Small-group activities play a crucial role in biology education, fostering active learning, teamwork, and critical thinking. While their benefits are well-documented, there is a need for innovative classroom exercises that provide students with a real-world perspective on biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. This paper introduces a…

Course-integrated Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) involve large numbers of students in real research. We describe a late-year microbiology CURE in which students use yeast to address a research question around beer brewing or synthesizing biofuel; the interdisciplinary student-designed project incorporates genetics, bioinformatics,…

This experiment describes a simple protocol for teaching acid-base titrations using potentiometry, conductivity, and/or photometry to determine end points without an added indicator. The chosen example examines the titratable acidity of a red wine with NaOH. Wines contain anthocyanins, the colors of which change with pH. Importantly, at the…

A multiple day activity for students to create large-scale plastic objects from the biopolymer chitin (major component of lobster, crab, and shrimp shells) is described. The plastic objects created are durable and made from benign materials, making them suitable for students to take home to play with. Since the student-created plastic objects are…

Industrial purification of biomolecules is commonly based on a sequence of chromatographic processes, which are adapted slightly to new target components, as the time to market is crucial. To improve time and material efficiency, modeling is increasingly used to determine optimal operating conditions, thus providing new challenges for current and…

In this guided inquiry, students investigate advantages and disadvantages of genetic engineering by integrating popular fiction into their study of bioethics. What are the effects of artificially created hybrid creatures on characters in "The Hunger Games" and in our society? What are the effects on and basic rights of the organisms…

This article describes a simple, inexpensive, easy to conduct gel-electrophoresis activity using food dyes. It is an alternative to the more expensive counterparts which require agarose gel, DNA samples, purchased chamber and Tris-borate-EDTA buffer. We suggest some learning activities for senior biology students along with comments on several…

The "Biotechnology Discoveries and Applications" guidebook aims to provide teachers with an overview of the recent advances in genetics and biotechnology, allowing them to share these findings with their students. The annual guidebook introduces a wealth of modern genomic discoveries and provides teachers with tools to integrate exciting…

I present a learning cycle that explores different biotechnologies using the process of in situ hybridization as a platform. Students are presented with a cyclopic lamb and must use biotechnology to discover the mechanism behind the deformity. Through this activity, students learn about signal transduction and discover the processes of polymerase…

Open-ended, inquiry-based multiweek laboratory exercises are the key elements to increasing students' understanding and retention of the major biological concepts. Including original research into undergraduate teaching laboratories has also been shown to motivate students and improve their learning. Here, we present a series of original…

This paper describes a forensic science simulation programme applicable for use in colleges. Students were asked to find a putative suspect by DNA fingerprinting using a simple protocol developed in this study. DNA samples were obtained from a hair root and a drop of blood, common sources of DNA in forensic science. The DNA fingerprinting protocol…

Giving students the opportunity to extract, manipulate and visualise DNA molecules enhances a constructivist approach to learning about modern techniques in biology and biotechnology Visualisation usually requires agarose gel electrophoresis and staining. In this article, we report on an alternative DNA stain, Nile Blue A, that may be used in the…

Bacterial transformation is a commonly used technique in genetic engineering that involves transferring a gene of interest into a bacterial host so that the bacteria can be used to produce large quantities of the gene product. Although several kits are available for performing bacterial transformation in the classroom, students do not always…

Describes procedures for identifying the protein ribonuclease from plant tissue extracts using mini-gel electrophoresis. (PR)

Describes an easy and inexpensive method of preparing experimental growth media that high school students can use for plant cloning investigations. (PR)