National Institutes of Health (NIH)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

The NIH Office of Science Education is aligning its popular K–12 curriculum supplements to state standards in science, mathematics, language arts, and health. These materials, which are free to U.S. teachers and those in U.S. territories, are available at http://science.education.nih.gov/customers.nsf/News#NIHStatteStandards. State alignments will be added as they are finished.
Middle school science teachers will find three new supplements: Doing Science: The Process of Scientific Inquiry, for grades 7–8; Looking Good, Feeling Good: From the Inside Out (Exploring Bone, Muscle, and Skin), for grades 7–8; and The Science of Mental Illness, for grades 6–8. Each contains two weeks of lessons on science and human health and includes background information, lesson plans, take-home materials, and interactive components.

NIH created LifeWorks, an interactive website, for middle and high school students who want to explore careers in the health and medical sciences. Visitors to http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks can browse for information on more than 100 careers by title, education required, interest area, or salary. The “Career Finder” feature allows students and those who care about them (guidance counselors, science teachers, mentors, and parents) to generate a customized list of careers especially suited for specified skills and interests. The “Success Stories” segment highlights true stories of successful people, showing how real-life career paths can range from the serendipitous to the meticulously plotted and planned.

The NIH Office of Science Education has produced a high school curriculum supplement on a topic that students (and teachers) can truly relate to: sleep and the lack thereof. Based on national standards, Sleep, Sleep Disorders, and Biological Rhythms has four objectives: to help students recognize the importance of sleep to health; to use sleep studies as a way for students to practice skills in observation, critical thinking, experimental design, and data analysis; to convey to students the purpose of scientific research, showing them how science provides evidence that can be used to understand and treat disease; and to help students realize that knowledge and informed behavior can result in enhanced human health.
The free supplement includes a complete set of materials for both teachers and students, as well as a website with interactive activities; the entire module usually takes two weeks to complete. To learn more and to download Sleep, Sleep Disorders, and Biological Rhythms, go to http://science.education.nih.gov/customers.nsf/HSSleep.htm.

Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body is a new website developed by the National Library of Medicine at NIH. Visitors to the site can tour a gallery of images with accompanying text focused on cases, technologies, and artifacts. Other features include a K–12 bibliography listing fiction and nonfiction books and videos; 14 interviews related to forensics from National Public Radio; and links to other websites of interest.
Click on Education to access the online activities examining the work of medical examiners and forensic anthropologists, and tracing the development and use of tools like DNA analysis, radiology, and toxicology in forensic science. Three lesson plans for middle and high school students are available: “Measurable You,” which teaches students how to take anthropometric measurements; “Entomology in Action,” which shows students how the blow fly’s life cycle can figure in a murder investigation; and “DNA: A Molecular Identity,” which demonstrates how DNA analysis can affect the outcome of a case. The detailed lesson plans include correlations to standards, evaluation guidelines, and suggested extensions.
To visit the Visible Proofs website, go to http://www.nlm.nih.gov/visibleproofs/index.html.

Three resources from the National Library of Medicine can help students explore environmental science in a new way. Appropriate for advanced high school classes, TOXMAP helps users visually explore data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the release of toxic chemicals into the environment. See http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov/toxmap/main/index.jsp. Tox Town, appropriate for middle and high school levels, uses color, graphics, sounds, and animation to add interest to lessons on the connections among chemicals, the environment, and the public’s health. The site lists everyday locations where you might find toxic chemicals, gives nontechnical descriptions of chemicals, offers links to selected information online, and explains how the environment can impact human health. Visit Tox Town at http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov. ToxMystery, intended for use with elementary-age students, makes a game out of identifying sources of toxic chemicals inside the home. At http://toxmystery.nlm.nih.gov, children follow the lead of Toxie the cat as they search for hazards in each room in the house.

The NIH website recently posted several new fact sheets. These succinct summaries of current knowledge in each particular field can be useful resources for teachers and students. For the fact sheet on genetics, go to http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Publications/FactSheet_Genes.htm. For information on cell biology, see http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Publications/FactSheet_Cells.htm. For the pharmacology fact sheet, access http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Publications/FactSheet_Drugs.htm.

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences at NIH has published a revised version of its science education publication, Inside the Cell. This full-color, 80-page booklet vividly describes the myriad cellular processes occurring inside the body. The first chapter, “An Owner’s Guide to the Cell,” presents the cell and its organelles as they would appear if the reader had shrunk to about three millionths of his or her usual size. Other chapters cover cellular specialties, cell reproduction, and cell aging and death, as well as cutting-edge cell biology research and its implications.
Inside the Cell presents review questions at the end of each chapter and a glossary that includes pronunciations. To read the publication online or download a PDF, visit http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/insidethecell.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of NIH, has formed the Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer. The alliance seeks to accelerate the application of the best capabilities of nanotechnology to detecting, treating, and preventing cancer. The NCI Alliance has made some resources available through its website, including a short video. Video Journey Into Nanotechnology explains how this amazing tool is transforming the way doctors and scientists treat cancer. To learn more and to watch the video, which is available in two formats and a text version, access http://nano.cancer.gov/resource_center/video_journey.asp.