Plants and plant products are key to the survival of life on earth. Despite this fact, the significance of plant biochemistry is often underrepresented in science curricula. We designed an innovative laboratory activity to engage students in learning about the biochemical properties of natural polymers produced by plants. The focus of the hands-on…

Bacterial conjugation is a genetic transfer that involves cell-to-cell between donor and recipient cells. With the current method used to teach students in genetic courses at the undergraduate level, the transconjugants are identified using bacterial physiology and/or antibiotic resistance. Using physiology, however, is difficult for both…

Describes a laboratory experiment demonstrating the aldehyde oxidase activity in wild type and mutant fruit flies using a quantitative assay. The experiment can be performed in one hour. (MA)

Describes several activities that can be done with laboratory mice to study the physiological role of oxytocin. Diagrams included. (MA)