COVID curriculum brings science home for high school students

When the pandemic despatched quite a few learners residence, College of Arizona researchers and Tucson academics quickly tailored to the challenges of teaching science devoid of a lab or classroom. A new paper, posted in the journal The American Biology Instructor, outlines an at-household science lesson formulated at UArizona to instruct higher schoolers about bioinformatics and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that triggers COVID-19. The lesson strategy is available for fascinated substantial university academics across the state.

Because the lesson approach was made prior to new COVID-19 variants became common, the paper’s authors integrated an addendum that encouraged college students and instructors take a look at emerging variants employing the activity. As the pandemic proceeds, new classes and ideas can be taught based on the techniques outlined in the paper, the scientists say.

“This previous school 12 months was hard for these of us in education. Having said that, lessons relating to SARS-CoV-2 were being a organic route for virtual instruction given that it combines the relevance of COVID with at-house computer use for genetic details assessment,” claimed guide research author Nadja Anderson, an assistant professor of practice in the UArizona Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and director of the department’s BIOTECH Job.

Given that 1996, the BIOTECH Undertaking has presented Arizona instructors with components, devices and schooling to conduct molecular genetics experiments with substantial college pupils. A subset of the substantial faculty pupils who participate in the BIOTECH Project also just take faculty-amount programs in molecular and mobile biology, are enrolled at the university, get paid college credit history and are exposed to university laboratory exploration.

The paper describes a lesson prepare that was produced before COVID-19 vaccines had been released. At the very least three Tucson-spot significant faculties utilized the system to research proteins of all 7 coronaviruses: the 4 that cause the frequent chilly, and the SARS, MERS and SARS-CoV-2 viruses. The purpose was to look into no matter whether the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein would be a excellent candidate for a vaccine.

“We experienced the college students hunting at the protein sequences of the spike protein—the protein on the exterior of the virus that can make it a key candidate for your immune procedure to focus on and make immune reaction,” Anderson said.

Learners learned how distinct vaccines do the job and performed a detailed comparison of protein sequences.

By seeking at the uniqueness of spike proteins, the learners had been ready to see the evolutionary relatedness of the 7 coronaviruses from their laptop at residence. In the conclude, college students when compared spike protein sequences of different variations of SARS-CoV-2 to every other and observed that the sequence similarity within just the spike proteins make them very good vaccine candidates.

All the operate was done prior to COVID-19 variants started out to spread commonly.

“The paper won’t discuss about this, but college students can use this exercise to evaluate some of the variant spike proteins as one more workout, as nicely,” Anderson reported.

In the end, she explained she hopes college students received an comprehension about viruses and vaccines and how they operate.

“Education is a single of people factors in which the a lot more you know, the much more you can weed your way through all the information out there, and there is certainly a large amount out there that’s incorrect,” Anderson mentioned. “If they have an understanding of how vaccines function and are made, then they can critically analyze facts and with any luck , they can weed their way by means of all of the misinformation.”

In addition to supplying on the net classes for the duration of the pandemic, Anderson made hands-on kits to support learners conduct science at dwelling. Over 1,000 kits to make electrophoresis boxes—equipment utilized in molecular biology laboratories to separate and evaluate DNA—were sent to pupils throughout Tucson. Students applied their electrophoresis box to evaluate DNA from a wide range of classes offered by the BIOTECH Venture, like mock crime scene things to do and simulated genetic screening. 

“Even some kids’ households got concerned in the at-home experiments,” Anderson said. “The pupils turned advocates for security at home, and subsequently the have to have for vaccinations. The get the job done from the BIOTECH Venture not only improved the training of these learners, but also of our group.”