Summarizes the activities at the International Union of Biochemistry workshops held in Cali, Colombia, and Lima, Peru, during July 1990. Includes background about the education systems at the college level in these two countries, current teaching practices, and recommendations drafted by the workshop participants. (JJK)

Details laboratory procedures that enable students to understand the concept of how differences in water potential drive the movement of water within a plant in response to transpiration. Students compare transpiration rates for upper and lower surfaces of leaves. (DDR)

Presents an activity in which students observe gelatin samples treated with substances that may or may not have an enzymatic effect on the protein on the gelatin. (WRM)

Discusses how to make the best choices for converting journals retrospectively to digital and online format. Results indicated that differences exist between the two disciplines examined--ecology and biochemistry--in the ages of literature used. Discusses possible screening methods before doing an extensive citation analysis of a discipline's…

Describes a computer software program that simulates each step of the glycolytic enzyme pathway. Serves as a means of providing interactive learning for undergraduate biochemistry students with the aim of better preparing them for laboratory work. (Author/CCM)

Describes the experiences of a medical school faculty who have been offering for more than 10 years a two-course series in the biochemistry of human disease to undergraduate students majoring in biochemistry, biology, or chemistry. Recommends the teaching of specialized, advanced courses to undergraduate, pre-professional students. (DDR)

Presents a method aimed at developing the ability of students to handle information, participate in group discussions, and accept and give constructive criticism. Involves synthesizing information in poster handouts and taking part in a student-centered assessment. Evaluates through an objective scoring strategy that leads to the identification of…

An extremely simple, inexpensive, and safe method is presented, which emulates nucleic acids isolation and electrophoretic analysis as performed in a research environment, in the context of a secondary school hands-on activity. The protocol is amenable to an interdisciplinary approach, taking into consideration the electrical and chemical…

This case study involves the biochemical analysis of the components of commonly available energy drinks, which many students purchase at fairly high prices. Students research the ingredients in each product and their physiological role in the human body, and then attempt to match what they learn with the product manufacturers' marketing claims.…

To ensure the safety of school-aged children and adolescents, school counselors must not ignore or deny the public health threat of bioterrorism (Henderson, 1998). Rather, school counselors must be prepared with knowledge about bioterrorism and intervention skills. Bioterrorism within the United States is a continuing threat. Because children and…

In this study the photoinhibition of photosystems (PS) I and II caused by exposure to high intensity light in oat ("Avena sativa," var Prevision) is measured by the emission of chlorophyll fluorescence in intact leaves adapted to darkness. The maximal quantum yield of PS II was lower in plants grown under high light intensity than in plants grown…

The present study focused on age and SES differences in stress reactivity in response to cognitively challenging tasks. Specifically, we assessed within-person trajectories of cortisol, a steroid hormone released by the adrenal gland in response to stressors, before, during, and after exposure to cognitively challenging tasks. We extend the…

Combined activation of dopamine D1- and NMDA-glutamate receptors in the nucleus accumbens has been strongly implicated in instrumental learning, the process in which an individual learns that a specific action has a wanted outcome. To assess dopaminergic activity, we presented rats with two sessions (30 trials each) of a one-lever appetitive…

The cannabinoid CB1 receptor has been shown to be critically involved in the extinction of fear memory. Systemic injection of a CB1 receptor antagonist prior to extinction training blocked extinction. Conversely, administration of the cannabinoid uptake inhibitor AM404 facilitated extinction in a dose-dependent manner. Here we show that bilateral…

Despite their purported neuroanatomic and functional isolation, empirical evidence suggests that sometimes conscious explicit processes can influence implicit motor skill learning. Our goal was to determine if the provision of explicit information affected implicit motor-sequence learning after damage to the basal ganglia. Individuals with stroke…