Coaches are often focused on the physical training and the x's and o's associated with their sport, but there are clear benefits associated with teaching and encouraging proper nutrition and hydration for optimal performance. Certainly, the benefits can be seen, but how can coaches become more educated in nutrition and pass on this information to…

This chapter is structured for teaching young learners with other health impairments in special education. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004), other health impairments represent chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),…

"Problem-Based Learning in the Life Science Classroom, K-12" offers a great new way to ignite your creativity. Authors Tom McConnell, Joyce Parker, and Janet Eberhardt show you how to engage students with scenarios that represent real-world science in all its messy, thought-provoking glory. The scenarios prompt K-12 learners to immerse…

Cellular respiration and metabolism are topics that are reportedly poorly understood by students and judged to be difficult by many teachers. Although these topics may not be required learning areas in some high school biology curricula, a grasp of fundamental concepts of cellular metabolic processes is advantageous for students undertaking (or…

This investigative laboratory exercise uses the different relations between ambient temperature and metabolic rate in endotherms and ectotherms as a core concept to answer the following question: What thermoregulatory mode is employed by chicken embryos? Emphasis is placed on the physiological concepts that can be taught with this exercise,…

We describe an undergraduate laboratory experiment that combines the advantages of problem-based learning with the need for biochemistry students to become proficient in practical laboratory skills. It also avoids the need to obtain ethical approval for recruiting volunteers and eliminates any possible biosafety issues with the handling and…

The main objective of this class experiment is to measure the activity of two metabolic enzymes in crude extract from bird pectoral muscle and to relate the differences to their mode of locomotion and ecology. The laboratory is adapted to stimulate the interest of wildlife management students to biochemistry. The enzymatic activities of cytochrome…

Performance on a multiple-choice item in a public examination indicates that most students do not understand how fat is absorbed through villi. A teaching strategy is suggested to overcome this problem by helping students review their own ideas critically. (Author/MM)

Systems biology, metabolomics, metabolic engineering, and other recent developments in biochemistry suggest that future biochemists will require a detailed familiarity with the compounds and pathways of intermediary metabolism and their biochemical control. The challenge to the biochemistry instructor is the presentation of metabolic pathways in a…

Presents a unit on the body's response to hypothermia. Includes activities in which students measure the amount of heat absorbed by a white piece of cloth and a black piece of the same material, use cooperative-learning techniques to design a graphic organizer that explains metabolic responses to cold stress, and study the effect of temperature on…

Discusses some of the problems associated with teaching abstract concepts in biochemistry because of the inability to provide visual aids. Suggests the use of metabolonograms as analogies in teaching certain concepts. (TW)

A laboratory exercise for dental students is presented using a toxic dose of lidocaine in place of an anesthetic dose of pentobarbital. The use of lidocaine demonstrates its toxic and lethal actions and increases the relevance of the experience for dental students. (Author/MLW)

Information about the biosynthesis of the carbohydrate portions or glycans of glycoproteins is presented. The teaching of glycosylation can be used to develop and emphasize many general aspects of biosynthesis, in addition to explaining specific biochemical and molecular biological features associated with producing the oligosaccharide portions of…

A model of reactive oxygen species metabolism is proposed as a laboratory exercise for students. The superoxide ion in this model is generated during the reaction of oxidation of xanthine, catalyzed by xanthine oxidase. The effect of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and allopurinol on superoxide ion generation and removal in this system is also…

The main objective of this class experiment is to show the influence of carbon source and of different fluoride concentrations on the biofilm formation by the bacterium "Streptococcus mutans." The observation of different biofilm morphology as a function of carbon source and fluoride concentration allows an interesting discussion regarding the…