free online life sciences education resource update 04/16/14
Mark Lasbury
Good morning,
Did you know there
different ways to stop pain, including using agents like capsaicin that usually
cause pain? Exceptions abound with
spicy foods, including the reasons why birds evolved to ignore chili peppers
spice, how spicy foods can actually be tasted by altering our other tastes, and
how naked mole rats avoid feeling pain.
These are some of the recent topics 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 spicy foods can change your body type and fat content by controlling
your body temperature, as well as how the same receptor responsible for tasting
spicy foods has important functions in sperm motility, cancer, and hearing. We
will also talk about how the cigarette companies learn to use our desire for
cool feeling in order to sell us their product.
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