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    From Dirt to Streptomyces DNA
    The purpose of this semester-long Lesson is to give students an authentic, course-based undergraduate research experience during which they learn basic and advanced microbiological and molecular...

    Keywords: MetabolismAntibiotic productionrRNA genesSecondary metabolitesStreptomyces

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    A Simple Method for Predicting a Molecule's Biological Properties From Its Polarity
    The distinction between very polar and less polar substances is a foundation of biochemistry, cell biology, and physiology; it surfaces in multiple concept inventories and elaborations of...

    Keywords: Diffusionsolubilitycovalent bondshydrophilichydrophobicpartition coefficientplasma membranepolarity

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    Metastatic Mastery: A Case and Game-Based Approach to Learning About Cancer Mechanisms
    Mechanisms that contribute to the development of cancer are numerous and complicated, though most can be traced to a set of mutations in cell cycle regulatory genes that throw the process of cell...

    Keywords: mutationcancertranscriptioncell cycletranslationOncogenesTumor-suppressorp53Transcription factor

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    Make It Stick: Teaching Gene Targeting with Ribbons and Fasteners
    Manipulating gene expression is a commonly used tool to study the effect of a single gene or the hierarchy of gene networks in many different biological disciplines. When working with mice, the...

    Keywords: mathematical modelhomologous recombinationCre/loxgene targeting

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    Using QIIME to Interpret Environmental Microbial Communities in an Upper Level Metagenomics Course
    Metagenomics is rapidly evolving due to advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics, but without proper training to interpret these datasets, student understanding remains limited. Aimed...

    Keywords: microbiome

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    Using Synthetic Biology and pClone Red for Authentic Research on Promoter Function: Introductory Biology (identifying new promoters)
    Students often memorize the definition of a transcriptional promoter but fail to fully understand the critical role promoters play in gene expression. This laboratory lesson allows students to...

    Keywords: bacteriasynthetic biologygene regulationtranscriptionstudent researchcentral dogmacloningpromoterreporter gene/protein

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    Exploration of the Human Genome by Investigation of Personalized SNPs
    Students often shy away from tedious bioinformatics approaches to exploring their genomes. However, in our expanding digital world these skills are some of the most relevant and valuable. To...

    Keywords: UCSC genome browsersingle nucleotide polymorphismGenome wide association studiesGenomic organization

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    Learning How to Make “Good Enough” Estimations
    The ability to estimate physical quantities is a useful skill that can help develop critical thinking and scientific literacy. This lesson provides an accessible way to teach students how to...

    Keywords: MeasurementestimationcommunicationProblem Solvinggroup workUnit conversion

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    Video Making Tips for Laboratory Instructors
    Demonstration videos are an excellent way to introduce students to new laboratory techniques, but many available videos are of low quality, too long, lack human diversity, and the main narrator is...

    Keywords: microscopypipettingLab Equipment

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    Isolation and Functional Analysis of a Pancreatic Enzyme in an Introductory Student Lab
    Structure and function are correlated at all levels of biology. This topic is typically addressed early in an undergraduate class in general or molecular biology before students have gained much...

    Keywords: Protein StructureproteaseEnzymechemical bondscatalysissolubility

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    It's a Substrate... It's a Protein...No - It's an Enzyme! Teaching Using 3D Serine Protease Physical Modeling Activities to Confront Misconceptions.
    Reported misconceptions of enzyme-substrate interactions highlight the necessity for better, targeted instructional tools and assessments. A series of active learning activities with corresponding...

    Keywords: Protein StructureEnzymes-Substrate InteractionsNoncovalent InteractionsGeometric ComplementaryElectronicsStereochemistrySerine Proteases

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    Single Cell Insights Into Cancer Transcriptomes: A Five-Part Single-Cell RNAseq Case Study Lesson
    There is a growing need for integration of “Big Data” into undergraduate biology curricula. Transcriptomics is one venue to examine biology from an informatics perspective. RNA sequencing has...

    Keywords: bioinformaticscancertranscriptomicshigh-throughputData wranglingSingle cell RNA sequencingq

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    Exploring the Lytic and Lysogenic Life Cycles of Bacteriophages
    The goal of this lesson is to introduce students to the lytic and lysogenic cycles of T4 and lambda bacteriophages, respectively, using student-centered pedagogies. Bacteriophages are viruses that...

    Keywords: bacteriophagesLysogenic cycleLysogenyLytic cycle

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    Using Images of Foraging Leaf-Cutter Ants to Teach Linear Regression
    This lesson offers students a realistic, open-inquiry research experience, even when lab or field research is not possible. We first introduce students to leaf-cutter ants and how they forage. Then...

    Keywords: linear regressionexperimental designPlant-insect interactionsSymbiosisForaging behavior

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    The ACTN3 Polymorphism: Applications in Genetics and Physiology Teaching Laboratories
    Inquiry-based undergraduate laboratories provide the opportunity to engage students in a research experience that improves scientific thinking, but such activities can be difficult to develop and...

    Keywords: protein structure and functionhuman genetic variationmuscle physiology

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    Sequence Similarity: An inquiry based and "under the hood" approach for incorporating molecular sequence alignment in introductory undergraduate biology courses
    Introductory bioinformatics exercises often walk students through the use of computational tools, but often provide little understanding of what a computational tool does "under the...

    Keywords: BLASTmultiple sequence alignmentsequence similarityphylogramZika virusAlgorithmScoring Matrix

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    Learning Frameworks Aid Goal-oriented Course Design
    As a new instructor it can be hard to know where to begin. Thankfully, CourseSource's learning frameworks (https://www.coursesource.org/courses) shaped my approach to teaching as a first year...

    Keywords: backward designlearning goalscourse design

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    The Science Behind Parthenogenesis: Interesting things happen when meiosis goes “wrong”
    Parthenogenetic reproduction is a fascinating, complex topic.  This article accompanies “Why Meiosis Matters: The case of the fatherless snake.” It summarizes the basic information...

    Keywords: meiosismitosissex determinationAsexual reproductionParthenogenesis

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    The 4-Minute Summary: Helping students recall, recap and explain the big picture... and much more!
    Actively engaging students during a lecture class can come through many formats.  The 4-Minute Summary is a versatile pedagogy that can be readily applied to any class format (e.g.,...

    Keywords: active learningDiscussionLarge classSummary

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    Does it pose a threat? Investigating the impact of Bt corn on monarch butterflies
    Aspiring scientists know that a hallmark of science is that experiments are repeatable and testable.  However, students do not often get opportunities to explore the replicability of...

    Keywords: ecologyCommunity EcologyBt cornGenetic modificationMonarch butterflies

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