A hydroponics experiment growing microgreens was piloted by seniors where trials were conducted over 9-day growth periods and designed to test 12 different growth conditions in triplicate, including varying nutrient supply, nutrient flow rate, and seed density. Plant growth was assessed through changes in daily mass, height, and final dry weight.…

Poinsettia ("Euphorbia pulcherrima") contains anthocyanins that dissolve in water and exhibit color changes due to changing pH. This property makes the poinsettia extract a useful acid-base indicator for pH demonstrations. When combined with common household materials, this experiment can be used as an alternative low-cost tool in…

The CRISPR/Cas9 system is widely used for editing genes in various organisms and is a very useful tool due to its versatility, simplicity, and efficiency. To teach its principles to post-graduate students we designed a laboratory activity to obtain and analyze PDS3 mutants in "Arabidopsis thaliana" plants consisting of: 1) Design of…

The time-resolved detection of very low intensity light emission has become an essential capability in many areas of science including molecular biology, fluorimetry, DNA sequencing, virus detection, nanoparticle research, and optical materials development. Among the most basic techniques for the detection of rapidly fluctuating low-intensity…

A community-engaged learning experiment was developed for an introductory analytical chemistry course at the University of Toronto Scarborough in collaboration with Campus Farm. The experiment introduced students to the application of analytical techniques to studying environmental samples. More specifically, students investigated the potential of…

Active learning pedagogies offer opportunities to increase student engagement and interest in plants. The Mystery Plant Project is a hands-on, semester-long active learning pedagogy I developed for an introductory, undergraduate Plant Biology course. Students investigate various aspects of their mystery plant species using observations, and…

A laboratory experiment is described in which students synthesize silver nanospheres and transform them into other anisotropic morphologies (decahedral and disks) through a photochemical process. The photochemical transformation was followed by visible spectroscopy, and the resulting morphologies were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy.…

Rhizobacteria that colonize plant roots and promote plant growth are referred to as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, and this can stimulate plant growth either indirectly or directly. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by rhizobacteria have the capacity to promote plant growth as well as perform biocontrol of fungal pathogens. The…

Universities play an important role in society and in providing solutions for its problems. Environmental pollution is one of the most serious problems facing the world today. Thus, universities are increasingly including subjects related to the environment and its conservation both in their educational and research programmes. Generally,…

The protection of earth's biodiversity requires a sophisticated understanding of how human activities can affect the relative abundances of species in natural ecological communities. Here, we report on an introductory biology laboratory activity in which students quantified biodiversity while investigating one of the most important controls on the…

Secondary metabolite compounds contained in each plant genus have certain characteristics, which is true also of the flavonoid in the genus "Artocarpus." In the experiment described here, third-year undergraduate students performed the isolation and characterization of cycloartocarpin from the roots of "Artocarpus altilis"…

A comprehensive experiment for third-year undergraduate students in pharmaceutical engineering is described. Students had previously completed courses in analytical chemistry, chemistry of natural products, and bioseparation engineering and had background knowledge in purification, quantitative analysis, packed column chromatography,…

Because the escalating loss of species is one of the most serious environmental crises we face, it is vital that students of biology comprehend and can communicate the roles that biodiversity plays in the functioning of ecosystems. Here, we report on a laboratory experiment that has been highly successful in our introductory biology courses at…

Plant nitrogen nutrition is an essential topic in biology that should be included in scientific education. Nitrogen availability is one of the primary limiting factors for plant growth, and these organisms are the primary support for the pluricellular terrestrial life, since they are the fundamental group of autotrophs. For this reason, the use of…

Many fruits and vegetables undergo browning when they are cut and the tissue is exposed to the air. This is due to the activity of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO, EC 1.14.18.1) with endogenous substrates. In this laboratory experiment, students prepare slices of different varieties of apples and assess the rate of browning. They make a simple…