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Evaluating the Quick Fix: Weight Loss Drugs and Cellular Respiration

Activity – weight loss and cellular respiration

0 comments 7 reposts

Understanding Protein Domains: A Modular Approach

Activity – protein domains

0 comments 3 reposts

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Kiley Lewin onto Cellular Biology/Bacterial Physiology

Investigating Cell Signaling with Gene Expression Datasets

Activity – gene regulation and cell signaling

0 comments 5 reposts

Profile picture of Kiley Lewin

Kiley Lewin onto Cellular Biology/Bacterial Physiology

Teaching Cell Structures through Games

Game/activity – cell structures

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The Avocado Lab: An Inquiry-Driven Exploration of an Enzymatic Browning Reaction

Typical biochemistry labs exploring basic enzyme activity rely on costly, time-consuming protein purification and rarely explore enzyme function in situ. Further, complex purification procedures leave little room for novelty in experimental design. Here we present an inquiry-driven laboratory exercise for biochemistry undergraduates and adaptations for a general education science course. Each student designs a unique experiment to test their hypothesis regarding the nature of avocado browning in a three-hour span. In the presence of oxygen, polyphenol oxidases (PPO) catalyze oxidation of phenolic compounds into quinones, the polymerization of which creates the visible browning of many cut fruits. Avocado fruit, a source of both enzyme and substrate, is a safe, low-cost vehicle for semi-quantitative experimentation. During the incubation, biochemistry students use the Protein Data Bank and primary literature to understand the structure-function relationship of PPO and other molecular components of the avocado. Non-major students discuss how pH, temperature, and substrate availability affect PPO. Visible browning pigments appear on a controllable time scale. Students can photograph results to create a figure to accompany semi-quantitative analysis of experimental results in a single lab period. Since avocados are familiar foods and select test reagents are generally recognized as safe, the optimal protocol investigated in the lab can be further applied to best practices in the kitchen in everyday life, promoting the transfer of knowledge learned in the classroom to practical environments.

0 comments 4 reposts

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Megan Spence onto CHE0131

SARS-CoV-2: Understanding, Applying and Communicating Science

The ability to integrate process of science training with necessary skills in applying and communicating core theories in biological science and biology quantification, has been brought into focus by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students from high school up through graduate school, have made it clear that they do not comprehend how science is done, why it is done, and how to assess and communicate scientific claims. While the overwhelming 'noise' coming out of the pandemic may seem daunting, it also presents us with an opportunity to develop open educational resources that help learners improve their biological science and quantification skills, as well as their ability to sort through claims and communicate findings. To those ends, we developed a series of linked, OER learning modules, applicable from the high school and community education through the graduate and professional school levels, addressing microbiology, physiology, pharmacology, genetics, and proteomics through the lens of SARS-CoV-2. Students learn about the process of science, appropriate to their educational level, how scientists assess claims, and how to communicate findings.

0 comments 1 reposts

Profile picture of Anna Strimaitis Grinath

Anna Strimaitis Grinath onto BIOL 1101