Reports of exaggerated anxiety and physiological hyperreactivity to social-evaluative situations are characteristic of childhood social phobia (SP). However, laboratory research on subjective, autonomic and endocrine functioning in childhood SP is scarce, inconsistent and limited by small sample sizes, limited breadth of measurements, and the use…

Learner-centered molecular modeling exercises in college science courses can be especially challenging for nonchemistry majors as students typically have a higher degree of anxiety and may not appreciate the relevance of the work. This article describes a learner-centered project given to allied health majors in a Biochemistry course. The project…

Currently, all 50 states limit alcohol purchases to people aged 21 and over. But that hasn't always been the case. In fact, it was July 17, 1984, when President Ronald Reagan signed the national 21 minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) legislation into law. At that time, only 23 states had minimum alcohol purchasing ages of 21 years old. The…

"AZ-Quiz" and "Jeopardy!" are popular television shows and serve as the basis for in-class games designed to support and diversify chemistry instruction at the high school level. Both games were created in Microsoft PowerPoint, which is an easily accessible and controllable instrument that enables the creation of engaging animation. The use of…

The determination of total phenolics in foods and fruit juices was used successfully as a laboratory experiment in our undergraduate general, organic, and biological (GOB) chemistry course. Two different colorimetric methods were used over three years and comparative student results indicate that a ferrous ammonium sulfate (FAS) indicator…

A glucose-driven enzymatic filter-paper fuel cell is described. A strip of filter paper coated with carbon nanotubes and the glucose oxidase enzyme functions as the anode of the enzyme fuel cell. Another strip of filter paper coated with carbon nanotubes and the laccase enzyme functions as the cathode. Between the anode and the cathode, a third…

We describe how to produce and purify proteins from "Escherichia coli" inclusion bodies by adapting versatile, preparative-scale techniques to the undergraduate laboratory schedule. This 7-week sequence of experiments fits into an annual cycle of research activity in biochemistry courses. Recombinant proteins are expressed as inclusion bodies,…

The anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN) are important for learning and memory as damage to this region produces a persistent amnestic syndrome. Dense connections between the ATN and the hippocampus exist, and importantly, damage to the ATN can impair hippocampal functioning. Acetylcholine (ACh) is a key neurotransmitter in the hippocampus, and in vivo…

We are involved in a project to incorporate innovative assessments within a reform-based large-lecture biochemistry course for nonmajors. We not only assessed misconceptions but purposefully changed instruction throughout the semester to confront student ideas. Our research questions targeted student conceptions of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)…

Research shows that computer-based simulations and animations are especially helpful in fields such as chemistry where concepts are abstract and cannot be directly observed. Bio-Organic Reaction Animations (BioORA) is a freely available 3D visualization software program developed to help students understand the chemistry of biomolecular events.…

The relationship between the structure and function of proteins is an important area in biochemistry. Pupils studying A-level Biology are introduced to the four levels of protein structure (primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary) and how these can be used to describe the progressive folding of a chain of amino acid residues to a final,…

Although bioaccumulation-related concepts are important scientific knowledge, a study on whether high school textbooks include appropriate explanations has not been conducted. The present study investigated science and biology textbooks from Korea, Japan, and the U.S., focusing on how bioaccumulation-related concepts were defined, what types of…

Over the past two years, through an NSF RCN UBE grant, the ASBMB has held regional workshops for faculty members from around the country. The workshops have focused on developing lists of Core Principles or Foundational Concepts in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, a list of foundational skills, and foundational concepts from Physics, Chemistry,…

A computational experiment that investigates the optical activity of the amino acid valine has been developed for an upper-level undergraduate physical chemistry laboratory course. Hybrid density functional theory calculations were carried out for valine to confirm the rule that adding a strong acid to a solution of an amino acid in the l…

The study of chromatin constitutes one of the most active research fields in life sciences, being subject to constant revisions that continuously redefine the state of the art in its knowledge. As every other rapidly changing field, chromatin biology requires clear and straightforward educational strategies able to efficiently translate such a…