DNA on Trial

Mr. Bergman has been murdered and we need you to solve the crime! The cross-curricular unit covers 11 different types of forensic science and includes 17 activities. Scholars perform blood type analysis, blood spatter analysis, height...

Students explore DNA microarrays. In this genetics lesson, students model DNA microarrays that are used by scientists. Students work to determine levels of breast cancer genes in patients. They will determine the treatment required based...

You can use these slides to explain the many complicated steps of the Polymerase Chain Reaction. The diagnostic and forensic uses of gel electrophoresis are detailed. This PowerPoint could be used to communicate facts, or to prompt...

The narrator of a short animated video asks viewers to consider how they are just one link in a great chain of life that extends all the way back through time to the first single-cell organisms.

Young scholars use the Internet to identify DNA and how it determines what we look like. They also explore how law enforcement uses DNA to help them solve crimes. They examine the problems with this identification as well.

Students examine the issues involved with using DNA evidence in a courtroom trial. They read and discuss a case study of a particular trial, conduct research, and role-play a jury by reporting their verdict and discussing how they...

Personalized medicine prevents many trial-and-error scenarios when time counts the most. Learn how gene expression and screening genomes improves health outcomes in cancer patients, those with auto-immune disorders, and more. An online...

Students explain the value of blood in trials.  In this DNA lesson students work together to collect and share information and ideas that they come up with after learning how to distinguish blood from other stains. 

Students, in teams, solve a crime using forensic lab techniques. They apply lab techniques to a real life situation using a crime scenario that takes place on campus. Sample activities include Blood, Fiber, and Hair Lab.