For our second lesson on Systems Biology, students analyzed a cell phone model simulation created by the Baliga Lab at the Institute for Systems Biology. The analysis was guided by a worksheet that students turned in at the end of the class.
All posts by David Swart
Systems Biology Unit – Lesson 1
During the last two months before summer break, we will spend our time studying the field of Systems Biology. The Systems Biology Unit will consist of at least four major parts:
- Understanding Systems
- Human Body Systems
- Ecosystems
- Modeling of Ecosystems with Eco-Themed Cryptocurrencies
In lesson 1, students were introduced to the overall structure of the unit. They learned and key vocabulary associated with network analysis, and then applied their learning to define the nodes and edges of familiar systems. Students worked individually or with partners to define a system, and then examples were shared with the rest of the class.
Spring Break!
We made it! Enjoy your hard-earned week off and don’t forget to finish reading your evolution unit articles. Responses to the readings are due at the beginning of class when you return from break. In preparation for our final unit, I have reached out to the crytpocurrency community on Twitter to help us add an interesting twist to our study of Systems Biology. We have already had some amazing individuals and companies step up and make some big donations! A list of donors will be kept on the Cryptocurrency page of the blog. If you have a Twitter account, please be sure to follow our donors and send them a huge thank you!
Evolution – Mini-Unit Wrap-Up
To better understand how DNA mutation drives evolution, students worked through the HHMI’s BioInteractive lesson titled Creating Phylogenetic Trees from DNA Sequences. Students completed the accompanying PDF worksheet prepared by HHMI.
The Evolution mini-lesson concludes on Friday. Students will have all day in class on Friday to read up to four articles and respond to questions about the articles. Students must read the first two articles (1- Carsonella ruddii and 2- Dogs First Domesticated in Europe) and thoroughly answer the questions to earn a grade of Developing (equivalent to a C). Students who read and answer the questions from the third article (3- And the Genomes Keep Shrinking with questions) will earn a grade of Proficient (equivalent to a B). To earn a grade of Advanced, students must read the fourth article (4- Vitamin C Evolution) and write a one paragraph summary explaining what they learned, what confused them, what they want to learn more about, and how they would obtain the information they want to learn.
Many students elected to take the reading packet in advance in order to complete the reading on Friday. However, students do have the option of completing the reading over Spring Break and returning the completed work on Monday, April 14.
Evolution – Lesson 3
In Lesson 3, students learned how DNA can be used to determine the evolutionary relationships among a set of organisms. We focused on mechanisms to increase the quantity of DNA (like retroviruses) and discussed how analysis of endogenous retrovirus DNA insertion events contributes to our understanding of evolution.
Evolution – Lesson 2
With HSPE testing last week, we only had two days of class. The first day was spent completing question 1 from the virus mutation worksheet from Lesson 1. Students also had an opportunity to make corrections to quiz 2. To earn a grade jump, students had to complete the following for each incorrect answer:
1. Explain their thought processes behind each incorrect answer.
2. Explain why they think their new answer is correct.
On the second day, we watched episode 2 of the new Cosmos series in which Dr. Tyson describes the process of evolution. Students should be able to explain the difference between natural and artificial selection, as compared and contrasted with the evolution of dogs and polar bears.
For this week, we continued our study of evolution in Lesson 2. Students then constructed a Tree of Life using a list of organisms and determining the relationships between the organisms.
Evolution – Lesson 1
On Wednesday, we kicked off the Evolution unit with our first lesson. In Lesson 1, students watched a video about the evolution of soccer and then brainstormed other everyday things that have evolved over time. Student ideas included the evolution of vehicles, animals, society, technology, and medicine. In the lesson, students learned that DNA can change through missense mutations, nonsense mutations, and frameshift mutations. After the lesson, students worked with a partner to investigate a hypothetical scenario requiring the integration of research skills, critical reading skills, recollection of the Central Dogma, and application of DNA mutations. The investigation will conclude on Monday. By the end of class Thursday, most students had successfully answered questions 2-6 of the worksheet. As the events of 1995 and 2000 were before many of the students were born, we watched the following videos to bring closure to that part of the investigation and to introduce students to part of Seattle cultural history.
Evolution: Can We Live Forever?
On Tuesday, we watched a NOVA ScienceNOW episode hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. The show addressed the question, “Can We Live Forever?” Students then turned in their responses to three questions on a worksheet. Humans continue to develop amazing biomedical tools which may someday enable us to replace human parts just like car parts, potentially extending the human lifespan indefinitely. This provides a stark contrast to the traditional concept of evolution, where DNA mutations accumulate over many generations and may provide individuals with a survival advantage. In the rapidly approaching future, where biomedicine can overcome genetic defects and introduce new organs or even new traits, will we have to reconsider our definition of the process of evolution?
Wrapping up Genetics
We are wrapping up the Genetics Unit and transitioning to the Evolution Unit. The Stranger Visions video is an excellent example of the merger of art, science, and technology. Give it a watch, and think twice the next time you spit out your gum!
Genetics Unit – Lesson 8
For the Lesson 8, the final lesson in the Genetics Unit, we learned about the “Levels of Heredity” and then how to make dihybrid crosses. A dihybrid cross is a Punnett Square that shows the possible inheritance patterns of two independently-assorting genes. The classwork for this lesson included a dihybrid cross (two-trait Punnett Square) worksheet and a reading with questions about the connection between Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease.
We will have our second quiz for the Genetics Unit on Friday, so study hard! Be sure to review Lessons 5-8, focusing on mitosis and meiosis, vocabulary (allele, genotype, phenotype, dominant, recessive, homozygous, heterozygous) and know how to make and analyze one- and two-trait Punnett Squares.
Science with Swart 
You must be logged in to post a comment.