The Human Genome Project and biology education
- Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, Colorado Springs, CO (United States)
Within the last several years, biologists celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the Watson-Crick model of DNA and the fiftieth anniversary of the demonstration that DNA is the genetic material, discoveries that began a pervasive and ongoing revolution in biology and medicine. Nobelist Joshua Lederberg, for example, called the work of Avery`s group {open_quotes}the most important discovery in biology in the twentieth century.{close_quotes} This early work on DNA also contributed to a revolution in biology education, beginning in the 1960s. Like the biological revolution that is its counterpart, however, the educational revolution is incomplete, in part because the science continues to evolve, but primarily because scientists and science educators have not yet responded completely to the challenges of genetics and molecular biology. These challenges are made even more obvious by the scope and visibility of the Human Genome Project, the international project intended to map and sequence all human genes. Science educators face 4 challenges discussed in this article and using the Genome project as an example: teach for conceptual understanding; the nature of science; the personal and social impact of science and technology; the principles of technology.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 213084
- Journal Information:
- Bioscience, Vol. 45, Issue 11; Other Information: PBD: Dec 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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