All humans alive today descended from the same woman who lived just 150,000 years ago. A thought-provoking video explains this concept as part of a larger biology playlist. It lists the location where the woman lived as well as where our...

Just because we have the ability to determine an organism's traits through genetic testing, should we do it? Middle-school medical experts examine the ethical dilemmas in biotechnology in the 17th and final installment in a series of...

At one point, all mammals carried only two color receptors, but now most humans carry three. An informative presentation and hands-on activity demonstrate how this evolved through genetics. By participating in the activity, pupils...

How did scientists determine the cause of illness before technology? Science scholars play the role of medical researcher in an engaging guided inquiry activity. Using observations, technical reading, and Punnett squares, learners...

Can your class solve the Mystery of the Crooked Cell? Junior geneticists collaborate to learn about sickle cell anemia in a fascinating lesson plan. The included materials help them to examine the genetic factors behind the disease...

Ever been told you have your father's eyes? How did it happen? Young biologists get a hands-on experience in meiotic gene expression with a fun pairs-based activity. Participants use pipe cleaner chromosomes with trait beads to make...

Show learners how to apply genotypes of parents to a Punnett square to determine potential genotypes and phenotypes of offspring with a video that explores monohybrid crosses and then complete a dihybrid cross as well. 

If every human on earth looked exactly the same, the world would be a boring place. Thank goodness for genes! Pupils explore the difference between haploid and diploid cells by learning how two parents without red hair can produce a...

Did you know that your DNA can be damaged tens of thousands of times per day? Learn about the ways that damage to just one strand of your DNA can be fixed, or in extreme examples, result in genetic mutation such as cancer. 

In a sweet simulation, junior geneticists examine the chromosomes of a fictitious Reebop marshmallow animal, combine chromosomes to produce offspring, and then make a model of the resulting Reebop baby. Phenotypes include number of...

Welcome to the complex biological story that is our life. Great visual imagery zooms in on the dissection of a DNA double helix in our body. What happens with RNA? Where do amino acids come in? This resource explores our inner workings...

These aren't the type of jeans you can buy at a local store! Help your class understand what determines if you're a girl or a boy. Show this cartoon representation of how a male and a female's chromosomes shuffle, divide, and recombine...

A terrific WebQuest is outlined here for your young scientists. They will learn about how proteins are made by following the instructions given to them from genes. Before the WebQuest begins, there are some terrific "front loading"...

Biotech engineers discover that changes in the DNA code for cell wall formation can help create crops better suited for biofuel production. They extract DNA from wheat germ. They decode paper strips with codes and relate the activity to...

Junior geneticists tally eye color and height in their lab groups. They examine certain traits in soybean and corn seedlings. For each activity, they gather data and learn about continuous and discontinuous genetic variation. In another...

Six different chromosome activites introduce biology aces to heredity, chromosomal abnormalities, sex-linked traits, and the human genome. The hands-on activites are fairly simple for the teacher to prepare and will prove to be both...

Four different-shaped and dyed pasta types represent four different alleles. Following a guide sheet, young geneticists practice randomly selecting alleles and discover the traits of the resulting offspring. This is a fun and solid...

Why are you the way you are? Your phenotypes result from the interaction between your genes and the environment. So where do personality traits come from? These are less understood, but this video gives you an idea of how you became you!...

Do you know how many chromosomes humans have? Do you know how many of those chromosomes we share with the chimpanzee? A perfect introduction to DNA for your middle schoolers, this video uses a ton of visuals to clearly illustrate the...

What important aspects of gene therapy should patients understand? Part four of the six-part Gene Therapy: Molecular Bandage? module challenges scholars to create brochures or posters to explain gene therapy and its process, challenges,...

Animal reproduction in sheep and cattle is explored with the help of Punnet squares. Scholars employ tools using probability to conclude the color of wool a sheep's offspring will have. Acting as animal geneticists, pupils then take...

What, exactly, causes lactose intolerance? Scholars view a video describing a Finnish study that determined why some people are tolerant while others are intolerant. They then use the data from the study to reenact the experiment and...

Biotechnology changes lives every day, but how did it all start? Learn about Cohen and Boyer's technique for recombinant DNA and the founding of this new scientific study. Then, scholars use the online interactive to discover how Hanahan...