Before a cell replicates, its DNA must replicate. Take advantage of a hands-on guided lesson plan to teach budding scientists how this happens. Using a set of nucleotide cards, learners become the DNA and work to create matching strands...

How do viruses hijack our cells to produce more viral particles? Junior immunologists model how viral RNA integrates into a host cell's DNA using pop beads and use interactive tools to explore a virus' genome. The teacher's guide...

Get up close and personal with DNA! A two-part hands-on activity has learners extract DNA from a small organism and then their own cheek cells. Scholars then explore DNA replication using questions to guide their analyses.

How effective are cells at repairing UV damage? An inquiry-based lesson has learners experiment with organism by exposing them to various levels of UV light and then examining their DNA after a period of time. Pupils test different...

Match my cereal sequence. Pupils view a sequence made by colorful cereal rings and create copies of it. Learners must either remember or write down the sequence to transport the code to another location. Scholars replicate the cereal...

Experimental design can make or break an experiment. Young scholars analyze the pulse-chase analysis procedure by studying the Meselson-Stahl experiment. Using a video presentation, they discover how the pulse-chase analysis led to the...

How do reverse transcriptase inhibitors work? Young virologists examine the function of azidothymidine, a drug doctors use to treat HIV patients, during a hands-on modeling activity. Groups create a strand of DNA from an HIV RNA strand...

Can you describe a gamete without using the words sperm or egg? Scholars play a vocabulary review game where they try to get other players to guess their words. Each card has the target word as well as two related words they must not...

DNA carries the codes for creating just the right protein. A well-designed lesson leads pupils through the process from start to finish and everywhere in between. Guiding questions with supporting video help scholars understand the...

How do doctors fight a virus that's constantly mutating? Show science scholars how we fight HIV using one of its own most fundamental processes through a thoughtful demonstration. The lesson focuses on how protease inhibitors prevent HIV...

How did the Ebola virus first infect humans? Young virologists examine genetic sequences from the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak to find similarities during a riveting activity. Following similar methods used by MIT and Harvard, partners...

Different types of mutations cause unique types and degrees of muscular dystrophy. Scholars learn about the types of mutations and the impact on the body. They compare the location of the mutations and draw conclusions about how it is...

HIV mutates rapidly, making treatments challenging to find. Scholars learn about why it mutates so quickly and how scientists race to find treatments. The resource approaches the issue from both a molecular and evolutionary perspective...

These images from Access Excellence are possible models for DNA replication. The illustrations clearly show the differences among the three ways DNA can replicate.

How does DNA perform those all-important functions of replication and protein synthesis? This interactive feature, from the Web site developed for the PBS series "A Science Odyssey," will help you explore and understand the secrets of DNA.

At this site from Access Excellence, a black and white graphic of DNA replication is shown.

A good Access Excellence site with an introduction to the processes of transcription and translation, leading to a student modeling activity.

How do scientists "copy" DNA? They use a process called the Polymerase Chain Reaction, or PCR. The key to making this process work is having a primer that will stick to the piece of DNA you want to copy, called a template. In this...