X-Sieve: CMU Sieve 2.2
Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:44:05 -0500
From: Morton Sternheim <mort@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: kwbrody@xxxxxxx
Subject: STEM Ed Announcement: Virus Structure, Evolution, Darwin Bicentennial
VIRUS STRUCTURE, VIRUS EVOLUTION AND THE DARWIN BICENTENNIAL
A hands on computer workshop; PDPs, parking, and snacks provided
UMass Amherst, Saturday, November 22, 2009, 9:30-1
Jonathan King, Prof of Molecular Biology, MIT
FREE, BUT SPACE IS LIMITED AND ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED at
http://www.umassk12.net/sess/darwin.html
Many of the illnesses high school students and teachers contract are caused
by viruses, including head colds, influenza, cold sores, and some
gastrointestinal problems. Understanding the distinct three dimensional
structure of virus particles is one of the better ways to organize knowledge
about different classes of viruses, and the different diseases they may
cause. Most of the effective mechanisms for preventing viral infection, such
as vaccination, involve our antibodies binding to the structural proteins of
the viral capsid. This presentation introduces the use of the international
virus structure database VIPER for use in the high school classroom.
Examples presented include poliovirus, herpes virus, influenza and HIV.
Many problems in preventing viral infection relate to the rapid evolution
of new viral strains, such as with flu outbreaks. Thus Virus Structure and
Evolution can be a useful unit during the upcoming 2009 Darwin Bicentennial
year, which marks the 200th anniversary of his birth and the 150th
anniversary of his publication of On the Origin of Species. The presentation
will end with consideration of the importance of teaching evolutionary
mechanisms in modern biology and some of the barriers to proper treatment in
the high school classroom.
Jonathan King is Professor of Molecular Biology at MIT and an expert on the
structure and assembly of bacterial viruses. Prof. King is a past president
of the national Biophysical Society, a former Guggenheim Fellow, and a
recipient of the US NIH MERIT Award. Long involved in issues of science
education, he is currently heading the Massachusetts Darwin Bicentennial
Project <http://www.darwinbicentennial.org>, which is working to link high
school science teachers and bioscience research faculty to strengthen the
teaching of evolutionary mechanisms in K-16 classrooms.
Questions: Contact Mort Sternheim, 413-545-1908, mort@xxxxxxxxxxxx
