Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have been endorsed as a powerful instructional tool in higher education; however, relatively little is known about the long-term effects of participation in these programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the educational enhancements of URE participation from the perspective of practicing…

The 14-base pair hypervariable region in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of Asian populations, specifically Japanese and Chinese students at Plattsburgh State University, was examined. Previous research on this 14-base pair region showed it to be susceptible to mutations and as a result indicated direct correlation with specific ethnic populations.…

The increasingly interdisciplinary nature of today's scientific research is leading to the transformation of undergraduate education. In addressing these needs, the University of Houston's College of Technology has developed a new interdisciplinary research-based biotechnology laboratory curriculum. Using the pesticide degrading bacterium,…

The development and implementation of a research-based organic chemistry laboratory experiment is presented. The experiment was designed to simulate a scientific research environment, involve students in critical thinking, and develop the student's ability to analyze and present research-based data. In this experiment, a laboratory class…

Mastering the concept of photosynthesis is of critical importance to learning plant physiology and its applications, but seems to be one of the more challenging concepts in biology. This teaching challenge is no doubt compounded by the complexity by which plants alter photosynthesis in different environments. Here we suggest the use of chlorophyll…

This article explores the potential benefits of creating "virtual ecosystems" from real-world data. These ecosystems are intended to be realistic virtual representations of environments that may be costly or difficult to access in person. They can be constructed as 3D worlds rendered from stereo video data, augmented with scientific data, and then…

The authors engage students in inquiry-based learning by presenting laboratory exercises as mini-journal articles that mirror the format of a scientific journal article, including a title, authors, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and citations. Students develop and carry out their follow-up investigation, then…

Terms to be familiar with before you start to solve the test: protein synthesis, ribosomes, amino acids, peptides, peptide bond, polypeptide chain, N- and C-terminus, hemoglobin, [alpha]- and [beta]-globin chains, radioactive labeling, [[to the third power]H] and [[to the fourteenth power]C]leucine, cytosol, differential centrifugation, density…

In the current Higher Education climate, there is a pressing need to integrate research and teaching in the student learning experience. In order to create synergy between research and teaching activities, to the benefit of students and instructors, we provided students with the opportunity to participate in a high profile collaboration between…

Research service-learning (RSL) is an emerging pedagogy in which students engage in research within a service-learning context. This approach has great potential to promote science literacy because it teaches students how to use scientific knowledge and scientific ways of thinking in the service of society and helps them to better appreciate the…

American universities today serve as economic engines, performing the scientific research that will create new industries, drive economic growth, and keep the United States globally competitive. But only a few decades ago, these same universities self-consciously held themselves apart from the world of commerce. "Creating the Market University" is…

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,…

This study provided a challenging opportunity for general chemistry students to mimic the scientific research process by solving a water-quality problem concerning individual calcium and magnesium concentrations. We found that general chemistry students were able to develop their own experiments to solve real-world, multivariable problems through…

The authors sought to better approximate the practice of "real" science in our classrooms by having students study a newly built storm-water remediation wetland on campus. The wetland was meant to gather and clean storm water running off of student parking lots--thus students had ownership in the problem and potential solution. Participating…

This manuscript reports on efforts to introduce beginning college students to the modern nanoscience field. These include: implementing selected experiments into sequencing core first-year and second-year chemistry laboratory courses; providing students with a first research experience; and engaging them in service learning and outreach programs…