Sickle Cell Disease

What causes sickle cell disease, and why is it so problematic for patients who suffer from it? This article explains what sickle cell disease is, and what happens to the blood cells and in the circulatory system when a person has sickle cell disease.

The Power of CRISPR Sickle Cell Disease

Introduction to Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease affects approximately 100,000 Americans, and 3,000,000 carry the gene for sickle cell. This video explores what sickle cell disease is, and introduces how CRISPR might be able to address this genetic condition.

Introduction to Sickle Cell Disease Video

Curing Sickle Cell Disease, Using CRISPR

A molecular overview of how CRISPR works, and how it might be used to change the gene responsible for sickle cell disease, potentially treating this debilitating genetic condition. 

Curing Sickle Cell Disease, Using CRISPR Video

The Ethical Challenges of Using CRISPR

Many of the potential uses of CRISPR present ethical challenges that are being debated by the scientific community. The overview slides and four articles provide case studies for four potential uses of CRISPR and introduce some of the ethical challenges raised around the potential use of CRISPR to address global issues, including Treating Sickle Cell Disease, Disease Resistant Rice, Fighting Malaria, and Preventing Cystic Fibrosis.

Overview Slides (pptx)

The Power of CRISPR Treating Sickle Cell Disease

The Power of CRISPR Disease Resistant Rice

The Power of CRISPR Fighting Malaria

The Power of CRISPR Preventing Cystic Fibrosis

The Power of CRISPR was created through a partnership with the Innovative Genomics Institute, with funding by the Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. The videos and articles are part of a hands-on instructional curriculum and laboratory kit that is sold and distributed exclusively through our publisher, Lab-Aids.

Biotechnology Careers

This video series highlights the wide range of problems that local bay area scientists are solving using biotechnology. From human health to sustainable fashion to plant-based meats to agriculture and climate change, biotech professionals are applying knowledge of the inner workings of living organisms to design innovative solutions to important problems. 

These biotech lessons are used before and after a biotech field trip to The Lawrence as part of the Exploring Biotechnology program.

The first lesson occurs in the classroom before the field trip, and could also be used as a standalone lesson. Students are introduced to different ways scientists and engineers can modify microbes like yeast and bacteria to cause them to make environmentally friendly products. Students then gain hands-on experience with this idea by conducting an investigation where they compare the behavior of two different kinds of yeast. Students end the lesson by viewing and discussing two of the biotech careers videos.

The second lesson happens during the field trip to The Lawrence. Students are immersed in the inner world of cells in our planetarium and then conduct a high tech biotechnology experiment in the Bayer Fund Science Discovery Lab.

The third lesson occurs in the classroom after the field trip. Students reflect on their visit to The Lawrence and then view and discuss the final two biotech careers videos. Students bring what they have learned together with their own experiences and values in a final project where they share what problems they would solve using biotechnology.

Grades: Middle School

Topics: Biology, Engineering

Activity Resources: Sample lesson materials including detailed instructions for a hands-on activity featuring yeast

EXBIO Teachers Guide – Lessons 1 & 3

EXBIO Projections – Lessons 1 & 3

EXBIO Student Sheet – Lesson 1

EXBIO Graphic Organizer – Lesson 1 & 3

This program is part of The Lawrence’s biotechnology education program, which aims to reveal the microscopic worlds inside living things and engage learners with the different ways life can be used to solve problems. Visitors to the Lawrence might be interested in our Hands-on Biotech exhibit space.

This resource helps you identify units in your curriculum that emphasize environmental concepts and add outdoor learning experiences to classroom routines.

It also helps school partners offer outdoor programming that connects to in-class science learning.

This resource is a valuable tool to support remote learning and plans to return to safe in-person learning by maximizing time outdoors.

Amplify Science Environmental Literacy Curriculum Connections

FOSS K – 5 Environmental Literacy Curriculum Connections

FOSS Middle School Environmental Literacy Curriculum Connections

Ocean Sciences Curriculum Sequence for Grades 6-8 Environmental Literacy Curriculum Connections

SEPUP Environmental Literacy Curriculum Connections