free online life sciences education resource update 09/10/14
Mark Lasbury
Good morning,
Why isn’t the complex
way bacteria move around proof of an intelligent designer? If vegetables are
low fat, how do we get cooking oils from them? Why is it so hard to swat a fly?
Is there any life that could escape Earth on its own?
These are some of the recent questions 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 stories will
talk about how some bacteria use snot rockets to move, and how bacteria can
stampede like cattle or build cities like termites. We will also discuss
bacteria that are magnetic and only move north or south and how koala have
fingerprints, indistinguishable from humans, are related to bacterial and
eukaryotic hairs.
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