Tag Archives: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

CRISPR — HOW IT WORKS, an animation from HHMI

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Summary

Explore this dynamic interactive to learn the basic principles of how this revolutionary tool works and the many ways in which scientists are using it in their research.

Start Click & Learn

Since it was first described in 2012, CRISPR-Cas9 (often shortened to “CRISPR”) has generated much interest both for its exciting potential for treating genetic disease and potential ethical and safety concerns, such as by creating “designer babies” or “superhumans.” So far, CRISPR-based technologies are having the biggest impact in research laboratories where they are applied to a broad range of biological studies. These technologies are relatively cheap, easy to use, and allow researchers to ask new questions and get results faster than previously possible.

The CRISPR-Cas9: Mechanism & Applications interactive allows students to explore and learn about a biotechnology tool that is at the forefront of scientific research and hear directly from leading researchers about how they use CRISPR. It consists of a self-paced interactive animation and a series of short videos of different scientists who are using CRISPR-Cas9 technologies for basic research, medical, and agricultural applications.

In addition to the interactive, we’ve compiled a set of images, animations, and GIFs for use on social media, in the classroom, and for presentations to the public. Please credit HHMI BioInteractive when you use them.

Source: The BioInteractive Team <biointeractive@hhmi.org>

HHMI Cool Science

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www.hhmi.org/coolscience
  • 4 stars (excellent)
  • Beautifully designed site, content for many age groups
  • Limited resources for children

“Are you ready for some COOL SCIENCE? (Yeah, I thought so.) The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Cool Science website is an entertaining and informative site that certainly lives up to its name and its mission of “sharing the facts and fun about science with all ages.” There really is something for everyone on this site. For instance, the “For Educators” page includes a number of teaching resources for all grade levels, from kindergarten to graduate education. These resources include books, animations, games and videos, among others. At the other end of the age spectrum, the “Curious Kids” page features a small number of activities that address such questions as “Why are snakes like lizards?” The “Becoming a Scientist” page includes interviews with a number of scientists who give their opinions regarding what it takes to succeed as a scientist, and the “Ask a Scientist” page gives site visitors the opportunity to have their own scientific questions answered.”

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“In each print issue of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, our Best of the Web columnist Taralyn Tan reviews websites of interest. Taralyn Tan is a web-savvy graduate student in Harvard University’s program in neuroscience.”

*The opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and should not be construed as reflecting the viewpoints of the publisher, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., the publishing house, or employees and affiliates thereof.