This project was funded by the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology
See the Waksman Foundation website for information about grants and other resources for K-12 teachers
Questions?
If you have questions about any of the content or techniques described in these papers, please email LSLC_Media@urmc.rochester.edu and we will find the answers! We encourage you to have your students examine the experiments with a critical eye. If they feel that they have an alternative hypothesis that is supported by the data, we would be happy to start a dialog with scientists in the field.
Teacher's guide to the interactive paper (including paper outline)
Sample assessment questions and learning objectives for each section
Connections to New York State Living Environment Core Curriculum
Additional Information about S. Mutans and Experimental Therapies
Pubmed link to Kuhnert, et. al., 2004
Link to the Quivey Laboratory at the University of Rochester Medical Center
Laboratory Activity: Critiquing a Science Fair Experiment
Laboratory Activity: Transformation, The Case of the Necessary Gene

Addresses the following biological concepts: Active transport, Anaerobic respiration, ATP, Biofilms, Cell membranes, Complementarity of DNA and/or RNA, Diffusion (concentration gradients), Enzymes, Homeostasis, How organisms use DNA to create proteins, Independent vs Dependent variables, Inquiry/Experimental design, pH, Protein channels, Transcription, Translation
(Run time = ~ 1.5 hours, 371 KB)
   
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Bacterial Homeostasis and Tooth Decay
Adapted from a research paper published in 2004, written by Wendi Kuhnert and others, this research paper describes an experiment that addresses how a bacteria that causes tooth decay can survive at low pH.
Teacher's guide to the interactive paper (including paper outline)
Color key for nucleotides in the interactive paper
Sample assessment questions and learning objectives for each section
Connections to New York State Living Environment Core Curriculum
Powerpoint on AIDS Vaccine Research (by Ramil Sapinoro)
Pubmed link to Renda, et. al., 2001
Link to the Dewhurst Laboratory at the University of Rochester Medical Center
Laboratory Activity: Studying Viruses
Laboratory Activity: Competitive Inhibition

Addresses the following biological concepts: Amino Acids, Complementarity of DNA and/or RNA, DNA replication, Enyzmes,Flow Cytometry, HIV, Independent vs Dependent variables, Inquiry/Experimental design, Nucleotides, Polymerases, Ribosomes, The immune system, Translation, Viruses.
(Run time = ~ 1.5 hours, 555 KB)    
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AIDS, HIV and tRNA
Adapted from a research paper published in 2001, written by Matthew Renda and others, this interactive paper describes an experiment that tests whether an altered tRNA can be used to stop the ability Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) from converting its single stranded RNA into double stranded DNA. This conversion is a necessary step for HIV to infect human cells.

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Many of the print materials are provided as Word documents so that teachers can adjust or edit as needed. Please credit the Life Sciences Learning Center for materials you use.

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