A Simulation

This article presents an activity called “From DNA to Disorder” which is a simulation of how scientists look for disease and learn about monogenetic disorders. The whole lesson is provided ... See More

This article presents an activity called “From DNA to Disorder” which is a simulation of how scientists look for disease and learn about monogenetic disorders. The whole lesson is provided in the article as well as possible extension activities. There are also some excellent web resources provided at the end of the article. This would be a good activity for introducing microbiology.

Interesting way to look at chemistry of genes

This article presents a lesson on why a single point mutation can cause a genetic disorder. It does so simply and inexpensively, but does require students to have a fairly good background in... See More

This article presents a lesson on why a single point mutation can cause a genetic disorder. It does so simply and inexpensively, but does require students to have a fairly good background in chemistry to understand the point being made, so probably NOT a 9th grade introductory biology activity. I think the teacher's role in introducing the lesson could have been better explained so that enough information is provided to interest students but not so much as to take away the sense of discovery. The paper modeling activity is simple but effective and the follow up activities build on the lesson. While I have taught a lesson on genetically inherited diseases, my students did not have the background to do something like this, which is a shame, because this would be a very good way for them to see that little things may or may not have large effects and the huge role proteins play in human health.