Sialic Acid Phylogeny: Making a Sugar Coated Tree (PDF download)
With this activity students will uncover the molecular phylogeny of the sialic acid gene using GenBank, a sequence database of all publicly available nucleotide sequences. Alternately, students can search for different diseases, find genes related to those diseases, and then perform this same activity.

DNA Interactive (DNAi) Teacher Guide
Download lesson plans for use in your classroom. Plans include objectives, national education standards, and student worksheets. On this webpage look in the "ACTIVITIES" table for "Applications" and then "Human Origins."

Genetic Origins – Alu Insertion Polymorphism
This is an advanced unit that introduces the theory of and detects the presence or absence of a "jumping gene" on chromosome 16. This simple genetic system has only two alleles with frequencies that vary greatly in different world populations. Alternate explanations about the causes of this variation are consistent with opposing theories of the origins of modern humans.

California State Science Standards (Grades 9-12)

Biolody and Life Sciences

Genetics

4. Genes are a set of instructions encoded in the DNA sequence of each organism that specify the sequence of amino acids in proteins characteristic of that organism. As a basis for understanding this concept:

c. Students know how mutations in the DNA sequence of a gene may or may not affect the expression of the gene or the sequence of amino acids in an encoded protein.

d. Students know specialization of cells in multicellular organisms is usually due to different patterns of gene expression rather than to differences of the genes themselves.


Evolution

8. Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know how natural selection determines the differential survival of groups of organisms.

b. Students know a great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some organisms survive major changes in the environment.

c. Students know how to analyze fossil evidence with regard to biological diversity, episodic speciation, and mass extinction.

d. * Students know how to use comparative embryology, DNA or protein sequence comparisons, and other independent sources of data to create a branching diagram (cladogram) that shows probable evolutionary relationships.

e. * Students know how several independent molecular clocks, calibrated against each other and combined with evidence from the fossil record, can help to estimate how long ago various groups of organisms diverged evolutionarily from one another.


Physiology

10. Organisms have a variety of mechanisms to combat disease. As a basis for under-standing the human immune response:

c. Students know how vaccination protects an individual from infectious diseases.

d. Students know there are important differences between bacteria and viruses with respect to their requirements for growth and replication, the body's primary defenses against bacterial and viral infections, and effective treatments of these infections.

* f. Students know the roles of phagocytes, B-lymphocytes, and T-lymphocytes in the immune system.


Investigation and Experimentation

1. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other four strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

m. Investigate a science-based societal issue by researching the literature, analyzing data, and communicating the findings. Examples of issues include irradiation of food, cloning of animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer, choice of energy sources, and land and water use decisions in California.

The Cell
• Cells store and use information to guide their functions. The genetic information stored in DNA is used to direct the synthesis of the thousands of proteins that each cell requires.


• Cell functions are regulated. Regulation occurs both through changes in the activity of the functions performed by proteins and through the selective expression of individual genes. This regulation allows cells to respond to their environment and to control and coordinate cell growth and division.


• Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. New techniques and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used.


The Molecular Basis of Heredity
• Changes in DNA (mutations) occur spontaneously at low rates. Some of these changes make no difference to the organism, whereas others can change cells and organisms. Only mutations in germ cells can create the variation that changes an organism's offspring.

Understandings About Science and Technology
• Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research.


• Creativity, imagination, and a good knowledge base are all required in the work of science and engineering.


• Science and technology are pursued for different purposes. Scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to understand the natural world, and technological design is driven by the need to meet human needs and solve human problems. Technology, by its nature, has a more direct effect on society than science because its purpose is to solve human problems, help humans adapt, and fulfill human aspirations. Technological solutions may create new problems. Science, by its nature, answers questions that may or may not directly influence humans. Sometimes scientific advances challenge people's beliefs and practical explanations concerning various aspects of the world.

Science and Technology in Local, National, and Global Challenges
• Science and technology are essential social enterprises, but alone they can only indicate what can happen, not what should happen. The latter involves human decisions about the use of knowledge.