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Engaging Students In A Bioinformatics Activity To Introduce Gene Structure And Function, Barbara J. May
Engaging Students In A Bioinformatics Activity To Introduce Gene Structure And Function, Barbara J. May
Biology Faculty Publications
Bioinformatics spans many fields of biological research and plays a vital role in mining and analyzing data. Therefore, there is an ever-increasing need for students to understand not only what can be learned from this data, but also how to use basic bioinformatics tools. This activity is designed to provide secondary and undergraduate biology students to a hands-on activity meant to explore and understand gene structure with the use of basic bioinformatic tools. Students are provided an “unknown” sequence from which they are asked to use a free online gene finder program to identify the gene. Students then predict the …
Using Rnai In C. Elegans To Demonstrate Gene Knockdown Phenotypes In The Undergraduate Biology Lab Setting, Nicole M. Roy
Using Rnai In C. Elegans To Demonstrate Gene Knockdown Phenotypes In The Undergraduate Biology Lab Setting, Nicole M. Roy
Biology Faculty Publications
RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful technology used to knock down genes in basic research and medicine. In 2006 RNAi technology using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine and thus students graduating in the biological sciences should have experience with this technology. However, students struggle conceptually with the molecular biology behind the RNAi technology and find the technology difficult to grasp. To this end, we have provided a simple, streamlined and inexpensive RNAi procedure using C. elegans that can be adopted in upper level biology classes. By using an unknown RNAi-producing bacteria, students perform novel …