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 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 activity guides the analysis of a published scientific figure from a study that used SNP genotyping to identify the mutations that result in morphological differences in stickleback fish.
This activity supports the film Popped Secret: The Mysterious Origin of Corn. Students analyze data on the expression of the tb1 gene to explain how variations in this gene played a role in the evolution of corn.
This multipart activity is designed to give students a firm understanding of genetic profiling using short tandem repeats (STRs), which is a process used by forensics labs around the world.
This activity guides the analysis of a published scientific figure from the world’s longest-running controlled artificial selection study, in which scientists tested whether they could use selective breeding to change the protein concentration of maize (corn).
This activity guides the analysis of a published scientific figure from a study involving illegal elephant poaching. In this study, scientists used DNA profiling to determine where ivory seized from poachers had originated.
This video describes the technology of metabarcoding, which allows scientists to determine herbivore diets based on the sequences of plant DNA extracted from animal dung.
In this activity, students further explore the short film Popped Secret: The Mysterious Origin of Corn, by working through the mathematical concepts behind George Beadle’s claim that teosinte is the wild ancestor of maize.