Genome: The Secret of How Life Works

What do you have in common with a fruit fly? About 60 percent of your DNA. The resource, divided into two units, is intended for grades four to eight and another for high schoolers. Both units include eight lessons covering the...

DNA forms a double helix, but that is not what it looks like. A fact-filled video takes on this inaccuracy as part of an extensive playlist on biology. It shares the recent discoveries about what DNA looks like as well as the many...

DNA carries the code for all living organisms, yet it is made up of only four building blocks. The video explains the structure of DNA down to the nucleotides. It provides the relationships between thymine, cytosine, adenine, and guanine.

Scholars are more likely to remember a photograph or a diagram than the text on the same page. How have images shaped our understanding of science? The video highlights images from the work of Copernicus, Darwin, Einstein, the Hubble...

A pinch of adenine, a dash of thymine and ta-da, you have life! Well, it's not quite that simple, but through this series of activities and experiments young scientists learn about the structure of DNA and how it contains the recipe...

Match up the DNA code. Pupils read the website from the American Museum of Natural History about how DNA can determine whether a skin is from a particular type of reptile. Using the same technique, learners match up products with the...

Humans aren't the only ones with DNA—fruit has it too. Using a extraction solution, pupils pull the DNA out of a piece of fruit. Learners crush up a piece of fruit with the solution and filter out the solids. Scholars then add cold...

In humans, the rate of mutation from one generation to the next is between 100 and 200 mutations. Discover the role of DNA mutation in evolution with an enriching lab 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...

Explaining exactly how DNA works to provide genetic information is a complex topic, but it is presented in a clear and engaging way through a five-minute video. Have learners try to explain how DNA works before watching the video, then...