Category Archives: Channels & Publishers
Hank blossoms with Plant Science
Crash Course & SciShow Hanks’s last couple of videos have been on Plant Science: transport and reproduction. Head on over to the main Plant Science AHL page for the topic for the presentations and resources.
Red Bull Stratos – Jumping from the Edge of Space
Felix Baumgartner is ready to jump! Follow the live feed below, or on the Red Bull Stratos website. His aim is to jump from the edge of space, breaking the sound barrier in freefall. Whoo!
Here’s a CGI simulation of what’s expected:
Three World-Changing Biology Experiments
A quick overview of three experiments that helped advance Biology:
- Pasteur’s swan-neck flask, disproving spontaneous generation
- Hershey-Chase blender experiment
- Miller-Urey experiment
HBO’s The Weight of the Nation
This full four-part HBO documentary series is online in full on the HBO Docs YouTube Channel. Although aimed at a US audience, the messages are universal. The website for the series has lots more related short clips and resources that might be of use in class.
For more resources on Energy in Human Diets, go to the Option A: Nutrition and Health resources.
Part 1: Consequences
Part 2: Choices
Part 3: Children in Crisis
Part 4: Challenges
………o0O0o……….
My Rant
Kudos to HBO for making this available on YouTube worldwide.
For what it’s worth, I think all TV production companies should be hosting their documentaries – especially those on important social and environmental issues – online for free. At the very least, make episodes available for a minimal ($1?) purchase fee on iTunes.
I bet most people wouldn’t choose to download media illegally if access was easy and affordable. It reminds me of this cartoon from the Oatmeal.
“Covalent Love” winner of Science Idol
Congratulations to James Mustapic, winner of Tomcfad’s Science Idol 2012 competition in New Zealand. For students in the UK, there is a similar competition underway: Geek Pop 2012. Have a go!
I was fortunate to meet Tom McFadden in Kyoto University yesterday, and have written up some thoughts on Educational Hip-Hop: Creativity and the Curriculum on i-Biology | Reflections.
Get inspired!
Four Fundamental Forces in Six Videos [Crash Course]
Here’s Hank, giving a run-down of the fundamental forces. Might be useful for a flipclass intro or review for older students.
Strong Force
Super Slo-Mo Slinky Drops | Veritasium [video]
I haven’t posted Veritasium for a while, so here’s a great video building on his slinky drop experiments. Go full screen and HD, then wrap yer brain around the explanations.
Fruit Fly Development: Cell by Cell [Nature Video]
Drosophila melanogaster
Wow. Two papers published in Nature Methods have outlined a new technique which allows researchers to track development of embryos (in this case Drosophila melanogaster), in real time. By taking simulataneous multi-view microscopic images of the developing embryo, individual cells can be tracked in real time. The methods are described in more detail at Nature News here.
Have a look at the amazing results below, as a fruitfly embryo develops into a larva, ready to hatch. The two views are the dorsal (upper side) and ventral (lower side) view of the same embryo. See if you can pick a cell and watch its path of development.
Think about how this links to IB Biology topics of cell division, cell specialisation and embryonic development. How does a stem cell know what type of cell to become? If you look closely, there’s a scale bar in the bottom-right. Take a snapshot and calculate the actual length of the embryo.
For more reasons to love fruit flies, check out my mini-review of Fly: An Experimental Life by Martin Brookes.
Image source: Drosophila melanogaster, from Wikipedia.
i-Biology 