After a dam removal on Washington’s Elwha River, scientists are chronicling a story of ecological rebirth. Recovering salmon populations are transferring critical nutrients from the ocean into the forests, enriching the entire ecosystem.
This video follows germplasm bank coordinator Cristian Zavala Espinosa and geneticist Sarah Hearne, who are part of the global effort to preserve the genetic diversity of maize (corn).
This Click & Learn traces the flow of energy from the Sun all the way to cells within organisms. The embedded questions and calculations guide students’ understanding of how energy is distributed through a variety of ecosystems.
This activity explores images of elephants with and without tusks, which serve as phenomena for learning about selection and human impacts on the frequency of traits within populations.
This video case study explores the approaches scientists used to identify a mutation that causes retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a progressive disease that leads to blindness.
In this activity, students engage with an example from the Serengeti ecosystem to illustrate the exchange of nutrients between plants, animals, and the environment.
This activity builds on information presented in the short film Genes as Medicine. Students interpret actual pedigrees to determine the inheritance pattern of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), an inherited form of blindness. They also examine protein sequence data to explore mutations that can cause LCA.
This activity explores images of animals with a mutation that affects coloration, which serve as phenomena for learning about skin color genetics and evolution.