Cocaine afflicts many individuals and is potently addictive. Originally hailed as a wonder-drug in the late 19th century, cocaine is now considered an illegal substance. Cocaine’s addictive properties can be attributed to changes in the dopamine reward pathway of the Ventral Tegmental Area and Substantia Nigra, Prefrontal Cortex, Dorsal Striatum, Nucleus Accumbens, Amygdala, Globus Pallidus, and Hippocampus. This drug affects the brain in two processes: binge and crave. The binge process highlights cocaine’s ability to block dopamine reuptake from the synapse resulting in hyperstimulation of the postsynaptic neuron in the dopamine reward pathway. The crave process promotes drug-seeking behavior through conditional and contextual cues. Understanding the effects of cocaine in the brain may grant insight in creating future medication and therapies to treat individuals addicted to this drug.

Cocaine afflicts many individuals and is potently addictive. Originally hailed as a wonder-drug in the late 19th century, cocaine is now considered an illegal substance. Cocaine’s addictive properties can be attributed to changes in the dopamine reward pathway of the Ventral Tegmental Area and Substantia Nigra, Prefrontal Cortex, Dorsal Striatum, Nucleus Accumbens, Amygdala, Globus Pallidus, and Hippocampus. This drug affects the brain in two processes: binge and crave. The binge process highlights cocaine’s ability to block dopamine reuptake from the synapse resulting in hyperstimulation of the postsynaptic neuron in the dopamine reward pathway. The crave process promotes drug-seeking behavior through conditional and contextual cues. Understanding the effects of cocaine in the brain may grant insight in creating future medication and therapies to treat individuals addicted to this drug.

This open pedagogy assignment is a semester-long project for an introductory general biology course for biology majors. Working in pairs or small groups, students will make a 3 to 5 minute video explaining concepts from the course learning objectives. Students will apply a creative commons license and publish their videos on CUNY Academic Works (or another appropriate platform), where they will be available to future introductory biology students as learning resources.
Learning outcomes:
At the end of this project, students will be able to do the following: Effectively teach a concept from the course to a general audience Identify and correctly cite appropriate sources for a scientific presentation (both text and images), including at least one primary source Work collaboratively with peers to create something more than an individual could on their own Incorporate your unique perspective and relate your background to the course topics Provide constructive feedback to peers

Precise modification of faulty genes for repair has been one of the most important goals in medicine. It is now finally within the realm of possibility thanks to the gene editing tool CRISPR. This microbial adaptive immune system can copy and cut specific DNA sequences. This animation provides a visual introduction of this revolutionary genetic tool.

Precise modification of faulty genes for repair has been one of the most important goals in medicine. It is now finally within the realm of possibility thanks to the gene editing tool CRISPR. This microbial adaptive immune system can copy and cut specific DNA sequences. This animation provides a visual introduction of this revolutionary genetic tool.

An in-depth exploration of foods and foodways of diverse populations and cultures. Examination of the effect of ethnic, geographic, ecological and historical factors on foods, foodways, health and diet related diseases.
The full course site is available at https://culturalfoods.commons.gc.cuny.edu/.

This material introduces Linux File System structures and demonstrates how to use commands to communicate with the operating system through a Terminal program. Basic program structures and system() function of Perl are discussed. A brief introduction to gene-sequencing terminology and file formats are given.

This material introduces the AWS console interface, describes how to create an instance on AWS with the VMI provided, connect to that machine instance using the SSH protocol. Once connected, it requires the students to write a script to enter the data folder, which includes gene-sequencing input files and print the first five line of each file remotely. The same exercise can be applied if the VMI is installed on a local machine using virtualization software (e.g. Oracle VirtualBox). In this case, the Terminal program of the VMI can be used to do the exercise.

This manual guides the instructor to combine the partial files of the virtual machine image and construct sequencer.ova file. It is accompanied by the partial files of the virtual machine image.

This material briefly reintroduces the DNA double Helix structure, explains SNP and INDEL mutations in genes and describes FASTA, FASTQ, BAM and VCF file formats. It also explains the index creation, alignment, sorting, marking duplicates and variant calling steps of a simple preprocessing workflow and how to write a Perl script to automate the execution of these steps on a Virtual Machine Image.

This material introduces the AWS console interface, describes how to create an instance on AWS with the VMI provided and connect to that machine instance using the SSH protocol. Once connected, it requires the students to write a script to automate the tasks to create VCF files from two different sample genomes belonging to E.coli microorganisms by using the FASTA and FASTQ files in the input folder of the virtual machine. The same exercise can be applied if the VMI is installed on a local machine using virtualization software (e.g. Oracle VirtualBox). In this case, the Terminal program of the VMI can be used to do the exercise.

This is an in class activity created for Organic Chemistry I at LaGuardia Community College.

During this lab, students determine the salinity of collected water samples. They also compare the effect of the solute concentration of their samples with that of solutions of known solute concentrations on plant cells.

A well-crafted and executed storytelling assignment can serve as an efficient and engaging learning activity which targets the three highest levels of Blooms‰Ûª taxonomy which are to Create, Evaluate and Analyze. This digital storytelling assignment is part of a signature assignment series (Stage 1) conducted in all courses of the First Year Seminar for Natural Sciences (NSF101). Students begin collecting pictures and videos for their assignment from the 3rd week of the semester on a flash drive. During the fourth week of the semester, the instructor first describes the storytelling process and stages. This is followed by learning around how storytelling can be used as a narrative, to foster inquiry learning, content-based information.
In studio hour, the First Year Seminar Student Success Mentors enable students to familiarize themselves with the digital tools necessary to create their digital stories such as iMovie, narrated PowerPoint, Prezi and Powtoon (to name a few). Next, students submit a draft of their scripts, which is edited by the professor, and then students submit their final digital story. The prompts for the script ask students to reflect on their journey thus far and project forward into their future career aspirations. It also asks them to connect their content learning between courses and co-curricular experiences. The prompts within the assignment directly articulate the Student Learning Objectives of the Biology and Environmental Science Program (please see Table 1) Students complete this assignment within ePortolio assignment templates. Link to the assignment template can be found here https://lagcc-cuny.digication.com/nsf101-digital-storytelling/home-1.
This assignment has been through multiple assignment development and revision charrettes as part of the Programmatic Integration Meeting in the Natural Sciences Department funded by the Learning Matters mini-grants from the Center for Teaching and Learning at LaGuardia Community College.
LaGuardia‰Ûªs Core Competencies and Communication Abilities

Compiled to support a course on teaching math and science in Early Childhood Education. Chapters include: Early Learning; Math & Science Connections; Theory & Teacher Effectiveness; Special Needs; Standards & Assessment; Lesson Planning; Centers & Environment; Teaching Science Content; Teaching Math Content; and Hands-on Learning.

Earth Law and the Rights of Nature: A New Generation of Laws Built for Nature Wilson, Grant, Kayman, Lindsey, Bartlett, Paul, and Milena Popov John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Earth Law Center, Environmental Education Fund
Forget doom and gloom. Let’s educate students about the Rights of Nature, an inspiring, evolving legal development which is gaining traction in the US and around the world, and which can promote the cultural shift needed to address our overlapping intersecting environmental crises — climate change, accelerating species extinction, and ecosystem collapse. The Rights of Nature is one aspect of Earth Law. Some of the other specific movements falling under the banner of Earth law are nonhuman rights for animals, defining ecocide as a crime, rights of future generations, legal guardianship for nature, and Indigenous legalities. In most countries, Nature has the legal status of mere property. The Rights of Nature recognizes that humans and Nature are in a relationship, rather than Nature merely providing a hoard of natural resources for indiscriminate human use. The legal structures discussed in Rights of Nature literature codifies the details of this restored relationship, rather than actually creating it. Nature becomes a legal entity with basic rights: the right to exist, flourish, thrive and regenerate. The Rights of Nature can also complement Indigenous rights by empowering Indigenous peoples to serve as legal guardians of their traditional territories. This poster and a companion open access CUNY Commons webpage and repository will provide links to curated video clips, films, case studies, a course book, a graduate level course syllabus, mock trial workshops, and written materials that can be used for incorporating the Rights of Nature and complimentary legal movements concepts into curricula.

Introduction to the basic principles of ecology and evolutionary biology emphasizing quantitative approaches and hypothesis testing. Scientific reasoning, computer literacy, and writing skills are developed in the laboratory.

This animation describes Endochondral Ossification which is a process of long, short and irregular bone formation using byline template.

This animation describes Endochondral Ossification which is a process of long, short and irregular bone formation using byline template.

This animation describes the formation of endocrine glands starting with the mitosis of mesenchymal tissues, eventually leading to the formation of the secretory portion of the gland by differentiation.