Students create four-legged walking robots and measure how far they travel across different types of surfaces. They design and create "shoes" to add to the robots' feet and observe the effect of their modifications on the net distance traveled across the various surface types. This activity illustrates how the specialized locomotive features of different species help them to survive or thrive in their habitat environments. The activity is best as an enrichment tool that follows a lesson that introduces the concept of biological adaptation to students.

This case study introduces students to treatment alternatives for depression using a jigsaw method in which groups of students are divided up so that each member of the "home group" becomes the "resident expert" in one of five possible treatment options. Designed for a course in abnormal psychology, this case could be adapted for courses in physiological psychology, pharmacy, and neurobiology.

At what point in evolutionary development does a group of individuals become two distinct species? This case addresses that fundamental question by asking students to decide whether apple maggot flies are distinct as a species from hawthorn maggot flies. In making their decision, students examine the different models of speciation and consider the primary forces that effect evolutionary change. Developed for an advanced undergraduate course in evolutionary biology, it would be appropriate for any biology course in which students are taught about the models of speciation. It could also be used in a general ecology course in which students consider the distribution and use of resources leading to niche specialization or in a genetics course if restrictions in gene flow are taught in the context of speciation.

When Mitchell reveals that he is going on a low-carb diet, Janine tries to talk him out of it, telling him that he's too thin as it is and doesn't need to loose any weight. Designed to accompany a nonmajors unit on human anatomy and physiology, this interrupted case study has students applying what they learn about human body systems to Mitchell's fad diet claims and Janine's sharp criticisms. Supplementary links help students explore new discoveries about appetite-controlling hormones, how body image may influence people's dietary decisions, and some of the most common diet myths.

Students are introduced to the concept of engineering biological organisms and studying their growth to be able to identify periods of fast and slow growth. They learn that bacteria are found everywhere, including on the surfaces of our hands. Student groups study three different conditions under which bacteria are found and compare the growth of the individual bacteria from each source. In addition to monitoring the quantity of bacteria from differ conditions, they record the growth of bacteria over time, which is an excellent tool to study binary fission and the reproduction of unicellular organisms.

The ethics of human experimentation are explored in this case about the infamous syphilis studies performed at the Tuskegee Institute from the 1930s to the 1960s. Sponosred by the U.S. Public Health Service, 399 African American men with syphilis were recruited for a research study on the progression of the disease when left untreated. The case examines the science underlying the experiment as well as the ethical and racial issues. One of its goals is to help students understand the evolution in our thinking on issues of science, human experimentation, and race, and how they are conditioned by our culture. The case could be used in any course that explores the ethics of science.

This "clicker case" is based on the General Biology edition of James Hewlett's "Bad Fish" case in our collection. The case follows the story of biologist Dr. Westwood, who is accidentally poisoned, first while traveling in Asia and then in the South Pacific. Students learn about Dr. Westwood's experiences and about nerve cell physiology-focusing especially on the role of ion channels in maintaining and changing electrical gradients across the cell membrane (resting potential and action potentials). They then apply what they learn in each part of the case to determine the mechanism of neurotoxin poisonings described in the case. The case is presented in class via PowerPoint (~2MB). Students use personal response systems, or "clickers," to answer the multiple-choice questions that punctuate the PowerPoint presentation as they explore the underlying mechanism of Dr. Westwood's poisoning.

In this version, developed for classes in cell and molecular biology, the protagonist of the case, Dr. Westwood, survives an accidental poisoning-not once, but twice. Students read about each incident, applying what they learn in each part of the case to the later sections, and then design a drug to treat the neurotoxin poisoning described in the story. The case comes in three different versions, or editions. This is the Cell & Molecular Biology Edition, which has a different set of questions than the General Biology Edition or the Human Anatomy& Physiology Edition, also in our collection.

In this version, developed for a course in general biology, the protagonist of the case, Dr. Westwood, survives an accidental poisoning-not once, but twice. Students read about each incident, applying what they learn in each part of the case to the later sections, and then design a drug to treat the neurotoxin poisoning described in the story. The case comes in three different versions, or editions. The General Biology Edition is designed for an introductory biology course. Its basic storyline and core objectives are carried over into a Human Anatomy& Physiology Edition and a Cell& Molecular Biology Edition, also in our collection, each of which has its own set of questions.

In this version, developed for a course in human anatomy and physiology, the protagonist of the case, Dr. Westwood, survives an accidental poisoning-not once, but twice. Students read about each incident, applying what they learn in each part of the case to the later sections, and then design a drug to treat the neurotoxin poisoning described in the story. The case comes in three different versions, or editions. This is the Human Anatomy& Physiology Edition, which has a different set of questions than the General Biology Edition or the Cell& Molecular Biology Edition, also in our collection.

This case involves the transfer of a food allergy to a patient who received a combined kidney and liver transplant from a donor who died as the result of an allergic reaction. In addition to learning about the various roles of immune cells, the physiology of anaphylaxis, and the function of antibodies in immune physiology, students explore concepts related to histocompatibilities, organ donation, and organ rejection. The case is appropriate for use in a course in human physiology, a combined course in human anatomy and physiology, or an introductory course in immunology.

This case is based on an actual article entitled "Baby Alert" that appeared in Consumer Reports (May 1999). The article raises some concerns about the safety of polycarbonate baby bottles, and recommends that parents dispose of them as a precaution. However, the American Plastics Council and the Food and Drug Administration have raised concerns about the experimental methodology used as well as the recommendations made in this article. The case has been used to help develop students' critical thinking skills in an introductory chemistry course for non-majors. It may be used to illustrate applications in polymer chemistry, quantitative chemical analysis, toxicology, endocrine disruption, and risk-benefit analysis.

This case focuses on the banana, the most popular fruit in the world. In the first part of the case, students are introduced to the history of "Banana Republics" and the biological constraints to banana production, including the devastating fungal pathogens that cause black Sigatoka and Panama disease. In the second part, they learn about ethical consumerism, organic and conventional agriculture, and Fair Trade products. The case was developed for an interdisciplinary capstone course, "Global Issues in the Sciences." It could also be used in courses in environmental studies, general biology, agriculture, and plant pathology.

In this 8-lesson unit students use buttons to explore logical and numerical relationships that form the conceptual basis for understanding addition and subtraction operations. Topics include counting, ordinal numbers (and relative position), classification (attributes), relationships between numbers, addition of sets, commutativity of addition, sums to 10, fact families (including subtraction), three models of subtraction ("take away", comparative, missing addend), and bar graphs. Includes student activity sheets and a link to an online graphing applet.

In this optics activity, learners discover that when they rotate a special black and white pattern called a Benham's Disk, it produces the illusion of colored rings. Learners experiment with the speed of rotation and direction of rotation to observe varying patterns. Use this activity to explain to learners how our eyes detect color and how different color receptors in the eye respond at different rates.

In this dilemma case study, the executives of a popular restaurant chain must decide whether to use irradiated meat, in this case, beef, to protect its customers from the bacteria, E. coli. Students learn about food irradiation and discuss issues related to food safety and the public's acceptance of new food technologies. As developed, the case could be used in a variety of introductory science courses in chemistry, physics, biology, environmental science, and agricultural science.

As Jen pores over her introductory biology textbook, she falls asleep and enters a nightmarish world in which bacteria and viruses dwarf human beings. This engagingly written case explores the differences between viruses and bacteria while teaching about the basic components and "life" cycle of a T-even bacteriophage. The case includes a follow-up assignment in which students explore the risks and potential benefits of using bacteriophage to control bacterial disease. The case is appropriate for general biology and microbiology college courses as well as AP biology high school classes.

In this case study, two students meet a professor who surprises them by telling them that a biochemically important molecule's structure has been incorrectly represented in the published literature - in an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a major biochemistry textbook, and even The Merck Index. The students are challenged to find the nature of the structural errors and correct them. In addition to demonstrating that the technical literature is not without its flaws, the case reviews important concepts related to geometric isomerism and tautomerism.

This exercise contains two interrelated modules that introduce students to modern biological techniques in the area of Bioinformatics, which is the application of computer technology to the management of biological information. The need for Bioinformatics has arisen from the recent explosion of publicly available genomic information, such as that resulting from the Human Genome Project.