Demystifying the NGSS High School Life Science Core Ideas

For those of you who have not read our previous post on the Next Generation Science Standards, please read it here. The Next Generation Science Standards are a set of education standards that focus on preparing students for careers in…

What’s in my lunch? Analyzing GM foods in your classroom laboratory.

I always like to teach biotechnology in the context of its real-world uses.  For example, one "hot-button" issue relates to the genetic modification of plants and animals in agriculture.  Newspapers, popular magazines, and even our Facebook feeds are full of statements…

Biotech Basics: Restriction Enzymes

What are restriction enzymes? Restriction endonucleases (also known as restriction enzymes) act like molecular scissors, cutting double-stranded DNA at specific sequences.  They are produced by many species of bacteria to protect themselves from invading viral DNA.  The utility of restriction…