This paper was adapted from Professor Carlson's presentations to the NABT National Convention in Anaheim, February 1968. The author received the Distinguished Teaching Award at UCLA, is the author of several books, and is currently working on the biography of H. J. Muller. He received his undergraduate education at New York University and his doctorate in 1958 from Indiana University. Prof. Carlson attributes his initial interest in genetics as the result of reading of Muller's radiation experiments and work on a fruit fly project while a student at Thomas Jefferson High School, Brooklyn, New York

Genetics, one of the most influential fields, underlies all of biology and produces discoveries that are in the news daily. However, many students leave introductory biology and genetics courses lacking a coherent framework of knowledge to use in their daily lives. We identify substantial “missing links” in the teaching of foundational concepts in genetics that should be addressed, as well as provide examples and suggest activities toward integration. Teaching in this manner can help students build on their knowledge in more advanced courses and allow them to use this knowledge throughout their lives.

The mutation that caused hemophilia in European royal families during the 19th century has been characterized and presents excellent teaching opportunities.

The National Science Foundation's GK—12 program provides a unique opportunity for STEM collaboration between the K—12 classroom and university research. This partnership benefits students through experiential learning, exposure to research, exceptional mentorship, and preparation for postsecondary education. Additionally, researchers gain valuable skills by explaining difficult scientific concepts to high school students and broadening their exposure to secondary education. We present graduate-research-based activities focused on understanding the genetic causes of Down syndrome. Modification of these activities could accommodate educational levels from middle school to entry-level college biology. This lesson involves several biological and data-collecting techniques. These experiential activities help students understand genetics and Down syndrome, and introduce basic scientific methodology and techniques useful for postsecondary education.

We present a collection of analogies that are intended to help students better understand the foreign and often nuanced vocabulary of the genetics curriculum. Why is it called the “wild type”? What is the difference between a locus, a gene, and an allele? What is the functional (versus a rule-based) distinction between dominant and recessive alleles? It is our hope that by using these analogies, teachers at all levels of the K—16 curriculum can appeal to the common experience and common sense of their students, to lay a solid foundation for mastery of genetics and, thereby, to enhance understanding of evolutionary principles.

A point mutation in the MC1R gene, a G-protein-coupled receptor, has been found that could have led to the formation of two subspecies of Solomon Island flycatcher from a single ancestral population. I discuss the many roles that G-protein-coupled receptors play in vertebrate physiology and how one particular point mutation can have enormous evolutionary consequences.

Oscar Riddle, born in Indiana in 1877, was an ardent evolutionist and a key player in the founding of the National Association of Biology Teachers in 1938. He studied heredity and behavior in domestic pigeons and doves with Charles O. Whitman of the University of Chicago, received his Ph.D. in zoology in 1907, and in 1912 began a long career at the Carnegie Institution. He is best known for his 1932 discovery of prolactin, the “mother love” hormone. Whitman founded and directed the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole and cared for Martha, the world's last passenger pigeon, who died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.

Understanding how DNA banding patterns in a gel can aid in the conviction or exoneration of suspects and be utilized for positive identification of biological fathers in paternity cases can be intimidating. In reality, the logistics and technology used in such cases are rather straightforward. This exercise is designed for use in high school environments as a stand-alone paper lab and as a primer to an actual wet-lab experience, if available. Upon conclusion of the experience, students will have confidence in understanding how DNA fingerprinting can constitute strong evidence in forensic analysis.

In this two-part activity, high school biology students examine human karyotyping, sex-chromosome-linked disorders, and the relationship between biological sex and gender. Through interactive simulations and a structured discussion lab, students create a human karyotype and diagnose chromosomal disorders in hypothetical patients, as well as formulate a scientifically based argument distinguishing biological sex from gender. This activity reinforces biology concepts such as DNA structure and function, meiosis, and the inheritance of traits. In their arguments, students integrate prior knowledge with science content. This lesson connects the world of science with issues important in their own lives.

RNA interference (abbreviated RNAi) is a relatively new discovery in the field of mechanisms that serve to regulate gene expression (a.k.a. protein synthesis). Gene expression can be regulated at the transcriptional level (mRNA production, processing, or stability) and at the translational level (protein synthesis). RNAi acts in a gene-specific manner and degrades the specific message (mRNA) to lower mRNA stability and, in the process, decreases protein production. The RNAi mechanism thus acts as a negative regulator of gene expression and undoubtedly has been one of the most significant developments in genetics and molecular biology in recent years. I present a teaching module that can help high school students experience this unique post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism.

To involve students in thinking about the problem of AIDS (which is important in the view of nondecreasing infection rates), we established a practical lab using a simplified adaptation of Thomas's (2004) method to determine the polymorphism of HIV co-receptor CCR5 from students' own epithelial cells. CCR5 is a receptor involved in inflammatory processes, which has been misused by some pathogens, including HIV, to enter host cells. As a result, a defective allele CCR5-Δ32 has been enriched in some populations. The interesting story and hands-on work with their own tissue absorbed students in this 2-hour practical.

This model-building activity provides a quick, visual, hands-on tool that allows students to examine more carefully the cloverleaf structure of a typical tRNA molecule. When used as a supplement to lessons that involve gene expression, this exercise reinforces several concepts in molecular genetics, including nucleotide base-pairing rules, the importance of molecular shape, the consequences of genetic mutation, and similarities and differences between DNA and RNA.

An algorithm has been developed for the rapid determination of single-gene inheritance patterns from genetic pedigrees.