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Description
This activity has been archived while we produce a more up-to-date version of this activity and the accompanying film. We are hoping the new activity and film will be available by the end of 2021.
In this activity, students construct models of sickle cell hemoglobin fibers inside red blood cells to illustrate how changes in the structure of a protein can affect cell shape, as described in the short film The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection in Humans.
Students step through a procedure for constructing paper models of wild type and mutant hemoglobin molecules. They build mutant hemoglobin fibers to show how these cause red blood cells to take on a different two-dimensional shape. Students then answer questions to explain how these changes in protein and cell structure relate to disease symptoms.
Student Learning Targets
- Use models of sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS) and normal adult hemoglobin (HbA) to explain why fibers form in some red blood cells (RBCs).
Estimated Time
Key Terms
amino acid, autosome, dominant trait, HbA, HbS, heterozygote, homozygote, malaria, messenger RNA (mRNA), mutation, recessive trait
Primary Literature
Allison, Anthony C. “The Discovery of Resistance to Malaria of Sickle-Cell Zygotes.” Mini-Series: Significant Contributions to Biological Chemistry Over the Past 125 Years. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 30, 5 (2002): 279‒287. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.2002.494030050108.
Terms of Use
Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.
Version History
NGSS (2013)
HS-LS1-1, HS-LS1-2, HS-LS3-1; SEP2
AP Biology (2019)
IST-1.K, IST-1.N, IST-1.O, IST-1.I, SYI-1.A, SYI-1.B, SYI-1.C, SYI-3.C; SP2, SP6
IB Biology (2016)
2.4, 2.7, 3.1, 3.4
Common Core (2010)
ELA.RST.9–12.3, ELA.RST.9–12.9
Vision and Change (2009)
CC2, CC3; DP3