We've seen a lot of bigotry over the past year, from the passage of North Carolina's HB2, which bans transgender people from certain bathrooms, to the Trump administration rescinding civil rights protections for transgender students in public schools. And if you've ever tried to counter this type of discrimination, you might have come up against someone who truly believes that their bigoted viewpoints are based in science. A biology teacher from New York saw this scenario on Facebook, and she was fed up. Instead of just scrolling by, Grace Pokela destroyed a transphobic post with science. According to Observer, Grace saw someone post a meme on Facebook that tried to pass transphobia off as scientific. The post argued that there are only two sexes in sexual species, as determined by chromosomes. The post says anything other than an XX (female) or XY (male) chromosome pairing is a mutation, and it argues those chromosome pairing also determine our gender. We already know sex and gender are different, so this post is automatically untrue but Grace pointed out there's actually a whole lot of science that proves it even more false. "First of all, in a sexual species, you can have females … Continue reading →

Whitnall High School biology teacher Cody Smith wearing a Bill Nye the Science Guy shirt that reads, "I'ts not magic, it's science!"(Photo: Submitted) GREENFIELD - WhitnallHigh School (W.H.S.) biology teacher Cody Smith was awarded the FrankZuernerNew Teacher Scholarship, sponsored by the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers Foundation (W.S.S.T.), in recognition of having "extraordinary potential for working with and serving students" in just his second year of teaching. "I nominatedCodySmithfor this award because he is not just an excellent teacher; he is an inspiring teacher," said fellow W.H.S. science teacher Jessica Doyle, who nominated Smith to the W.S.S.T. "Students leave his classes wanting to learn more and looking forward to science. He makes students feel that they are welcome, capable, and important." Smith began working at W.H.S. two years ago, after graduating fromCarrollUniversity in 2015. He student taught at Whitnallhis senior year and was hired full-time at the end of the semester. Smith now teaches honors and advanced placement (A.P.) biology. Originally thinking that he would graduate to become a doctor when he started college, Smith soon after realizedhis calling lay somewhere else. "I was still extremely passionate about science and did not want to change my focus entirely. I have … Continue reading →

As we enter the final and most crucial stage of the CBSE Class 12 Boards, it becomes very important that we follow certain practices to ensure maximum performance in the exams. Since last year, the format of the biology paper has changed. The number of sections has increased and the nature of questions has also changed. The number of application-based questions has increased and direct questions has decreased. Paper will have 5 sections. Section A will have 5 questions of one mark each; section B will have 5 questions of 2 marks each; section C, 12 questions of 3 marks each; Section D, 1 question of four marks and Section E, 3 questions of 5 marks each. Read more Usually section A and E have direct questions so going through the paper from section E to A (5 marks to 1 mark) helps. Section B and C are application-based sections. Although this article does not in any way state that this is the only way to write the paper, all suggestions are meant to just help students and ensure they have a plan in place for the paper. Section C is the trickiest part of the paper and carries maximum … Continue reading →

Teens learn about Synthetic Biology and Run a DNA Extraction Experiment at the Studio Around the Corner in Brewster "I am a synthetic biologist, and today you are one too," started Jeffrey Marano at the Cultural Arts Coalitions first Science at the Studio Teen Forum. The class opened with a brief discussion about the history of biotechnology and the main movers and shakers of the field. Then the students went on to perform DNA isolation from strawberries. The class closed with a bioethics discussion for the high school student session and an arts and crafts demonstration of laboratory protocols in the middle school session. On April 1st, Forensic Scientist, Ted Schwartz will be discussing various topics in his field. The FREE Science workshop will take place on Saturday, April 1st from 2:30-4:00PM for middle school students and 4:155:45PM for high school students. Registration is recommended. For more information on this and other Cultural Arts Coalition events, visit: http://www.oththeater.org, call (845) 363 - 8330, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or find us on Facebook at Old Town Hall, Brewster, NY. Read more from the original source: Teens Learn about Synthetic … Continue reading →

14:53 06 March 2017 Sarah Cliss Kings Ely A-level biology students won a haul of awards in this years British Biology Olympiad which saw 7,500 students from across the country compete. Archant KingS Ely students won a haul of awards in this years British Biology Olympiad. Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in. The Olympiad is an annual competition which sees over 7,500 Biology students from across the country all of whom are predicted A or A* grades completing a gruelling two hour online paper at the end of January. Kings Elys highest performer was Ming Hu, 18, whose results were among the top 16% nationally. He received a Silver Medal and a certificate. Lia Beeston, 17, was awarded a Bronze Medal and a certificate, and William Vasishta, 17, and Edward Chittenden, 18, were both Highly Commended. Pupils Matthew Bridgman, 18, Oliver Wilkinson, 17, and Yichen (Ethel) Wang, 17, were also Commended in the competition. Teacher of Biology at Kings Ely, Paul Lott, commented: We are delighted that these young scientists have utilised their knowledge and understanding and taken the opportunity to extend themselves and push their interest in … Continue reading →