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Sasquatch DNA conversations

17/07/2013 1 Comment

I have to admit, I love the Sasquatch DNA story. Growing up in British Columbia, I have a soft spot for the creature – and having someone claim to sequence the DNA added a genetic interest. Unfortunately, the sequencing results aren’t as clear cut as the authors claim. Last week, John Timmer wrote about some […]

Filed Under: Sci Ed, Science Tagged With: conversations, DNA, open access, open science, sasquatch

Peek Into Science

11/01/2013 1 Comment

Science is messy. Yet many students think science is a bunch of facts and/or experiments always work. I loved the #overlyhonestmethods hashtag because it gives a glimpse into the reality of experiments. In my jobs, I get to work with students starting their first science experiment. They are enthusiastic but also a bit intimidated. Not […]

Filed Under: Sci Ed, Science Tagged With: fun, science communication, science education, scientist, truth

Can high school students read primary research papers?

28/12/2012 5 Comments

Reading scientific papers is difficult, especially when you are new to a field. At our program for high school students, Future Science Leaders, we are trying to give them useful tools for their future as scientists and innovators so reading primary research papers is an obvious choice. But how to do it? I don’t really […]

Filed Under: Sci Ed, Science Tagged With: future science leaders, science communication, science education

Adapted paper from students

28/12/2012 2 Comments

As part of learning how to read primary research papers, students wrote the following adapted paper. The original paper is Sagiv et. al (2012) Prenatal Exposure to Mercury and Fish Consumption During Pregnancy and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder–Related Behavior in Children (PubMed – paywall). Note: the pieces of the paper are written by different groups with minimal edits so there may be […]

Filed Under: Sci Ed, Science Tagged With: science communication, science education

Scientific authorship

08/11/2012 8 Comments

How do you decide who is an author on a paper? I teach in a course where medical students do some introductory research and they are thinking forward to publication. They were concerned about how to ensure some established faculty members got on the paper – and were flummoxed when I asked why those people […]

Filed Under: Sci Ed, Science Tagged With: science communication, science education, students

Scientific Papers as Movie Productions

17/10/2012 Leave a Comment

Scientific papers are important and we encourage people to read the original source – but they can be boring. In fact, even our description of a paper seems dry and academic so I tried to come up with a new way to describe it. What if we used the parts of a movie to help […]

Filed Under: Sci Ed, Science Tagged With: education, publications, science communication

How do you date a pregnancy?

04/09/2012 26 Comments

In the first case-based class of medical school, students are asked to answer a virtual patient’s question about the development of the fetus. These students are smart and they know all about betaHcG and are anxious to showcase their knowledge of the menstrual cycle with fluctuating levels of various hormones (FSH, progesterone, etc.). Yet one […]

Filed Under: Science Tagged With: pregnancy, science education

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About Me

genegeek150logoHello. I'm Catherine and I'm using this space to try something outside of academic writing. I enjoy molecular genetics, science education, crafts, and travel. I hope you enjoy my projects and writing. Read More…

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