Do young scientists know that some traits are only passed down by the mother? Mitochondrial DNA is an interesting phenomenon that provides researchers with a lot of useful information. Scholars learn about the endosymbiotic theory, what...

Why do people age? Scholars explore the concept of telomeres and why they are so important in cells. They learn about the role of telomerase and why it is active in some cells—but not in others. The video also explains why some organisms...

What do you really know about the common cold? Introduce learners to viruses, their components, and how they use host cells to replicate and infect more cells. Pupils identify the type of virus that causes the common cold and get...

What do amazonite, heliotrope, carnelian, and diamonds have in common? There are all crystals and members of one of the six crystal families. Viewers of a fascinating short video learn about the molecular structure of crystals that cause...

In the future, will medical treatment be tailored to specific DNA? An episode of the Crash Course History of Science discusses the biotechnology of modern medicine. The narrator explains the history of DNA research and how that applies...

Regulatory genes play very important roles in cell development. An animated video shows pupils an example of a regulatory gene and how p53 initiates transcription of a gene. The parts of a gene that control regulation are briefly...

Curing cancer with ... another virus? Chemotherapy and radiation are not the only ways to treat cancer. Now, there is a unique treatment involving infecting cells with viruses. Viewers discover why the innovative treatment does not...

Mutations often lead to genetic disorders. The tri-nucleotide repeat leads to an expansion of DNA thanks to errors in the process of DNA replication. Using the informative video, scholars identify genetic disorders related to this error...

How do cells control which genes they express? The animation describes a specific example of how, after interaction with proteins, gene expression turns off. Scholars learn about the role of histone proteins and chromatin in the process...

What does a cell do when DNA is not copied correctly? An informative video shows budding scientists an example of a mismatch mutation during DNA replication. Viewers learn that to prevent a mutation from occurring, cells have mechanisms...

Biotechnology is a relatively new science, but the history of the science that made it possible goes back to the early 1900s. Take a tour through the history of scientific research that led to the possibility of biotechnology. The lesson...

How do we know the structure of DNA? Learn about Chargaff's rule and how scientists first discovered the structure of DNA. Using an informative video, young scientists identify how the arrangement of complementary nitrogen bases affects...

Human traits trace back to simpler species—such as chickens, for example. Using the human genomes, scientists connect these traits to their ancestral origins. A video presentation highlights the structure of human DNA and makes a...

What happens when you untwist and unzip DNA? View the fascinating process and learn about the pieces that make up DNA in an informative video. It highlights the base pairing and sequencing rules within each strand.

A presentation of how engineering based in making something better led to engineering genetics. Scholars learn that genetic engineering began by selectively breeding plants that had specific characteristics to improve them. The video...

The purpose of 75% of the human genome letters is still unknown. Is it unnecessary information or does it have a key to important information in human genetics? The lesson animation is a visual reference to the massive amount of...

How many times can you say deoxyribonucleic acid fast? Viewers learn the components that create DNA using a video representation. The narrator introduces learners to adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine and how they create the...

While our bodies have incredible capabilities to repair damage, some mutations accumulate and lead to disease. Follow the life of a DNA mutation using a computer-generated animation. The narrator explains the impact of radiation,...

One thing that all cells have in common is the DNA in their nucleus. An animation demonstration models how six feet of DNA fits in each and every nucleus of each cell. The content includes information about the components of DNA and how...

Just when things get heated up, they cool down again! Using an animation, a video presentation demonstrates the process of polymerase chain reaction. A narrator describes the temperature changes and the process that ensues as...

Explore the beginnings of the theory to explain DNA replication using an eye-catching animation. Scholars view a simple rendition of DNA replication with an explanation of the first theories suggesting its existence. The animation shows...

Animations are powerful tools for seeing things the eye cannot! A thorough lesson demonstration models DNA replication with a 3-D animation. The video demonstrates how enzymes first separate the original DNA and then copy the resulting...

Don't leave anything to the imagination! Use an animation to demonstrate the replication of DNA. The animation shows how the double helix separates and then begins copying nucleotides to create a copy.

Just how long can a fossil preserve DNA? It seems that DNA becomes unreadable after about 6.8 million years. Learn about the science that helped make this conclusion and the mistakes made along the way in a lesson from a PBS Eons video...