KABT BioBlog

What is RNA interference. What is the mechanism for this cellular process and how can I use this as an instructional piece for an advance biology or a biotechnology class? If any of these questions are of interest to you, fear not, you are at a one-stop site for joining the movement started by Cold […]

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As part of the KABT thread at the recent KATS KAMP, I argued that we should be asking our students to use spreadsheets to model the concepts of population genetics–in particular Hardy-Weinberg equilibria. I tried to make the case that most of the efforts to model H-W equilibrium in classroom activities such as […]

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Neosho County or Bust (April 25-27)
Outdoor experiences have and continue to inspire and enhance our interest in the biological sciences.  Unlike many of you I grew up in Kansas City without access to a diverse fauna and flora.  I do remember playing in a neighborhood creek and collecting crinoid fossils from behind what was Milgram’s Groceries at state line and 103rd.  My most […]

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A few years ago one of my more accomplished students was kind enough to give me a parting gift of David Quammen’s The Song of the Dodo, and even though the book is more generally about the scientific development of Island Biogeography (as the subtitle states), the authors historical accounts of the concept inspired an […]

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On the classroom side of things, I have developed/modified the following assignments and activities in recent years in the hopes of highlighting the importance of Wallace and biogeography to evolutionary theory, and giving my students real world examples that they can work through to infer the process of speciation that Darwin and Wallace first uncovered.  Suggestions […]

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As related on national television tonight, The National Academies have released a new book titled “Science, Evolution, and Creationism”. You can purchase a copy or copies online or download a free pdf and print and read at your own leisure.

Description from the National Academies’ Website
How did life evolve on Earth? The answer to this […]

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Wednesday at NABT’s national conventions are usually reserved for workshops and field trips. This year a late entry to the workshop program caught my eye and sparked my interest. Dr. Rob Pennock scheduled a workshop to introduce a student resource for exploring evolution concepts in a sophisticated artificial life environment while learning […]

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For the past year or so KABT’er, Scott Sharp, has been asking me if I can help him generate a list of essential, core concepts that every biology student should learn–something a bit different than just a re-visitation of the science standards or a TOC from a text book. As we have carried […]

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Some claim that I get a bit crazy with math while teaching biology. I was teaching my students the advantages of semi-log and double log paper back before computers and when I was in the boonies where I had to order the paper a year ahead of time. (while climbing uphill, both ways) […]

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You might want to keep track of a new project at Concord Consortium:  Molecular Rover
When you get there try out the two demonstration videos.  I think you’ll find them very useful in class, right now.

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