Biology in Society (Biol 3)

• Information about the final can be found here.

• NEW The Review sheet is HERE! NEW

• The Naked Mole Rat Camera at the National Zoo! Eusociality in mammals - live!

• Check out these sites to learn more about how drift and natural selection work in evolution.

• If you need a copy of the genetics definitions and problem set, click here.

• New links for the lectures on inheritance and disease have been posted. Check them out below!

• If you lost or never had the meiosis lecture outline, click here.

• If you lost or never had the biotechnology lecture outline (a handout in class), click here.

• Hard copies of the papers are available, on reserve in the library. If you don't know how to use reserve, ask someone at the circulation desk! (In other words, you don't have to go digging through the library to find the references. They're already in a folder that you are allowed to check out for a short time!) Link to the electronic reserve here (fixed!). The paper is due on Wedesday, November 1st. Papers in on the original due date will receive 10 extra points. By the way, I'd rather see a good paper on November 1st than a rushed paper on October 25th.

• Questions about how to cite references? Click here for information on proper formatting.

General information

• Home page for Sylvia Mader's Biology (textbook)
• Electronic reserve for our class

The Scientific Method explained here

DNA (click here for specific links)

Chromosomal Mutations

Biotechnology

Cell division (mitosis and meiosis)

Inheritance and disease

Ecology

Evolution

• General topics, introductions, and statements about evolution
• Information about evolution, religion, and "special creationism"
• Darwin
• New! Simulations of drift and selection
• New! Check out the Naked Mole Rat Camera at the National Zoo!

General topics, introductions, and statements about evolution and evolutionary ecology

• A general introduction to evolutionary biology that I encourage everyone to read.
• Evolution, Science and Society:  Evolutionary Biology and the National Research Agenda.  A white paper that defines the challenges and opportunities facing the study of evolution, as presented by experts from several major scientific societies.   These links will take you to an introduction, the executive summary, or the full document.
• A University of Toronto biochemist's web site on evolution with an excellent and well organized set of links to various evolutionary topics, from fossils to history to molecules.
• The tree of life from the University of Arizona, an overview of of organismal diversity, arranged as an evolutionary tree, with dynamite links, graphics, and information on everything from bacteria to trees to man.
• Evolution of virulence and host-parasite interactions
• Ecological Society of America which has links to a variety of sites for various subdisplines within ecology, as well as job and career information (be sure to check out their educational section).

 

• National Academy of Science publicationsScience and Creationism and Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science, in my opinion some of the most thoughtful and carefully presented material on the subject.
• Voices for evolution, a collection of statements by religious, educational, scientific and civil liberties organizations which address the evolution / special creationist issue
• Talk.origins, a website devoted to promoting dialogue about the physical origins of the universe and biological origins of life.
• National Science Board Statement on Action of the Kansas Board of Education on Evolution

• Darwin from Windows to the Universe, an educational site geared for a slightly younger audience - sort of a virtual natural history and space museum.
• A Darwin homepage (great set of links)
• Full text version of the Origin of Species with a searchable index

DNA

• DNA animations galore here, including pictures of DNA, replication in motion, and protein synthesis

Mutations

• Chromosomal mutations and human diseases - nice graphics! Pictures of karyotypes for various genetically-based diseases
• Why are there so many errors in our DNA? From the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, an introduction to genetics and disease in humans

Biotechnology

• General information on biotechnology (graphics, definitions, etc.) can be found at the Access Excellence site
• Here's another definition of biotechnology from the Australian Biotechnology Association
• PCR
  • What the heck is it, anyway?
  • Here's a good graphical representation of the technique
• DNA sequencing and the Human Genome Project
  • a really brief but nice introduction to the Project
  • An overview of the Human genome project from the National Human Genomics Research Institute - lengthy
  • An excellent overview of the Human genome Project with explanations of the technology - easier to navigate
  • A general introduction to DNA sequencing from one of the key inventors of the technique
  • Genetic testing: the reality, the promise, the dilemma (now that we CAN sequence your DNA....)
• Cloning
  • Transgenic organisms - see the links for your paper, as well as this general introduction from the Australian Biotechnology Association
  • Embryonic Stem Cells
    • A great introduction from the University of Wisconsin
    • Another introduction from "The Why Files"
    • If you can't get enough info about cloning, go here
• Gene therapy: just what is it?
• Forensics and DNA: a great introduction
  • DNA fingerprinting introduction from the Why Files
• If you can't get enough of applied biotechnology, here's a great set of additional links

Cell Division (mitosis and meiosis)

• For animations of mitosis, try Doug Lundberg's DNA animation page
• For additional figures to help you understand cell division, try Access Excellence's site
• Dr. Robert Huskey's human biology class website the the University of Virginia has some excellent animations and pictures of mitosis, meiosis, and crossing over (see slides 215 - 225)
• Here are many educational links related cell division and chromosomes

Inheritance and Disease

• The University of Arizona's Biology Project has a nice set of genetics problems, with answers and tutorials.
• The National Center for Biotechnology Information features an introduction to genetic diseases as well as human chromosome maps. Click on the numbers across the top of the screen to see what diseases are on each chromosome. Click on a disease name to learn more about it.
• Access Excellence has a nice set of graphical representations for key genetic principles.
• Mad cow disease: an good introduction from CNN special report
• A statement about antibiotic resistance from the Union of Concerned Scientists
• Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about AIDS/ HIV
• A good gateway to AIDS / HIV information from the World Health Organization

Ecology

• Frequently asked questions about population growth from the Union of Concerned Scientists
• The World population clock: the estimated total human population of the world, right now.
• An excellent graphical introduction to global warming and climate change from the United Nations Environment Programme.
• Common questions about climate change from the United Nations Environment Programme

• The New York Times Science section
• The SF Gate (California Bay area's news media)
• The Los Angeles Times
• The Pittsburg Post-Gazette
• USA Today
• CBS (click on the "SciTech" icon in the left-hand menu)
• ABC
• FOX
• CNN Nature
• CNN Health
• Environmental News Network
• ScienceDaily Magazine
• SeaWeb
• National Geographic News
• Nature Science Update (the latest hot research as reported daily by Nature's science writing team)
• Nature Feature of the Week (their top story, enhanced with additional Web and source material)
• Nature Debates
• Science News
• Discover-Current Issue (full contents with web links)-Recent Issues (full contents with web links)-Archive
• -Science News (web-exclusive articles)
• Scientific American-Current Issue-Past issues (an index of past articles)Explore! (breaking stories of the week)Exhibits (web-enhanced stories dating back to April, 1996)Features Articles (browse full text articles back to January, 1996)
• New Scientist
• Popular Science
• National Geographic Magazine (Table of contents only with excerpts from one article in each issue, online forum and essay)

Paper information

• Here's a virtual copy of the original assigment.
• Most of the key references are available on reserve from the library or on electronic reserve for our class (password protected)
• Click here for instructions on proper citation of all reference materials.
• And here are the references:

References for paper on Genetically Modified (GM) Foods

Primary references:

• Nash, J.M. Grains of Hope. Time, July 31, 2000: 39-46. Link here for a web-based version (but the pictures are better in the printed version)
• Uzogara, SG. The impact of genetic modification of human foods in the 21st century: A review. 2000. Biotechnology Advances 18:179-206.
• Altieri, M.A. Can biotechnology end hunger? No: Poor farmers won't reap the benefits. Foreign Policy, Summer 2000: 123-131.
• Leisinger, K.M. Can biotechnology end hunger? Yes: Stop blocking progress. Foreign Policy, Summer 2000: 113-122.
• Langridge, W.H.R. Edible Vaccines. Scientific American, Sept. 2000: 66-71.
• The web site to see, sponsored by Colorado State University
  

Other useful web sites:

• The genetics revolution: Plant and Animal Applications: a special web-only newsfile at Time.com, with links to other sites, as well.
• NEW!! Brand new section (as of 9/27) at NY Times website about GM foods
  

Other references: (click on underlined text for link to web version of document)

• Seppa, N. Pig-cell grafts ease symptons of Parkinson's. Science News, March 25, 2000, Vol. 157: 197
• Travis, J. Cloned pigs, down on the corporate farm. Science News, March 25, 2000, Vol. 157: 197.
• New gene-altering strategy tested on corn. Travis, J. Science News, May 6, 2000, Vol. 157: 295.
• Gates, B. (An editorial by the Bill Gates) Will Frankenfood Feed the World? Time, June 19, 2000 , Vol 155(25): 78 (web link here)
• Longmen, P. The Curse of Frankenfood. U.S. News and World Report, July 26, 1999:38-41.
  
• Stix, G. The Butterfly Effect. Scientific American, Aug. 1999. 281(2):28-29 (Web link here)
• Tangley, L. How to create a life without sex. U.S. News and World Report, July 26,1999:41 (Web link here, with nice figure - click on thumbnail to view - of how desirable genes are spliced into crop DNA)
• Tangley, L. How safe is genetically modified food? U.S. News, July 26, 1999: 40 (Link here)
• Genetics Society of America fact sheet on Genetically Modified Organisms
  http://www.faseb.org/genetics/gsa/policies/p-gsa-02.htm
• Travis, J. Scientists harvest antibodies from plants. Science News, Dec. 5, 1998, 154:p 359
• Seppa, N. Edible vaccine spawns antibodies to virus. Science News, July 22, 2000; Vol. 158:54
  

• Click here to access your lecture notes (For Biology 3 class members only - Discontinued as of January 2001)