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Biotechnology

There is a lot of information available about biotechnology and the use of GMOs but how much of it is based on science?

Biotechnology includes not only GMOs, but also lab skills, determining and developing materials for new uses, and food science applications. This set of materials will help students to understand the science of genetic modification and the skills necessary to be able to work in the growing agriculture biotechnology industry.

AFNR biotechnology
unit 6 lessons

AFNR biotechnology

What are the current issues in biotechnology? There is a lot of resistance to genetic modification and the use of genetically modified crops. What is the science? This unit helps to provide some background in cell function and DNA properties,…
Are you sterile? Using sterile technique to tissue culture plants
unit 3 lessons

Are you sterile? Using sterile technique to tissue culture plants

How do sterilization techniques affect our ability to preserve and culture organisms? In vitro collecting (IVC) is the process of starting plant tissue cultures with minimal disturbance to the plants when viable seeds are not available. Become the field researcher and learn how to…
Be a food scientist
unit 5 lessons

Be a food scientist

What is your protein IQ? Create a cookbook to learn Standard Operating Procedures for food safety and environmental monitoring. Test for proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids and compare plant and animal protein.
Biological seed treatment
Link

Biological seed treatment‍

The biological seed treatment market is expanding rapidly. Farmers obviously have questions about the role those biological treatments may play in soybean production and the claims made about the various products.
Bioproducts
e-learning

Bioproducts

What could a farmer in Ohio possibly have to do with improving homeland security, bringing jobs back to rural America, and curbing global warming? Producing and using bioproducts over traditional, oil-based counterparts is how farmers growing soybeans can play an important role.
Biotechnology
Video

Biotechnology

Watch this video to learn about careers with DuPont Pioneer! Matt Stroud, Product Agronomist and Rebekah Peck, Communications Manager talk about their careers with DuPont Pioneer.
Central dogma: an integration of science and art
unit 4 lessons

Central dogma: an integration of science and art

How does DNA code become an expressed trait? Do your students struggle to understand the “central dogma” of biology? Are you looking for innovative teaching techniques? This unit is an integrated art and science project to teach transcription…
Courtney Bockbrader
leader

Courtney Bockbrader

Agriculture Education Instructor at Anthony Wayne High School and Penta Career Center
Knows about: ffa, agriscience, career technical education.
Developing elite genetics
Link

Developing elite genetics‍

Plant breeding is a numbers game and Rice likens it to using a funnel. “We evaluate as many genetics as possible and funnel it down from there. Breeding starts with elite genetic crosses. We start with proven genetics, and cross those with the…
Erin Molden
leader

Erin Molden

Biotechnology CTE Instructor at Kettering Fairmont High School
Knows about: biotechnology.
Future of food
unit 4 lessons

Future of food

How has agriculture changed? What is a GMO? What is the future of food? Society and cultures revolve around food. There are television networks solely focused on food and it is almost impossible to take a drive without passing a fast food chain. Billions of dollars are…
Getting students ready for science testing—state and AP
article

Getting students ready for science testing—state and AP

Chillicothe High School teacher Jamie Metzger directs the Science Lab, a remediation class for those students who need to get higher points on their State Biology test. Last year, the test included many DNA and gel electrophoresis questions, so…
GMOs: What do you know? Breakout
unit 3 lessons

GMOs: What do you know? Breakout

How much do you know about GMOs? There is a lot of misinformation about what a GMO is and what foods are genetically modified. Use this unit as a review or a compelling way to engage students in the topic of GMOs using a “breakout,”…
GMOs go global: should they be labeled?
unit 5 lessons

GMOs go global: should they be labeled?

Should labeling of GMOs be mandatory? What do you know about genetic modification? Is genetic modification helpful or harmful? This unit will help to develop student thinking about genetic modification and food security issues around the…
Growing more food: biotechnology
unit 3 lessons

Growing more food: biotechnology

How will we feed 9 billion people? Grow soybeans using Round-Up Ready seeds to illustrate how biotechnology can be used as a tool to increase production. Introduce students to different options for growing soybeans, investigate…
How are GMOs created?
article

How are GMOs created?

Watch this video to learn more!
Jamie Allison
leader

Jamie Allison

Biotechnology and Proteomics Teacher at Loveland High School
Knows about: biotechnology, stem.
John Thomas
leader

John Thomas

Biotechnology and Environmental Science instructor at Tolles Technical Center, Fairbanks Middle and High School
Knows about: biotechnology, genetics, toxicology, aquaponics.
Just a spoonful of soybeans
Video

Just a spoonful of soybeans

GMO Soybeans Fighting Autoimmune Diseases. Shows researchers focusing on brand new uses for GMO soybeans. Thank you to PBS Learning Media for providing this video. Credit: Funded by GSK.
Kelly Lewis
leader

Kelly Lewis

Program Instructor, Bioscience Technologies at Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools
Knows about: stem, biotechnology.
Making biodiesel from soybeans
unit 5 lessons

Making biodiesel from soybeans

How might we make and use renewable fuel? Make biodiesel and create a scale model of an anaerobic digester, while investigating bioenergy and how it is produced.
Moving genes: intro to genetic engineering
unit 5 lessons

Moving genes: intro to genetic engineering

How do we solve the problems created by 9 billion people? How will we feed 9 billion on about the same amount of land? An introduction to genetic engineering through hands-on and modeling activities that illustrate concepts, which will scaffold student understanding for lab activities to follow, especially focused on…
Newly-identified gene for resistance to root and stem rot accelerates breeding of resilient soybean plants
Link

Newly-identified gene for resistance to root and stem rot accelerates breeding of resilient soybean plants‍

Purdue University announced an academic-industrial partnership with Corteva Agriscience on Thursday (Nov. 18), resulting in the identification of an individual gene responsible for Phytophthora resistance so plant breeders can easily detect which…
Rachel Sanders
leader

Rachel Sanders

Science Instructor and FFA Advisor at Global Impact STEM Academy
Knows about: agriscience, biology, biotechnology, career tech, food science, science fair, stem, biofuels.
Rotate SCN-resistant seed varieties for optimal protection
Link

Rotate SCN-resistant seed varieties for optimal protection‍

Understanding the difference between soybean cyst nematode-resistant varieties may help soybean growers understand the importance of rotating sources of resistance, which is one of the “active SCN management” strategies advised by The SCN Coalition.
Soybean genetics aided by CRISPR technology
Link

Soybean genetics aided by CRISPR technology‍

Numerous genes of a soybean can be precisely modified to acquire the ability of tolerating herbicides. Once such genes are identified, the CRISPR Cas9 technology can be utilized to edit the DNA sequence at a precise location, changing the underlying…
Soybeans: from ballast to biotech
unit 5 lessons

Soybeans: from ballast to biotech

What is the future of biotechnology? Create models to understand DNA and the gene transfer process used in biotechnology. Explore questions: Are there harmful side effects of biotechnology? Can biotech solve world hunger? Should GMO…
Soy fresh, soy clean: Using aseptic technique for food safety
unit 4 lessons

Soy fresh, soy clean: Using aseptic technique for food safety

How clean is your lab station? About 48 million people (1 in 6 Americans) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from foodborne diseases, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and…
Stick a fork in it: biodegradable products
unit 3 lessons

Stick a fork in it: biodegradable products

Which biobased substrate will create a durable form of bio-plastic? Which biobased material has the least effect on the composition of compost and runoff through degradation? Compostable plastics are a new generation of plastics that are biodegradable through composting. They are derived generally from renewable raw materials like starch (e.g. corn, potato, tapioca etc),…
Student bonding over DNA
article

Student bonding over DNA

In Advanced Biology, students are required to know what DNA is and how it works with replication, transcription and translation. What better way to demonstrate these steps and to solidify learning than to act out the processes as a group, using your…
Understanding genes and the environment
Link

Understanding genes and the environment‍

Microbes which live in humans and in plants supply the majority of the genes that control many life functions. “Heredity is nothing more than stored environment,” according to Luther Burbank.
What do you know about GMOs?
e-learning

What do you know about GMOs?

Did you know that most fruits and vegetables in the produce aisle are not genetically modified? Take this course to find out which crops are and which three governmental agencies are responsible for regulating the industry. Definitions of various types of genetic modification are also included.
Why biotechnology is good for farmers
article

Why biotechnology is good for farmers

Did you know that agricultural productivity has risen dramatically in recent years? Kyle Poling, DuPont Pioneer Field Agronomist, spoke with the Ag Biotech Academy workshop participants about using biotechnology to increase productivity. In 1930…