A well-rounded biotechnology curriculum must include investigationsin bioinformatics. This new field of study involves the use of computers to analyze and interpret data generated by the Human Genome Project and other DNA-sequencing efforts. All of the 3 (AT) PCR™ labs listed can be used to give your students valuable experience in analyzing databases for necessary informationthrough the extension activities on theDNALC Web site.

If you are unable to perform any of the PCR labs, the Carolina™ Webcutter Kit is designed to bring your biotechnology curriculum into the computer age. With this kit, your students can experience how computers and databases are used in a biotechnology research lab. The kit has 3 modules.

Module I
Students do 2 dry labs introducing DNA sequencing.

Module II
Students log on to the Internet and use Carolina™ Webcutter software to determine the identity of their gene fragment and its restriction map.

Module III
Students perform restriction analysis to confirm the identity of their unknown gene (gene mining).

Our biotechnology curriculumincludes activities that allow students to explore bioethics. Nearly every day biotechnology discoveries are made that lead to opportunities, possibilities, and decisions for your students to consider. They need practice in placing their prior knowledge, beliefs, and emotions inproper perspective when investigating these bioethical issues.

Probably the best sources for stories that explore these issues are newspapers, magazines, and Internet news sites. Maintain a small library of articles in your classroom and have your students read an article every week. Of course, students are also free to obtain articles on theirown. Be sure to stress that their readings must be substantive in nature and not just a quick paragraph or 2. Require that at least a portion of your students' reading assignments comes from scientific journals or magazines such as Scientific American.

To assess your students' comprehension of assigned readings, use a reading reaction formlike this one. It is a teacher-friendly form that allows for quick assessment. The DNALCWeb site offers an excellent source of biotechnology articles under the heading of "Gene News."  Here are someother greatWeb sites that you and your students can explore.

The ImageArchive on the American Eugenics Movement Web site, part of the DNALC Web site, is very useful for bioethics studies. It explores the Eugenics Movement in America and allows your students to experience the history and social interpretation of modern science. It can also help your students realize that we must learn from our past mistakes, especially when dealing with a force as powerful as biotechnology. This, of course, would be a terrific unit to integrate with history or social studies classes