free online life sciences education resource update 01/09/15
Mark Lasbury
Good morning,
Did you know that the
only fungal cells with tails are killing off the world’s frogs? Or, have you
asked why evolution stops you from breaking your bad habits? In a different
vein, did you know that your holiday evergreens can both kill and save you? Or
that winter sunlight is lethal to your pine tree?
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
show how some plant cells have locomotive power and that their power comes from
the evolution of one structure for cell division into a motor – or was it the
other way around. Finally, we will look at how some cell motors don’t move but
still have important functions, and how worms are the only animals that don’t
use cilia on their cells.
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