Touchpoint 1
USU Biology Senior Revolutionizes Microbiology Course with Innovative Antibiotic Research Project
What is it?
A college senior getting a degree in biology decided to stay antibiotic properties in soil. If this is not already impressive enough, her college wants to use her work to revise it’s entire curriculum to lean more on research.
Potential message for students:
Do you think there are a lot of Autumn’s out there, but she just had the nerve to stand up for what she wanted out of college? Do you think this same initiative could apply to high school students?
Touchpoint 2
Why we don’t have tails
What is it?
Humans are animals just like monkeys and apes. So why don’t we have tails? Scientists think it’s because we don’t live in trees. Having a tail on the ground would slow humans down. Scientists can use CRISPR to edit mice to grow or not grow a tail.
Potential message for students:
Do you think apes decided to live on the ground instead of in trees and apes with smaller tails did better so reproduced more until no apes had tails? If tails are for living in trees, why do you think dogs, cats and other animals still have tails?
Touchpoint 3
The Golgi organelle’s ribbon structure is not exclusive to vertebrates, contrary to previous consensus
What is it?
The Gogli structure in a cell is assumed to be used only in vertebrates. Scientists now think that is wrong. The Gogli is widespread in eukaryotes and it’s function is thought to be more about cell differentiation.
Potential message to students:
Gogli have been around for 600 million years and have not evolved or changed in that time. Do you think this is an indication they are critically important to cells or maybe not important at all? If they were not important, do you think they would go away as we evolve? Do you think there are other hundred million old parts of cells or animals that are so important, they never evolved?