This lesson will be used to help students explore the bioethics of biotechnology. With a team, students choose a renewable alternative energy source such as cloning, stem cell research, DNA fingerprinting, or others and research the pros and cons of that biotechnology.

The team then splits into debate teams and draws straws to determine whether they are on the "pro" or "con" side. They will debate in front of the class allowing others in the class to learn about both sides.

Students perform an activity similar to the childhood “telephone” game in which each communication step represents a biological process related to the passage of DNA from one cell to another. This game tangibly illustrates how DNA mutations can happen over several cell generations and the effects the mutations can have on the proteins that cells need to produce. Next, students use the results from the “telephone” game (normal, substitution, deletion or insertion) to test how the mutation affects the survivability of an organism in the wild. Through simple enactments, students act as “predators” and “eat” (remove) the organism from the environment, demonstrating natural selection based on mutation.

Students learn about mutations to both DNA and chromosomes, and uncontrolled changes to the genetic code. They are introduced to small-scale mutations (substitutions, deletions and insertions) and large-scale mutations (deletion duplications, inversions, insertions, translocations and nondisjunctions). The effects of different mutations are studied as well as environmental factors that may increase the likelihood of mutations. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post-assessments are provided.

In this GRASP model performance task, students are asked to step into the role of a genetic researcher and apply their knowledge of transcription and translation to discover the cause, treatment, and possible cure for Sickle Cell Anemia. This task is designed for a high school biology course, but could be modified for other Life Science courses.