Students assess evolutionary links and evidence from comparative analysis of the fossil record and modern day organisms. Using the information about the Cambrian Explosion, they explore theories about how and why organisms divesrsified then hypothesize what evidence might be helpful to connect fossil organisms to show evolutionary connections.

This brief video lesson discusses X chromosome inactivation and how this can affect the expression of certain genes. Discussion/assessment questions and suggested supplemental resources are also included.

In this data point activity, students analyze and discuss a graph showing how the eradication of a disease led to a wildebeest population boom.

In this lesson, students will learn the names, characteristics, and causes of several different sex linked disorders, including muscular dystrophy. Students will create, describe and predict genotypes according to genetic pedigrees.

In this activity, students will explore how fertilization behavior and current flow influence the dispersal of sponge larvae.

This collection of fun facts is from Sharks and Rays: Myth and Reality, part of the Museum's Seminars on Science series. These distance-learning courses are designed to help educators meet the new national science standards. A brief explanation page is provided for the six fun facts: Did you know sharks can gestate for up to two years? Did you know sharks and rays don't have bones? Did you know sharks and rays are cosmopolitan in distribution? Did you know an individual shark can produce upwards of 30,000 teeth in its lifetime? Did you know shark skin, or shagreen, feels rough if you stroke it in one direction, but smooth if you stroke it in the other.

Students study a variety of gastropod shells and consider how they provide evidence of coevolution.

The purpose of this resource is to investigate the idea that every dynamic system has energy and matter in different forms.

In this activity, students will use a simple survey to assess the knowledge of classmates and/or neighbors concerning invasive plants. Students will analyze the survey results to determine how best to educate the community about invasive plants.

In this activity, students review a study where researchers investigated whether periwinkle snail fronts expand mudflats and contribute to salt marsh die-offs. Students will analyze a graph and answer a series of questions.

Students first examine the bodies and behavior of live slugs or snails, then use water balloons to model their unique style of locomotion, and finally tackle a series of analytical questions designed to cultivate a grasp of divergent evolution.

In this lesson, students will learn the impact that wildlife has on society and the impact that society has on wildlife. Students will learn the relationship between wildlife and economics and society and how this is in the form of conflict and resolution.

The Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology & Life Sciences is an international forum bringing together researchers, theoreticians, and practitioners interested in applying dynamical systems theory, far-from-equilibrium thermodynamics, self-organization, neural nets, fractals cellular automata, and related forms of chaos, catastrophes, bifurcations, nonlinear dynamics, and complexity theories to psychology and the life sciences. This website includes information that explains the basics of the chaos theory and provided tutorials to help explain this concept. In addition, conference reports, journal articles, and a data library is available for users to obtain more information on the Chaos Theory or the Society that hosts this page. This resource is part of the Biocomplexity collection. http://serc.carleton.edu/biocomplexity/

This video discusses invasive species and nutrient pollution as two major issues threatening the health of the oceans. A set of discussion questions and post-viewing activities are provided.

This site provides fun activities for children to do and make, while they learn about space and Earth science, and the technology that enables science. The Teachers Corner on the WWW site contains curriculum supplements originally published in the ITEA (International Technology Education Association) Technology Transfer Teacher magazine.

In this activity, students will read quotes concerning invasive species from a variety of sources. They will identify the position of the writer, choose sides in a debate, and defend a position that might not be their own.

In this lesson, students investigate both sides of the stem-cell research controversy. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students will review the United States's policy options on embryonic stem-cell research, then choose one of the policy options and prepare a defense of it based on the information in the reading.

This brief video lesson discusses how genetic mutations lead to changes in function and phenotype. Discussion/assessment questions and suggested supplemental resources are also included.