High School, Genetic Engineering Projects, Lessons, Activities (14 results)

In the first decade of the 21st century, scientists found ways to make one adult cell type turn into a completely different cell type. This has huge implications for the medical field, including being able to take some cells that a person could spare, such as skin cells or blood cells, and turn them into another cell type that might be much more important for that person to have, such as cells to make a new kidney. How are scientists able to accomplish this amazing feat of "reprogramming" the… Read more

Students become biomedical engineers and create model viruses for use in therapeutic applications, such as gene therapy. In constructing their models, students carefully plan for side effects and modify a virus that can be used to safely to deliver gene therapy. This process involves taking a "wild type" (or unmodified) virus so it can target a specific area of the body.Engineering Connection Genetic engineering is the artificial manipulation, modification, and… Read more

How would you secretly mark a bank robber during a robbery? What could you do to ensure that the ethically grown cotton you grew and shipped off for weaving and garment making was used to make the shipment of shirts you received weeks later? When we want to tag and track something, we often use a barcode. From grocery store foods to FedEx packages, barcodes are a way of tagging and identifying items. The fact that barcodes can be unique and are easy to read are key features. Not all things… Read more

Students construct paper recombinant plasmids to simulate the methods genetic engineers use to create modified bacteria. They learn what role enzymes, DNA and genes play in the modification of organisms. For the particular model they work on, they isolate a mammal insulin gene and combine it with a bacteria's gene sequence (plasmid DNA) for production of the protein insulin.Engineering Connection Bacteria are the most common organisms modified by genetic engineers due to… Read more