Chemistry and Diversity of Life
Focus:
This module is being created for use in an introductory biology course in which there is a large amount of required content to be covered.
Overview:
The papers were chosen because they are related to and can be used to convey specific portions of that content. Beyond learning content, the primary goals of this course also include showing non-biology majors how science is relevant to their everyday lives and giving them the tools to critically evaluate scientific evidence. Therefore, I plan to base each module on a popular-press article and then supplement those articles with information and/or data from the original scientific journal articles.
Applicable for Courses:
Introdcutory, nonmajorsEducational Level:
IntroductoryRoadmap Objectives:
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- Article: Popular Press Article #1: A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain (News at Princeton, March 22, 2010) Journal Article #1: High-fructose corn syrup causes characteristics of obesity in rats: Increased body weight, body fat and triglyceride levels (Bocarsly, M.E. et al. 2010, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior)
- Content area/major concepts: Chemistry of life, macromolecules, carbohydrates,
isomers, metabolism - Methods or technology used to obtain data:
- How the CREATE strategy was used:
- Biggest teaching challenge:
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- Article: Popular Press Article #2: Trees, grass, carbon dioxide and the battle for dominance (The Guardian, June 27, 2012) Journal Article #2: Atmospheric CO2 forces abrupt vegetation shifts locally, but not globally (Higgins and Scheiter 2012, Nature)
- Content area/major concepts: Photosynthesis, C3 vs. C4 plants, climate change,
terrestrial biomes / shaping factors of biomeasures - Methods or technology used to obtain data:
- How the CREATE strategy was used:
- Biggest teaching challenge:
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- Article: Popular Press Article #3: Carnivores pick meats over sweets (Nature News, March 12, 2012) Journal Article #3: Major taste loss in carnivorous mammals (Jiang, P. et al. 2012, PNAS 109(13)
- Content area/major concepts: Concepts / Content Reviewed: DNA replication, protein synthesis, mutations, evolution
- Methods or technology used to obtain data:
- How the CREATE strategy was used:
- Biggest teaching challenge:
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- Article: Popular Press Article #4: Does giving antibiotics to animals hurt humans? (USA Today, April 20, 2012) Journal Article #4: Does the use of antibiotics in food animals pose a risk to human health? A critical review of published data (Phillips, I. et al. 2004, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 53 (28-52).
- Content area/major concepts: Concepts / Content Reviewed: Diversity of life / bacteria, plasmids and antibiotic resistance, "super" bugs, evolution
- Methods or technology used to obtain data:
- How the CREATE strategy was used:
- Biggest teaching challenge:
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- Article: Popular Press Article #5: Can a little brown bat outwit a fungus? (NY Times, July 6, 2012) Journal Article #5: Sociality, density-dependence and microclimates determine the persistence of populations suffering from a novel fungal disease, white-nose syndrome (Langwig, K.E. et al. 2012. Ecology Letters 15 (1050-1057).
- Content area/major concepts: Diversity of life / fungi / vertebrates, population ecology, animal behavior, conservation of biodiversity
- Methods or technology used to obtain data:
- How the CREATE strategy was used:
- Biggest teaching challenge: