The major challenge in laboratory teaching is the application of abstract concepts in simple and direct practical lessons. However, students rarely have the opportunity to participate in a laboratory that combines practical learning with a realistic research experience. In the Bioengineering Department, we started an experiential laboratory…

This article presents an approach to integrate contemporary physics into high-school teaching. We present a simple way to understand mass spectroscopy using basic physics concepts, so that high-school students may have contact with recent topics of modern research. The main features of a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer using secondary…

An interdisciplinary, two-credit, one-semester laboratory course required of second-year chemistry and biochemistry majors at a small, rural, undergraduate liberal arts institution is described. During the first half of the course students are provided instruction in chemical information resources, scientific communication, advanced techniques,…

First reported in the early 1930s, variation in the ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) has since become one of the most widely studied of all human genetic traits. Guo and Reed (2001) provide an excellent review of work on this polymorphism prior to the identification and sequencing of the PTC gene by Kim et al. (2003), and Wooding (2006)…

Inquiry-driven lab exercises require students to think carefully about a question, carry out an investigation of that question, and critically analyze the results of their investigation. Here, we describe the implementation and assessment of an inquiry-based laboratory exercise in which students obtain and analyze novel data that contribute to our…

Testing the pH of various liquids is one of the most popular activities in 5th- through 8th-grade classrooms. The author presents an extensive pH-testing lesson based on a 5E (engagement, exploration, explanation, extension, and evaluation) teaching model. The activity provides students with the opportunity to learn about pH and how it relates to…

Examines some of the considerations involved in setting up a typical oxygen/organic reaction. These considerations (including protection for personnel/equipment, adequate ventilation, reactor design, maximum reactor charge, operating procedures, and others) influence how the reaction is to be conducted and what compromises the scientist must…

The enzyme orotidine-5'-monophosphate decarboxylase is an attractive choice for the central theme of an integrated, research-based biochemistry laboratory course. A series of laboratory exercises common to most instructional laboratories, including enzyme assays, protein purification, enzymatic characterization, elementary kinetics, and…

Incubation studies are traditionally used in soil microbiology laboratory classes to demonstrate microbial respiration and N mineralization-immobilization processes. Sometimes these exercises are done to calculate a N balance in N fertilizer-amended soils. However, examining microbial responses to environmental perturbations would appeal to soil…

Described are the Howard Hughes Medical Institute programs for providing funds to assist science education. One program is designed to assist private liberal arts colleges that are not affiliated with a graduate school. Other programs have been established to provide support for postdoctoral research and laboratories. (RH)

Uses a problem-solving task to compare the performance of school students, university students, and research scientists on a laboratory-based science investigation. Reports limitations in the work of the school students and provides insights into the development and nature of expertise in investigation skills. Presents recommendations for…

"Name That Gene" is a simple classroom activity that incorporates bioinformatics (available biological information) into the classroom using "Basic Logical Alignment Search Tool (BLAST)." An excellent classroom activity involving bioinformatics and "BLAST" has been previously explored using sequences from bacteria, but it is tailored for college…