free online life sciences education resource update 04/02/15
Mark Lasbury
Good morning,
Did you know that
even experts that study spotted hyenas can’t tell the difference between the
males and the females? But it’s easy to identify crossbill and wrybill birds,
they are the only birds with asymmetric beaks. And did you ever wonder why a
sperm whale’s head is so big – it can change density to help them dive and
surface! Finally, the most amazing tooth in the work is the narwahl’s tusk –
it’s inside out, spiraled and can bend up to a foot – and is the reason we
think unicorns are white.
These are some of the recent stories we have addressed on a
free online resource developed to increase learner engagement and educator
content knowledge. “As Many Exceptions As Rules” tells the stories of organisms
that break biological rules or norms in order to survive and thrive. Through
these stories, the core concepts of the science are reinforced.
The resource can be accessed at: http://biologicalexceptions.blogspot.com
Posted weekly, each story includes pertinent vocabulary with
etymology, interesting questions to spark discussion, links to the reports from
the latest research on the subject being discussed, and a list of online resources
for more information and classroom activities.
Upcoming topics will
include the story of how male and female plants can attract insects at
different times by smell, the animals that are exactly half male and half
female (gynandromorphs) and the butterfly that appeals to females by having
wings of different sizes. Being asymmetric is usually taken as a sign of poor
genes, but here it lets them turn faster when they fly.
If you wish to receive weekly e-mail notifications of new
posts, reply to the sender individually.
Mark E. Lasbury, MS, MSEd, PhD
Indiana University School of Medicine
IUPUI School of Education
As Many Exceptions As Rules