William Thomson, PhD
Michael Fordis, MD
Raye Lynn Alford, PhD
David Caprette, PhD
Gail Bromiley McGee, BS
David Fillman, EdD
Tadzia GrandPré, PhD
Marlene MacLeish, EdD
Barbara Z. Tharp, MS
Cindy Martinez-Wedig, PhD
Ronald L. McNeel, Dr.P.H.
Contributors
Kenneth M. Baldwin, PhD
Sonia Rahmati Clayton, PhD
Charlesetta Deason, EdD
David F. Dinges, PhD
Deanne Erdmann, MS
Pamela Ferry, MHS
Richard A. Gibbs, PhD
Tadzia GrandPré, PhD
Joanne R. Lupton, PhD
Lisa M. Meffert, PhD
Alana D. Newell
Evan Siemann, PhD
Gregory L. Vogt, Ed.D.
Tracy Volz, PhD
Michael T. Vu, BS
New Genetics Course Module
Medical Genetics and Genomics
Ongoing discoveries in genetics and genomics are fundamentally changing our understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. But as they say, “the more you know, the less you understand.” New findings lead to new and more complex questions. To help students and educators keep up with the most recent developments in genetic and genomic science, BioEd Online is pleased to announce a new course module, entitled Medical Genetics and Genomics.
Two previous modules, Transmission Genetics and The Nature of Genetic Material, explored mechanisms and molecules of inheritance. This third and final module builds upon previous content in an attempt to answer the question, What genetic factors contribute to human health? It introduces emerging technologies; explores the relationships among science, technology, and society; and addresses emerging legal and ethical issues.
The Medical Genetics and Genomics module is fully interactive and self-paced. A certificate for professional development contact hours is available upon completion. Together, the three modules comprise the complete course, Genes, Health and Society.
New Genetics Course Module The Nature of Genetic Material
BioEd Online is pleased to announce its latest online course module, entitled “The Nature of Genetic Material”. Have you ever studied, or wondered about, how hereditary material is transmitted from one generation to another? Could you have learned some of the secrets that early genetic researchers discovered, if you were working under the same circumstances? Well, now you have a chance to try! Follow this amazing, ingenious series of experiments and observations that have brought us to a new level of understanding regarding our hereditary makeup, the transmission of hereditary material through generations, and the changes that occur along the way.
The course module is fully interactive and self–paced. A certificate for professional development contact hours is available upon completion of the module.
Get Ready for 2010 with Science
Mention New Year’s Eve and many people think of fireworks. Pyrotechnics are science in action. So are calendars, “blue moons,” and clocks! As you prepare for a new decade, a new year and a new semester, we’re here to help you immerse and captivate your students in the wonder of science. Be part of preparing today’s generation for the “science” of tomorrow.
Join us in watching a short video from the National Science Resources Center (NSRC) that just might inspire you to start your own science revolution this year. BioEd Online is here to help. Happy New Year!
Butterflies in Space Data Collection Ends Submit your project to the national poster competition.
The four Painted Lady butterflies on the International Space Station have completed their normal life spans, and data collection from space has ended. Carried to space as larvae by the space shuttle Atlantis, the Painted Ladies successfully fed, pupated into chrysalises, and emerged as adults. Photo albums of the space butterflies at various life stages are archived here. The final two images, taken 11 minutes apart on December 10, 2009, show the butterflies just before and after the investigation ended.
Hundreds of thousands of students and adults followed the project. Many students raised their own Painted Lady butterflies to compare with those in space, or may be planning to conduct ground-based portions experiments in January.
To highlight this student research, the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and the Center for Educational Outreach at Baylor College of Medicine are pleased to announce a national student science poster competition. Entries are due by February 15, 2010. Click here for more information.
Project conducted in partnership with BioServe Space Technologies, Orion's Quest, The Butterfly Pavilion, Challenger Learning Center of Colorado and Office of the Chief Scientist, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and is funded by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, Houston Endowment Inc. and Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Sleep and Daily Rhythms Sponsored by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute
It has long been known that students need a good night’s sleep to perform their best in school. A more recent discovery is that the sleep allows students—and all of us—to consolidate the memories of our day’s activities. This means, for example, that if you practice playing a Beethoven piano sonata during the day and then get the proper amount of sleep that night, your performance will actually improve while you sleep! If you don’t get enough sleep during the night, that improvement will not happen.
Just as a good night’s sleep has many benefits, a lack of sleep can have serious consequences. One particular area of concern is the large number of auto crashes attributed to sleep deprivation each year. Young people are most vulnerable to “drowsy-driving” crashes, two-thirds of which involve drivers in their teens and 20s.
Join Charles Czeisler, PhD, MD, the Baldino professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School and National Space Biomedical Research Institute researcher, to learn just how important it is to get the proper amount of rest.
View the video presentation.
Download lessons related to sleep.
New online course on Transmission Genetics
BioEd Online announces the availability of a new, online course on Transmission Genetics. Do you need to brush up on basics, such as dominant and recessive traits, using Punnett squares or constructing pedigrees? Transmission Genetics covers these topics and more by following the case of Christine and her family’s mysterious ailment. The course is fully interactive and self-paced, and comprises the first section of a semester-long course, Genes, Health and Society. New installments of Genes, Health and Society are being made available throughout 2009.
Certificate for 20 professional development contact hours available upon completion of course.
BioEd Online is funded by grants from Houston Endowment Inc.; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Science Education Partnership Award program of the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH; National Space Biomedical Research Institute; National Science Foundation (Divisions of Graduate Education and Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings); Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; RGK Foundation; The Powell Foundation; and the Houston Independent School District.