Winding Your Way Through DNA:
Three videotapes and workbooks about science and scientists--developed by teachers for teachers and students.
Teachers striving to make DNA science accessible now have a unique resource--a set of three videotapes and related student activities and teacher resources describing genetics research, its implications and the lives of men and women engaged in it. The materials have been developed by teachers for teachers and produced by the University of California, San Francisco. In 1992, UCSF created
Winding Your Way Through DNA, a three-videocassette series based on a
symposium on genetics that is now being used in hundreds of schools and colleges worldwide. (Interviews with nine of the symposium speakers and full text of three of the symposium lectures are posted on the Access Excellence website.)
Stories from the Scientists,
On Becoming a Scientist, and
Promise and Perils of Biotechnology: Genetic Testing
are each accompanied by a 32-page teacher resource book. Although designed to expand upon and support the information presented in the related tape, these classroom tested resources are, by themselves, valuable resources for teachers. The resource books are presented online in their entirety through a collaboration between Access Excellence and the University of California Regents. Classroom teachers may download and use the material in their classrooms. For any other use, please request permission from the copyright holder.
Stories from the Scientists resources include lists of milestones in DNA history and biotechnology, activities related to determining the structure of DNA, scientist biographies, and a comprehensive list of references.
The Stories from the Scientists video is an award-winning documentary that tells the story of two of the most famous partnerships in biology--that between Francis Crick and James Watson, who discovered the structure of DNA, and between Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen, who pioneered the recombinant DNA techniques that revolutionized modern science. The narrative weaves together interviews, animation, re-enactments, and historical footage to illustrate the participants' achievements, personalities, and individual struggles with the challenge of discovery. These are woven into a visual and educational fabric that
- brings the science of DNA technology to life while simultaneously demystifying it, and
- showcases scientists as approachable role models with exciting stories to tell.
Stories from the Scientists is the winner of two prestigious awards:
- 1995 CINE Golden Eagle Award
- 1995 Silver Apple Award, in the National Educational Media Network
On Becoming a Scientist resources include biological career references, career projects, and activities which help students understand the nature of science.
On Becoming a Scientist, the video, uses fast paced editing to show a "day in the life of" three graduate students and a laboratory manager. These young scientists are followed as they work in their laboratories, take part in UCSF programs for public school children and the homeless, and socialize. Through interviews with scientists and students, viewers learn what attracts scientists to science, what it takes to become a scientist and what impact their work has on our world. The goal is to dispel stereotypes--to show scientists as people who lead interesting lives and are approachable and accessible, and to provide role models for women and minorities underrepresented in science. This video can be used in biology classes, in school career centers, or to prepare for visiting a local laboratory. Scientists also can use it when meeting with students and members of the public.
- On Becoming a Scientist won a 1996 CINE Golden Eagle.
The Promise and Perils of Biotechnology: Genetic Testing resources include activities designed to help students understand how genes, DNA, and mutations are related to each other and to genetic conditions, testing and therapies. An extensive reference list includes places to get additional information on genetic disorders, classroom resources, and additional reading.
The Promise and Perils of Biotechnology: Genetic Testing video educates students about inherited disorders, their prevalence in society and provides the framework for discussion of the ethical, social and legal implications of genetic testing. Genetic testing helps expectant couples learn the health of their developing fetus, but also confirms the presence of genetic conditions for children and adults. These findings pose ethical, legal and social dilemmas about how the information should be used. In this moving documentary, a genetic counselor provides the thread that links the human dimension--including a young woman who has been tested for Huntington Disease and a woman with familial hypercholesterolemia who has changed her lifestyle to counteract her genetic odds--with the science of DNA testing and the Human Genome Project.
Also available: the six-volume videotape set of the live symposium, Winding your way through DNA. For information about the Winding your way through DNA educational videotape and teacher's guide project, contact:
University of California San Francisco
Winding Your Way Through DNA educational videotape series.
For preview and order information:
Teachers, educational organizations and public libraries:
call Pyramid Media:
Winding Your Way Through DNA Symposium (6-volume set) sold through Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press only.
1/800/421-2304 (tollfree US)
310/828-7577 (Los Angeles)
Scientists and individuals:
call Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press:
1/800/843-4388 (toll free continental US and Canada)
516/349-1930 (all other locations)