Everyday Biology

The Broken Heart

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Part I:  The Tell Tale Heart is an activity during which students familiarize themselves with the structure of the heart.  They locate the atria, ventricles, and major blood vessels.  Through "surgical" procedures, students perform coronary bypass surgery and correct patent ductus arteriosus.  Human and dog hearts are compared in terms of common structure and defects.

Part II:  Heartworm Poster has students research the life cycle, epidemiology, and diagnostic procedures and treatment of dog heartworm.  Their work culminates with them presenting the information in the form of a poster.  After they have completed their work they are given supplemental information and are asked questions about heartworm disease.

Part III:  In Heartworm Microfilariae students examine a stained smear of dog blood containing microfilariae and count living microfilariae in a fresh blood sample.

** The short version is only the first activity- Tell Tale Heart

The "HIV Cocktail"

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With the proper equipment, this hands-on activity is extremely easy to carry out.  Students will visualize the structure of the HIV 1 protease using a macromolecule visualization program.  The instructions were written for the program Rasmac", running on a Macintosh" computer, but the lab can be done using the companion program RasMol", running on a PC compatible computer.  In carrying out the activity, students will learn the principles underlying "structure-based drug design." They will also see how an effective drug against the AIDS virus fits tightly into the active site of the HIV protease enzyme.  To increase the level of the lab, greater detail on protein structure and/or the life cycle of the HIV virus can be included.  The activity ties in well with the CIBT "AIDS Transmission" and/or the CIBT "HIV Testing" activities.  To demonstrate the importance of receptors, like fusin, that are required for HIV infection, you may use the CIBT activity called "Tupperware model."

HIV Testing

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In this experiment students will perform an Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) simulation to see how it is used in the diagnosis of HIV infection.  The lab is a simulation and does not use HIV antigen or human blood samples; however, it is otherwise a truly accurate depiction of the technique.  Students will process samples from two different "patients" to determine whether they have been infected with HIV.  We recommend that you combine this activity with the CIBT activity entitled "HIV Transmission" and a discussion of "safe sex" activities.  Several thought provoking questions have been included at the end of the lab.  You may want to require student essays or ask the students to approach these questions using the CIBT Bioethics Activity.  The CIBT lab, "The 'HIV Cocktail'" is a good way to discuss treatment.

Interpreting Medical Tests:  What’s in Urine?

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The unique role of the kidneys in regulating the volume and composition of the body’s fluid compartments makes urinalysis a powerful diagnostic tool for the assessment of health and disease.  Chemical analysis of urine can quantitatively identify the presence of both normally and abnormally occurring substances.  Interpretation of urinalysis test results to identify possible disease states requires a basic understanding of normal kidney function.  The historical method of independently analyzing the many components of urine using wet-chemical methods has been replaced by the development and widespread use of multifunction test strips.  In this lab, students will prepare a dip stick test using a 2-part enzymatic reaction that produces a color in the presence of glucose.