Association for Biology Laboratory Education

ABLE 2018 Major Workshops

Photo of 3 faculty/staff during a Major Workshop at ABLE 2017 (fish parasites)The Major Workshop is a hands-on opportunity for you to experience a laboratory activity that has been developed and implemented for the classroom.  Each three-hour workshop is peer reviewed by participants through the long and short form evaluations, and ultimately by the Proceedings editor before publication.

Most workshops are offered twice daily, morning and afternoon, so participants will have the opportunity to attend two workshops on each of two days, Wednesday and Thursday.  Attendee selection of workshop sessions will be done during the registration process. The abstracts for each workshop are listed below by day.

Wednesday  |  Thursday


Wednesday, June 20, 2018

 

Teaching quantitative skills and carbon sequestration concepts with the EREN Permanent Forest Plot Project

Laurie Anderson – Ohio Wesleyan University; Erin Lindquist – Meredith College; Karen Kuers – The University of the South

The Ecological Research as Education Network (EREN) aspires to teach students quantitative and conceptual skills for working with multi-site ecological data using collaborative research projects as a central focus. The EREN Permanent Forest Plot Project (PFPP) has organized about 60 undergraduate colleges to establish 20 x 20 m plots in forested sites across the nation in which students collect tree diameter data using standardized, coordinated methods. During two lab periods, students can measure tree diameters in the field with the EREN protocols using basic and inexpensive forestry equipment, and then use the EREN PFPP database to explore questions about regional and species differences in carbon uptake by trees. Students gain experience in tree identification, diameter measurement techniques, allometric equations, working with large datasets, statistical analyses, and thinking about factors that affect tree growth at different spatial scales. Depending on plot placement, they can also explore questions such as carbon uptake differences in plots located on the forest edge as compared to the forest interior.

Category: Ecology

 

Be a Paleoanthropologist for a Day!

Chris Bayer – Tulane University; Michael Luberda  Ancient Ancestors

The subject of human evolution is rarely taught with a suitable lab, which leaves many high school students without a solid grasp of the subject. To fill this gap, we developed an inquiry-based lab in which students measure three variables of human evolution using hominid skull replicas. The lab’s learning path of transforming facts to data, information to knowledge, and knowledge to acceptance empowers students to themselves execute part of the science that underpins our understanding of deep time hominin evolution. The result is a formative experience with a high degree of retention and epistemic depth.

Category: Evolution, Pedagogy and Assessment

 

Perspectives on Writing Lab Manuals

Beth Cantwell, Brian Lipscomb, Laurel Rodgers – Shenandoah University

Writing a lab manual well requires planning, time and follow-through. The best lab manuals are those that enhance students’ lecture experience, and so making deliberate choices and providing clear learning objectives are imperative. While good planning is ubiquitously necessary, there are many options available for those who wish to construct their own manual, each with its own pros and cons. We present two differing perspectives on constructing a whole lab manual, as well as an example of a lab exercise written to complement the digestive system lecture in Human Anatomy & Physiology. Participants who would like to write their own manual are encouraged to bring their lab materials with them to this workshop for use in discussion. By using participant examples, we will explore the different ways that writing a lab manual can be approached, and we will expand upon the benefits and drawbacks of these differing methods.

Category: Instructional Methods, Pedagogy and Assessment, Physiology

 

Modular approaches to introducing CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering technology into biology labs

Anil K. Challa – The University of Alabama at Birmingham; Michael J. Wolyniak – Hampden-Sydeny College

CRISPR-Cas9 system as a genetic tool has emerged as one of the most important advances in the past 20 years. As this technology is currently making and will continue to make significant impacts in research across the life sciences, it is imperative that undergraduates become conversant in the workings of CRISPR-Cas9 system. In this workshop, we present how the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be introduced in a variety of modules using bioinformatics, in vitro studies and in vivo analysis (with zebrafish as one of the models) to develop gene knockouts that can be used for a variety of research questions. Using a workflow developed largely by undergraduate student researchers, we will share our experiences with making CRISPR-Cas9 system accessible to undergraduate students at all levels. This workflow and experimental details can be effectively used to introduce, as well as strengthen fundamental ideas in the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology in addition to developing important basic skills in DNA science.

Category: Biochemistry, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology

 

The Leap from Lecture: A Case-Based Approach to Introductory Biology

Julie Collins – University of Wisconsin – Madison

Following up on a mini from Houston in 2016, this major presentation will introduce participants to a case- based approach to teaching Introductory Biology. Participants will work through a sample case from both the student and instructor perspectives, researching the problem and then practicing grading calibration with a sample student solution. Participants will leave with access to successful case prompts we’ve used in the past and other resources to support this pedagogical approach. We have run this course for 4 semesters now, and look forward to sharing insights on classroom management, course content, TA training, and other curricular logistics.

Category: Ecology, Evolution, Instructional Methods, Pedagogy and Assessment, Teaching Assistant Training

 

How many critters can an island hold? Using digitized natural history collections to test real hypotheses about island biogeography

Carly Jordan – The George Washington University; Janice Krumm – Widener University; Tiffany Doan – New College of Florida; Jason Kilgore – Washington & Jefferson College; Debra Linton – Central Michigan University

Quantitative and data literacy skills are vital to the advancement of biological theory as large data sets and quantitative modeling are increasingly used to answer critical questions in ecology. Increased availability of educational modules that teach quantitative and data literacy skills in ecological contexts may encourage faculty to incorporate more of these skills into their courses. To help meet this need, we customized and extended a teaching module on Island Biodiversity, as part of an iDigBio Workshop on Resources for Collections-Based Undergraduate Research. By combining quantitative reasoning and data literacy skills training with the teaching of island biodiversity concepts, this module allows a seamless incorporation of the skills training into the ecological curriculum.

The Island Biodiversity Module is an educational exercise that requires the students to create and test hypotheses about diversity. Students search for and download information on mammals collected on the islands of the Alexander Archipelago of Alaska from the Arctos database, an online repository for natural history collections data. Students evaluate and analyze the downloaded data, testing their original hypotheses about island biodiversity and drawing conclusions from their results. The learning outcomes for this module include applying quantitative skills to biological questions and understanding the applications of natural history collections to biodiversity patterns in biological systems.

In addition to working through the module, participants in this workshop will be introduced to physical and digital natural history collections resources and concepts in island biogeography and biodiversity. Participants will receive teaching notes for using the module in a variety of settings, assessment tools, and results from our use of the module. Since this module is so adaptable and requires only a computer and internet access, we will brainstorm ways to extend the base module to suit a variety of curricula.

Category: Ecology, Instructional Methods

 

Is Raspberry Ketone a Magic Bullet to Lose Weight: Investigating Bias In Research Using A Dietary Supplement?

Debra Mauzy-Melitz – University of California – Irvine

Do you need to lose weight? Take this magic pill and see the fat burn away. Raspberry Ketone is being promoted as a weight loss and fat burning supplement that could solve all of your weight problems. This workshop will investigate this claim and how bias can influence results. Participants will view a portion of a TV show promoting raspberry ketone as the new weight loss wonder supplement. We will look for and discuss the biases in the show. We will then test the claim of reducing lipid content in fats cells by examining adipocytes differentiated from fibroblast cells exposed to raspberry ketone and compared to the control group. We will stain the cells for lipid content using Oil Red O and analyze the cell images using Image J. We will discuss how best to analyze our results and what potential issues we may not have thought about. A published article about raspberry ketone’s potential value in providing protection against fatty liver disease will be examined for bias and accuracy. Finally the group will decide how much those bottles of raspberry ketone pills are really worth.

Category: Developmental Biology

 

Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy and Phylogeny

Joslyn Mills, Melissa LaBonty – Tufts University

Comparative vertebrate anatomy is typically taught over a full semester, but this lab condenses that learning experience into a 3-6 hour lab with three modules that exposes students to six classes of vertebrates and touches on evolution. This lab is designed to explore the physical characteristics that differentiate the six common classes of vertebrates: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, bony fish, and cartilaginous fish. Module one focuses on the skeletal system of a number of vertebrates, with stations focusing on skull morphology to predict dominant sense(s) of the animal, bone structure similarities regarding the concept of convergent evolution, bone size and architecture to predict important muscles, and overall skeletal structure differences. Module two delves into the internal anatomy of the selected classes using dissected preserved specimens to explore the integument, digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems, as well as identifying a number of accessory organs and comparing class-specific modifications. The final module allows the students to hypothesize the evolution of these classes from their common ancestor by drawing a phylogenetic tree based on the presence (or absence) of traits they identified in the previous modules. This lab’s components have the flexibility to be condensed or excised in order to fit a shorter time frame, expanded upon to lengthen the lab, or to isolate each module as a free standing activity.

Category: Developmental Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Physiology

 

Data-Savvy Scientists: Utilizing data figure format for iterative laboratory assessments

Jenean O’Brien – University of Wisconsin – Superior
*This applicant received the Roberta Williams Lab Teaching Initiative Grant for the development of this lab exercise.

Data figures are the currency of science communication. Visual representations of experimental results are used to ‘sell the story’ of our own research to fellow scientists and even to the general public. Further, we use these visual representations to analyze the experiments performed by others, to decide whether we ‘buy it.” Therefore, learning how to appropriately design and interpret data figures is critical to the education of future scientists, and also to non-scientist consumers. In this workshop, we will review a series of laboratory activities from our upper division Cell Biology course that require student assessments formatted as data figures. These experiments utilize zebrafish to perform immunofluorescent (IF) staining and Western Blotting (WB). First students perform IF experiments to investigate their hypotheses and develop Figure #1 to share their results. After assessment including instructor feedback, students perform WB experiments to investigate the same hypotheses and develop Figure #2. The goal of this iterative data figure design is to expose students to the challenges of effectively presenting their data to communicate what they see and to create awareness of how science consumers may inaccurately interpret these displays, while providing students an opportunity to improve on their process. Additionally, these exercises demonstrate how multiple techniques can be utilized to explore similar questions. The hands-on portion of this workshop will involve imaging IF and WB results with WiFi-enabled microscope cameras and the free app MotiConnect – so please bring your WiFi-friendly devices (cell phones and tablets). We will conclude the workshop with a discussion of how these data figure assignments have been incorporated into other course aspects, including team-based problem sets and exam questions, and with a brief review of additional laboratory exercises that have utilized this assessment format in Genetics and Cell Culture courses.

Category: Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Pedagogy and Assessment

 

Papers of Cell Division Stages Enhance Student Understanding of Mitosis, Meiosis, and Ploidy

Valerie Schawaroch – Baruch College

Students are given a hands-on exercise (color coded pieces of paper) to explore and discover the logical progression of the eukaryotic cell divisions of mitosis and meiosis. Students work through the exercise trying to convince one another as to the correct order of the events. The similarities (colors) and differences (regular versus bold type) reinforces the similarities and difference between the stages in mitosis and meiosis. Subsequent class discussion ensures student understanding of the stages and uses this as a foundation for discussing these processes in haploid and diploid cells and plant versus animal cells. These concepts are further explored and reinforced through a pipe cleaner chromosome group project. For this project groups of three students use their smart phones to photograph the events of (1) mitosis in a haploid cell, (2) mitosis in a diploid cell, and (3) meiosis in a diploid cell. The supplied materials include templates for printing the colored papers, detailed student exercises and project directions with answer keys and teaching instructions. Informal feedback over 17 + applications of these exercises have been positive from the students and understanding of these concepts improves in tests. However, the activities will be formally assessed starting Spring 2018. This type of paper labeling exercise can be used for similar laboratories where student need to learn a series of events or items.

Category: Genetics

 

The Radish Seedling Hypothesis

Pliny A. Smith – Dominican University

Nearly all plants need light to survive; however, what about germination of seeds?  Experience shows that many introductory biology students falsely assume a seed will not sprout without a source of light.  This laboratory uses radish seed germination to teach students about the scientific method, development of good hypotheses, how to test a hypothesis, and what conclusions can be made from experiments. The laboratory is inexpensive, very simple to set up, and allows students to learn many skills they will need as a biologist.

Category: Instructional Methods, Physiology

 

Thursday, June 21, 2018

 

Learning about photosynthesis through interactive modeling and simulations.

Lisa Briona, Tomáš Helikar – University of Nebraska – Lincoln

Contemporary undergraduate biology instruction has undergone a paradigm shift from rote memorization and isolated examination of biological mechanisms presented in an artificial, linear fashion to a more robust, systems-based study of complex, interconnected processes. In systems biology, the use of modeling and simulation emphasizes higher-order cognitive skills, positioning students to be critical and reflective thinkers proficient in problem solving and effective communication. While the value of systems biology analysis in an undergraduate setting is well-recognized, implementation, particularly in large-enrollment introductory biology courses, has proven difficult. Cell Collective Learn (https://learn.cellcollective.org ) is an accessible (no prior computational experience required) web-based platform for creating and simulating dynamic models of biological processes. The primary objective of this workshop is to present an accessible, validated, and implemented vertically scaffolded laboratory where students use Cell Collective Learn to build, simulate and substantiate computer models of photosynthesis through self-contained guided exercises and apply newly synthesized knowledge to biological literature analysis. The investigations explored are suitable for introductory and intermediate classes, and are readily completed in either an in-class or homework setting.

Category: Biochemistry, Ecology, Evolution, Genetics, Instructional Methods, Molecular Biology, Pedagogy and Assessment

 

Plant growth and climate change: urban trees’ role as a carbon sink

Elisabeth Calhoon, E. Corrie Pieterson – The Ohio State University

Students struggle to connect small-scale processes like photosynthesis and cellular respiration to large-scale phenomena such as climate change. We developed this exercise for undergraduate introductory biology labs to help students understand how the growth of trees on their campus relates to fluxes in atmospheric carbon. Students apply the scientific process by generating hypotheses about plant growth in urban and forest ecosystems, collecting data on campus trees, and analyzing these data along with a citizen science-generated database of campus trees to determine annual biomass accumulation. They then draw conclusions about variation in tree growth at individual, local, and regional scales. Students also visit a structure on campus with a green roof, and consider carbon uptake as well as other advantages of green roofs.

In the workshop, participants will work in small groups to collect the same type of field data that students collect in the lab during a short field trip on campus. In the classroom, participants will analyze their data to determine biomass accumulation, as students would do in the lab exercise. We will discuss how participants can initiate this lab on their own campus where preexisting tree data or a green roof may not be available. Additionally, we will discuss how this lab can be adapted for use in an upper-division Ecology course.

Category: Ecology

 

Understanding acute deep tissue injury of motor units

Robin Cooper – University of Kentucky

This workshop highlights a neurophysiology teaching exercise in synaptic transmission at neuromuscular junctions in relation to a practical problem. The exercise is left open ended in several ways so instructors and students can modify to tackle new questions. This is an ideal exercise as a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) to address an authentic research question. The research hypothesis we will promote for this workshop is that muscle injury would relate to a similar degree of the K+ concentration in muscle which would affect surrounding health cells as examined by direct application of saline containing K+. Crayfish motor units will be used as the experimental model. The theme is to determine the consequences of damaged muscle influencing surrounding healthy muscle and neuronal function. The preparations are well known for student neurophysiology experimentation but novel to use for investigating consequences of tissue injury. This module lends itself for inquiry, team discussion, self-paced learning and focuses on authentic scientific research. The research questions on this topic are based on understanding the physiological problems with deep tissue injury of skeletal muscle and/or neurons. Primary skeletal muscle damage can produce secondary effects which can increase the spread of the initial damage zone. This can be caused by the additive effects of intracellular contents, particularly free K+, released from crushed muscle cells. Consideration in the exposure time and effects of restoring normal [K+]o on the health of skeletal muscle and synaptic transmission has not been fully addressed. The synaptic responses return slower than recovery of skeletal muscle potential. Students can develop variations to the experimental preparation presented in this exercise. This educational module can also help establish other animal models which may lead to better treatment and assessment of deep tissue injury (DTI) in urgent care centers for mammals.

Category: Instructional Methods, Physiology

 

An enzyme assay with evolutionary implications: You are what you eat! The effect of food source on activity of esterases in bean beetles

Hector Fermin, Fardad Firooznia – City College of New York

*These applicants received the Roberta Williams Lab Teaching Initiative Grant for the development of this lab exercise.

Here we present a multi-session, investigative enzyme lab using detoxification enzymes that have a potential role in the development of insecticide resistance in insect pests. Using the bean beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus) as a model organism the students will try to determine whether food source can affect the activity level of detoxification esterase enzymes in bean beetles, which would have implications for the resistance of these pests to insecticides. In the process of performing this exercise, students will a) learn about the life cycle of the beetles and how to identify different genders and how to culture the beetles, b) gain experience in designing a study using basic biochemical techniques such as standard curves and colorimetric assays, and collecting, analyzing, and reporting data for such a study, and c) discuss the interplay between natural selection, leading to the evolution of defensive chemicals in plants and detoxification enzymes in animals, with agroecology, leading to resistance to insecticides. This system can also be used to introduce long-term projects on which students can focus in the ensuing lab sessions. Depending on the level at which the course is taught, examples include investigating the effect of food source on other detoxification enzymes identified through a literature review, optimizing pH and temperature conditions to study the various enzymes, and the potential detoxification of insecticides such as malathion that contain ester bonds. The projects can be treated as inquiry-based or as guided-inquiry, depending on the goals of the instructor and the department curriculum.

Category: Biochemistry, Evolution

 

Wetlands Ecology and Human Impacts Lab: Connecting Students with Their Local Environments

Samantha Herrmann – The Ohio State University

How do you get biology non-major students interested in ecosystems and apply biology concepts to their own local environment? The Wetlands Ecology and Human Impacts lab was designed to meet the needs of general biology instructors who wanted to take students out of the classroom and help them learn more about their own local ecosystem. This lab is broken up into multiple parts, during which students will visit several nearby locations to learn about ongoing ecological research, the function of local ecosystems, and how human impacts can disrupt those functions. Students start by visiting sites that are a part of a current research project. Students will explore the sites, make observations, formulate hypotheses, and make predictions about the research. They will then examine animal specimens of local wildlife, consider the ecophysiology of these specimens, and discuss how human behavior can impact local wildlife. Students will be introduced to at least one invasive species and contemplate the ways this organism is disruptive and the challenges we face in attempting to remove it. Finally, students will explore a local water system and consider how humans have altered that system and why. In this workshop, we will focus on local wetland ecosystems and have a strong emphasis on invasive species, although this lab is designed to be easily modified to fit the needs of instructors in other parts of the world. Although this lab can be taught at any point, it is an effective way to culminate an ecology unit and help students make connections between different concepts learned in that unit.

Category: Ecology

 

Clinical Genetics with C. elegans

Melissa LaBonty, Joslyn Mills – Tufts University

Clinical case studies are an excellent teaching tool in a genetics course to capture students’ attention and introduce them to diseases with a genetic basis. However, students should also learn that the study of genetic diseases in humans has many practical and ethical limitations, necessitating the use of alternative approaches. One historically effective approach has been to study homologous gene function and disease states in model organisms, including the mouse (Mus musculus), fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), and nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans), to name a few. This lab is designed to introduce students to these concepts through a three-hour module-based lab. The first module exposes students to five different clinical case studies based on the following diseases: Nemaline Myopathy, Depression, Diabetes, Osteoarthritis, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2C. Students act as clinicians at this station, identifying symptoms, assessing test results, and making a preliminary diagnosis for each human patient. In the second module, students are introduced to the model organism, C. elegans, and rotate through four microscopy stations to investigate defects in locomotion, egg-laying, chemotaxis, and lipid accumulation. In the final module, students are given the names of the mutated C. elegans genes that cause each of the defective behaviors in the second module. They use bioinformatics to identify homologous genes in humans, and then discover human diseases associated with those genes, thus demonstrating through their own experiments the utility of model organisms in studying human disease.

Category: Evolution, Genetics

 

From the Columbus Zoo to the Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics: Animal Vocalizations III

(Note: This is a full-day workshop, so participants should not sign up for a second Thursday workshop)

Angelika Nelson – The Ohio State University; Kathleen A. Nolan – St. Francis College; Jill Callahan – St. Peter’s University

This full-day workshop will be devoted to learning about animal vocalizations.  (This is the third workshop on this topic.)  We will ride a bus for a 40-minute ride to the Columbus Zoo.  We will record animals such as birds and primates with a professional–grade recorder (Marantz PMD670 or 660 recorder and Audio Technica or Sennheiser microphones). with the free-downloadable software Audacity and Raven Lite, the latter of which shows the spectrogram simultaneously with the waveform.  We will travel back to the Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, which is located adjacent to the Museum of Biological Diversity.   Student assistants will lead us on a tour of the sound library, and explain its mission and show us some of the recordings.  We will then examine our own recordings and make a spreadsheet in Excel of the number of vocalizations, duration of each, and frequencies of the various tones or formants noted on our spectrograms.  We will formulate hypotheses as to the meaning or function of the various vocalizations.  We will leave the Borror Lab around 3:00 P.M. and arrive back in time to the main conference location for the afternoon refreshments!

Category: Ecology, Instructional Methods

 

Cloning and expressing the cat insulin gene as a course-based research project in an introductory biology course

Jennifer B. O’Connor, J. Peter Coppinger – Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

We designed and implemented a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in the laboratory component of our first-year introductory cell and molecular biology course. Because science, math, and engineering majors enroll in this course, we chose to introduce an applied biological research problem: cloning and expressing the cat insulin gene. Domestic cats (Felis catus) are currently prescribed human insulin to treat diabetes; however native cat insulin and human insulin differ in primary amino sequence, raising the question of specificity. Techniques emphasized in this experience (NCBI database and BLAST analysis, sequence alignment, codon optimization, PCR, gel electrophoresis, aseptic technique, cloning, transformation, blue-white screening, and restriction mapping) are often components of traditional introductory biology labs, however most are stand-alone unrelated exercises. Performed in groups of three to four students, this authentic research experience provides context for how these techniques are used concomitantly to solve a real-world biomedical problem. This experience also reinforces concepts of experimental design, as the students must design a strategy for cloning and optimizing cat insulin while addressing the challenges associated with differences in gene expression between eukaryotes and bacteria (e.g. intron splicing, codon bias, and post- translational modification). As such, this project also reinforces topics covered in allied courses including Anatomy and Physiology (role of protein blood hormones) and regulation of gene expression. Furthermore, the genetic construct is commercially synthesized using submitted student sequences. Therefore, there is no need for DNA isolation from cat tissue. We have obtained favorable feedback from students; many students use the experience as a component on their CVs or for discussion in internship interviews. Estimated cost for this experience is equivalent to prior stand-alone exercises for the course.

Category: Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Pedagogy and Assessment

 

Using transparent media and time-lapse photography to observe root growth in a research-focused educational laboratory exercise

Nathan Sammons – Louisiana State University of Alexandria

 Roots typically grow in the unseen depths of soil; consequently, lab students are rarely able to directly observe important structures or physiological responses such as root hairs, lateral root growth, tropism, or rhizosphere dynamics. In this lab, students will design and implement a research project that tests the effects of an environmental variable on the growth and development of root systems of Raphanus raphanistrum (radish). By growing study plants in transparent media, the students are able to witness root system development in real time. Students experience the process of science at all levels, from question formation to research presentation. They are guided through the manufacture of custom-made equipment, review basic concepts of photography, and create a time-lapse video of their root systems as they develop.

Category: Developmental Biology, Instructional Methods

 

Escape Genetics: An Interactive Classroom Review Session

Jennifer Schroeder – Young Harris College

Over the past decade, recreational escape rooms have been popping up all over the world, sending paying participants on quests that include solving a series of riddles and games to “escape” within the allotted hour. These adventure games are not only enjoyable, but also encourage problem solving and collaboration among the participants. A number of programs with this framework have been designed for primary and secondary classroom settings (including some specific subjects such as history or mathematics) and are available online, although usually for a modest cost. This laboratory activity is designed to have college-level genetics students complete a series of genetics-based problems during a 1-hour period. It is designed to be a fun, interactive, and fast-paced way for them to review course content near the end of a semester, perhaps a week of two prior to the final exam. By arranging a review in this manner, you not only cover the material, but also simulate some of the time-induced stress experienced by students during a final exam. Working together as a team also allows students to reflect on their personal strengths and weaknesses in the subject matter and facilitates student modeling of successful problem solving to their teammates. Although this activity easily lends itself to modifications, the problems highlighted here will come from the following topics within the field of genetics: reading pedigrees, solving Punnett squares for Mendelian patterns of inheritance and other extensions, mitosis/meiosis, chromosome mapping, transcription/translation, BLAST searches, epistasis, and population genetics. This workshop will not only allow participants to try their hands at an actual “escape,” but will also discuss aspects of game design and implementation.

Category: Genetics