In this video profile adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about geneticist and rock musician Pardis Sabeti, whose innovative insights into natural selection demonstrated how beneficial mutations spread quickly through a population. [5:04]

This pathway explores how we inherit our phenotypes and the origin of genetic diseases.

Discusses conditions needed for the Hardy-Weinberg Law to hold true and demonstrates calculations involving allelic frequencies to illustrate this principle.

This pathway provides an introduction to heredity and how the biological process of meiosis leads to genetic diversity. The foundational concepts of Mendelian genetics are also reviewed. For a deeper look at this topic, we recommend the pathways Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction, Mendel's Experiments and Heredity and Modern Understandings of Inheritance from the OpenStax textbook Biology for AP® Courses.

Students learn about the growth of cancer through an analogy of a kitchen with an appliance running out of control. Together, student learners investigate case studies of three patients with lung cancer and determine the cell mutation which exists in each case.

This video segment describes the role of the sickle cell gene in natural selection. Footage courtesy of the PBS series Secret of Life: "Accidents of Creation." [4:49]

Students perform an activity similar to the childhood “telephone” game in which each communication step represents a biological process related to the passage of DNA from one cell to another. This game tangibly illustrates how DNA mutations can happen over several cell generations and the effects the mutations can have on the proteins that cells need to produce. Next, students use the results from the “telephone” game (normal, substitution, deletion or insertion) to test how the mutation affects the survivability of an organism in the wild. Through simple enactments, students act as “predators” and “eat” (remove) the organism from the environment, demonstrating natural selection based on mutation.

Students learn about mutations to both DNA and chromosomes, and uncontrolled changes to the genetic code. They are introduced to small-scale mutations (substitutions, deletions and insertions) and large-scale mutations (deletion duplications, inversions, insertions, translocations and nondisjunctions). The effects of different mutations are studied as well as environmental factors that may increase the likelihood of mutations. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post-assessments are provided.

This interactive will present the rules for designing precise nucleotide sequences
called PCR primers. Designing primers for a PCR reaction is an important step
because the way they bind to the template DNA dictates much of the success of
the PCR reaction.

Psychology is designed to meet scope and sequence requirements for the single-semester introduction to psychology course. The book offers a comprehensive treatment of core concepts, grounded in both classic studies and current and emerging research. The text also includes coverage of the DSM-5 in examinations of psychological disorders. Psychology incorporates discussions that reflect the diversity within the discipline, as well as the diversity of cultures and communities across the globe.Senior Contributing AuthorsRose M. Spielman, Formerly of Quinnipiac UniversityContributing AuthorsKathryn Dumper, Bainbridge State CollegeWilliam Jenkins, Mercer UniversityArlene Lacombe, Saint Joseph's UniversityMarilyn Lovett, Livingstone CollegeMarion Perlmutter, University of Michigan

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain the basic principles of the theory of evolution by natural selection
Describe the differences between genotype and phenotype
Discuss how gene-environment interactions are critical for expression of physical and psychological characteristics

Through this concluding lesson and its associated activity, students experience one valuable and often overlooked skill of successful scientists and engineers communicating your work and ideas. They explore the importance of scientific communication, including the basic, essential elements of communicating new information to the public and pitfalls to avoid. In the associated activity, student groups create posters depicting their solutions to the unit's challenge question accurate, efficient methods for detecting cancer-causing genes using optical biosensors which includes providing a specific example with relevant equations. Students are also individually assessed on their understanding of refraction via a short quiz. This lesson and its associated activity conclude the unit and serve as the culminating Go Public phase of the Legacy Cycle, providing unit review and summative assessment.

Video discusses the concept of evolution and the five processes that can cause it to happen. [5:24] Includes a brief quiz and a list of additional resources to explore.

When life emerged on Earth about 4 billion years ago, the earliest microbes had a set of basic genes that succeeded in keeping them alive. In the age of humans and other large organisms, there are a lot more genes to go around. Where did all of those new genes come from? Carl Zimmer examines the mutation and multiplication of genes. [4:24]

Students are introduced to the unit challenge discovering a new way to assess a person's risk of breast cancer. Solving this challenge requires knowledge of refraction and the properties of light. After being introduced to the challenge question, students generate ideas related to solving the challenge, and then read a short online article on optical biosensors that guides their research towards solving the problem.

Discover what evolution is through a case study of a Hawaiian snail species' survival. [7:20]

This site from WebMD Health provides great information on the Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome. It discusses synonyms, disorder subdivisions, and general discussion with resources. Links are provided throughout for additional information.