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.

In this new video we look at the basics of bacteria. We look at their classifications, sizes, shapes and how they reproduce. This video is intended to be a primer on bacteria. We will go into more details as we progress in this series.
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Students construct paper recombinant plasmids to simulate the methods genetic engineers use to create modified bacteria. They learn what role enzymes, DNA and genes play in the modification of organisms. For the particular model they work on, they isolate a mammal insulin gene and combine it with a bacteria's gene sequence (plasmid DNA) for production of the protein insulin.

In this presentation, we will talk about bacteria, and the two life forms planktonic and biofilm growing bacteria. In continuation of this we will explain the difference between planktonic and biofilm growing bacteria.

This 18-minute video lesson provides an introduction to bacteria. [Biology playlist: Lesson 18 of 71].

How can you tell if harmful bacteria are in your food or water that might make you sick? What you eat or drink can be contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites and toxins—pathogens that can be harmful or even fatal. Students learn which contaminants have the greatest health risks and how they enter the food supply. While food supply contaminants can be identified from cultures grown in labs, bioengineers are creating technologies to make the detection of contaminated food quicker, easier and more effective.

Students learn about a special branch of engineering called bioremediation, which is the use of living organisms to aid in the clean-up of pollutant spills. Students learn all about bioremediation and see examples of its importance. In the associated activity, students conduct an experiment and see bioremediation in action!

We know about food chains and how energy moves through an ecosystem. This video takes a step back to examine everything starts... and ends - with Decomposers!

Students design and conduct experiments to determine what environmental factors favor decomposition by soil microbes. They use chunks of carrots for the materials to be decomposed, and their experiments are carried out in plastic bags filled with dirt. Every few days students remove the carrots from the dirt and weigh them. Depending on the experimental conditions, after a few weeks most of the carrots will have decomposed completely.

Lessons, worksheets, labs, tutorials and resources for students and teachers on evolution and zoology.

This lesson describes the major components and functions of the immune system and the role of engineers in keeping the body healthy (e.g., vaccinations and antibiotics, among other things). This lesson also discusses how an astronaut's immune system is suppressed during spaceflight due to stress and other environmental factors.

Students learn about water poverty and how water engineers can develop appropriate solutions to a problem that is plaguing nearly a sixth of the world's population. Students follow the engineering design process to design a gravity-fed water system. They choose between different system parameters such as pipe sizes, elevation differentials between entry and exit pipes, pipe lengths and tube locations to find a design that provides the maximum flow and minimum water turbidity (cloudiness) at the point of use. In this activity, students play the role of water engineers by designing and building model gravity-fed water systems, learning the key elements necessary for viable projects that help improve the lives people in developing communities.

How would a Polar Bear do if you put it in the desert? Not well. But why? Why can't anything live anywhere? Well, this has to do with Habitats and how animals (including humans) are suited for living in one place over another. In this episode, Sabrina talks about how these Habitats form Food Webs and how those Food Webs help us understand a lot about the world.

Students are introduced to a challenge question. Towards answering the question, they generate ideas for what they need to know about medicines and how they move through our bodies, watch a few short videos to gain multiple perspectives, and then learn lecture material to obtain a basic understanding of how antibiotics kill bacteria in the human body. They learn why different forms of medicine (pill, liquid or shot) get into the blood stream at different speeds.

This unit covers the processes of photosynthesis, extinction, biomimicry and bioremediation. In the first lesson on photosynthesis, students learn how engineers use the natural process of photosynthesis as an exemplary model of a complex yet efficient process for converting solar energy to chemical energy or distributing water throughout a system. In the next lesson on species extinction, students learn that it is happening at an alarming rate. Students discover that the destruction of habitat is the main reason many species are threatened and how engineers are trying to stop this habitat destruction. The third lesson introduces students to the idea of biomimicry or looking to nature for engineering ideas. And, in the fourth and final lesson, students learn about a specialty branch of engineering called bioremediation the use of living organisms to aid in the clean up of pollutant spills.

Speed is important, but in this kitchen, safety comes first. Ninja Kitchen is an educational food safety game that helps learners internalize strategies for avoiding cross-contamination, cooking meat to the proper temperature, and keeping foods cold to prevent microbial growth. In early levels, contamination is visible as a green film on food or plates. In later levels it becomes invisible, and players use strategies learned in earlier levels to keep their customers safe. The Ninja Kitchen project aimed to address youth food-handling responsibilities and to help overcome obstacles they encounter in practicing food safety, such as limited knowledge of foodborne disease and preventative behaviors, psychosocial factors (i.e., attitudes, locus of control, self-efficacy), and their existing habits in handling food. A study with ~400 middle schoolers, conducted by Rutgers researchers, indicated Ninja Kitchen was effective in improving food safety knowledge, attitudes and intentions.

Growers, packing centers, and retailers rely on one another to prevent contamination and keep consumers safe. Four animations illustrate how contamination can spread from field to table and suggest ways to avoid this. Applicable to various tree and ground fruits including cantaloupe, cucumbers, and strawberries, the animations follow the lifespan of an imaginary "purple fruit," highlighting danger points at each stage of the process and suggesting best practices for keeping produce free from contamination. Although the animations are brief, they include "Pause Points" (recommended spots to pause the video) where a presenter can discuss, distribute additional materials or reinforce learning during a training.

Student teams practice water quality analysis through turbidity measurement and coliform bacteria counts. They use information about water treatment processes to design prototype small-scale water treatment systems and test the influent (incoming) and effluent (outgoing) water to assess how well their prototypes produce safe water to prevent water-borne illnesses.

Marine biologist Tierney Thys teamed with Christian Sardet (CNRS/Tara Oceans), No錩 Sardet and Sharif Mirshak to use footage from the Plankton Chronicles project to ignite wonder and curiosity about the hidden world of Plankton that underpins our own food chain. A quiz, thought provoking question, and links for further study are provided to create a lesson around the 6-minute video. Educators may use the platform to easily "Flip" or create their own lesson for use with their students of any age or level.

"Secrets of the Sequence is a library of videos hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University. It features 50+ 8 to 10-minute videos and accompanying lessons to help teachers incorporate the latest developments in the area of genetic research into their teaching."

Click on "Watch and download videos" to get started.