Category Archives: IBDP Biology

Ultrasound technology: the next generation

Philips electronics have some good clips of their 4D ultrasound technology in action at their website:

Philips Medical Imagery

Worth a look in the reproduction topics.


This video is a great clip for comparing the old-school ultrasounds with the new 4D technology. She’s expecting triplets, too, which makes it more amazing. And here’s the clincher: listen to the soundtrack song carefully.

Digestion: Quarter Pounder with Cheese to quarter-pounder with wheeze.

Good-quality graphics. Teaching idea: give the video to students and ask them to record or narrate their own descriptions to go along with the images. It’s got to be better than the soundtrack provided here, and should fit the subject guide more closely.

Here is a brilliantly simple animation that shows how Flash should be used:

Digestion Animation –  by kitses.com

Next up, Robert Winston and a grisly stomach image – missing the lower intestines.

Finally, this one is nicely done: focuses on the enzymes of digestion and absorption through the villi.

NHS Vaccinations

NHS Immunisation VideoNice, simple animations here:

1. How vaccines work

2. Herd immunity

Aimed at the panicky classes after the Wakefield/MMR-autism fiasco- so are quite basic- but raise some points for discussion.

The rest of the NHS immunisation site contains some good, clear information on vaccination schedules and the various diseases covered.

Ali G takes on Kent Hovind

A bit silly, but vintage Ali G baits creationist ‘Dr’ Kent Hovind.

“So, has you ever eaten a banana? Ya? That’s proof!”

(EDIT – changed spelling of Hovind’s name)

Multimedia Resource Site: teachersdomain.org

Membrane Transport AnimationThis site has some good resources, including savable flash videos.

http://www.teachersdomain.org/sci/index.html

You’ll need to register yourself and your school, but it’s worth the odd email in the inbox.

Defense Against Infectious Disease

Phagocytic leukocyte having a gobble:

Immune response animation. Good plenary.

Cell mediated immune response:

HIV/AIDS: Causes, Myths and Social Impacts

Here’s a nice two-parter of the VSO’s work on HIV/AIDS in Mozambique:

Part 1:

Part 2:

This is a bit dry, but raises a number of good issues about the transmission and social implications of HIV/AIDS.

Here’s Tim & Moby’s take on HIV. Nice and colourful:

Brainpop HIV/AIDS

And here’s a good one, though big, from NOVA:

NOVA Surviving Aids: HIV in Action

Mate Attraction: Bird of Paradise

It almost doesn’t look real, but this we chappy comes direct from Attenborough – so it must be true!

BBC’s Planet Earth is awesome. I wish my telly was bigger than 14″

Amoeba Feeding: Endocytosis

Nice quick clip for a single-celled organism carrying out the functions of life, and for endocytosis.

The Cell Cycle: Mitosis

Here’s a nice wee video (got a WWII pathe feel to it):

This one’s a decent-enough animation. Fitting the new DP guide, he mentions chromatids rather than chromosomes at the beginning of prophase.