees
For Wed, Sep 14th
1) Check out
this page on genetics from the University of
Utah
- You can use it to review what we have already covered on
the Tour the Basics page
- Watch the
tours on What is Heredity and What is a Trait on the
“Basics” page
2) Read this page on the genetics of PTC
tasting
For Mon, Sep 12th
1) Review for the online
quiz and come to class with questions
- Have a question? Leave it here.
2) Read Bryson pages 397-409 on the discovery of the
structure of DNA
3) Watch this playlist on DNA replication,
transcription and translation and protein folding
4) Read over cheek cell DNA collection procedure
For Fri,
Sep 9th
1) Read the two Hosler
handouts and come to class with any questions you have
about the central dogma of biology, how proteins are made,
or anything else covered in the reading.
2) Do a YouTube search for videos on the central dogma of
biology and add your favorite link here.
For Wed, Sep 7th
1) Read
this page on the Genetic Regulation of
Cancer for additional
background. Read through page 2 (Genes that Drive
Cancer) and take notes on the following questions. You
do not need to submit these on Angel, but be ready to
discuss them in class.
- What is meant by cell differentiation and cell death. Why do mistakes in these processes lead to cancer?
- What is angiogenesis and metastasis?
- What is the difference between “germ” cells and “somatic” cells?
- What types of genes, when mutated, can cause cancer?
- Why are these genes considered “brakes” and “gas” for mitosis?
- How long ago was the first discovery of a genetic mutation that caused cancer?
- Gives your assessment of whether the evidence you find supports or refutes the hypothesis that the use of tanning booths increases a person’s risk of getting skin cancer.
- Explains why you consider the evidence you used to defend your conclusion to be trustworthy.
- Describes any arguments that contradict your conclusion, and assesses those views.
- Names at least one gene that has been linked to skin cancer when mutated.
- Your completed assessment should be submitted through Turnitin.com. You will need to use the class ID# “4300856” and the password “science”. If you have never used Turnitin for a class you will first need to sign up for a free account.
For Fri, Sep 2nd
1) Answers to lab handout questions due in Angel by 2 am on Friday
2) Excel file with graph of data due in your Dropbox folder by 2 am Friday
3) Add a link to one good online resource on tanning booths and skin cancer here.
4) Use online resources to determine how many types of skin cancer there are, and what they are called. What cells in the skin are affected by each type of cancer? Take notes on this information and be ready to talk about it in class on Friday.
For Wed, Aug 31st
1) Read Bryson pages 371-380 and submit answers to the following questions by Wednesday, August 31st at 2 am using the content section of our course Angel page.
- Cells in the human body differ in many aspects, such as their size, shape and how long they live. What are some of the biggest and smallest cells in your body? What is the average size of a human cell (what unit is used to measure these cells)? What are some of the longest living cells in the human body?
- What type of organism did Robert Hooke use to describe the first cells? Why did Hooke call them cells? In what century did Hooke do his research?
- How did Leeuwenhoek differ from the other scientists observing cells at the time? How long after Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of the bacterium did it take for someone to first see the nucleus of a cell?
- Scientists do make mistakes. What errors did people make in their early investigation of life under the microscope? Give at least one example.
- What goes wrong with cells to produce a cancer? What is apoptosis, and why is this process important to the normal function of the human body?
3) Bring a sketch of your planned graph of lab data to class
For Mon, Aug 29th
1) Read “What is a Cell” as a follow-up to our discussion Friday and to prepare for Monday.
-Review the use of carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids and lipids.
-Review the structure of phospholipids and why they are used to make cell membranes.
2) Use this flash animation to review the structure and function of the cell membrane
- You only need to do panels 1-4
3) Read over the lab handout for our Monday experiment on the “Limitations of Cell Size”
- Come to lab ready to discuss how the size of a cell could affect its function
- Why doesn’t our body contain really big cells?
4. Check out this computer animation of cells:
For Fri, Aug 26th
1) Sign up for a free account on Dropbox.com
-you will use this online service for submitting assignments and for collaborative work
2) Investigate the types of molecules that make up a cell
-Use a web search to find information on how the molecules we discussed in class are put together to make a living cell.
-Bring a sketch on a sheet of paper (8.5” X 11”, unruled) showing where you would find the four biological macromolecules we talked about on Wednesday: lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids and proteins
-Identify the best online resource you found for learning cell structure and add it to this Google Docs page
-Be prepared to discuss your sketch and how a cell is constructed from the four building blocks
3) Take these survey questions, which would not work for us in class on Wednesday