Workplace learning is considered an effective strategy for the development of vocation, career and professional identity. Dual training programs, in which learning at a vocational school and learning at work in a company are combined, are seen as strong carriers for skill formation processes. In this study we explore workplace learning in dual…

A laboratory exercise was designed to illustrate how physical stimuli such as temperature and light are sensed and processed by bacteria to elaborate adaptive responses. In particular, we use the well-characterized Des pathway of "Bacillus subtilis" to show that temperature modulates gene expression, resulting ultimately in modification…

Due to the growing incidence of diabetes in developed nations, there is a compelling case to be made for teaching graduate students more deeply about mechanisms underlying this disease. Diabetes is associated with enhanced oxidative stress and protein glycation via the covalent binding of glucose molecules. Albumin represents the major plasmatic…

Understanding of proteins and other biological macromolecules must be based on an appreciation of their 3-dimensional shape and the fine details of their structure. Conveying these details in a clear and stimulating fashion can present challenges using conventional approaches and 2-dimensional monitors and projectors. Here we describe a method for…

Scientific writing is a demanding task and many students need more time than expected to finish their research articles. To speed up the process, we highlight some tools, strategies as well as writing guides. We recommend starting early in the research process with writing and to prepare research articles, not after but in parallel to the lab or…

Recently, 57 undergraduate students at the University of Michigan were assigned the task of solving a crystal structure, given only the electron density map of a 1.3 Å crystal structure from the electron density server, and the position of the N-terminal amino acid. To test their knowledge of amino acid chemistry, the students were not given the…

The critical need for enhancing influenza pandemic preparedness in many developing nations has led the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to develop an international influenza vaccine capacity-building program. Among…

Terms to be familiar with before you start to solve the test: Southern blotting, Western blotting, restriction endonucleases, agarose gel electrophoresis, nitrocellulose filter, molecular hybridization, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, proto-oncogene, c-abl, Src-homology domains, tyrosine protein kinase, nuclear localization signal, cDNA,…

We demonstrate that student engagement with PeerWise, an online tool that allows students to author and answer multiple-choice questions (MCQs), is associated with enhanced academic performance across diverse assessment types on a second year Genetics course. Benefits were consistent over three course deliveries, with differential benefits…

This laboratory exercise presents a novel way to introduce undergraduate students to the specific detection of enzymatic activity by electrophoresis. First, students prepare a crude peroxidase extract and then analyze the homogenate via electrophoresis. Zymography, that is, a SDS-PAGE method to detect enzyme activity, is used to specifically…

Flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are commonly used techniques associated with clinical and research applications within the immunology and medical fields. The use of these techniques is becoming increasingly valuable in many life science and engineering disciplines as well. Herein, we report the development and…

The immediate benefits of research experiences for undergraduates have been documented. However, little has appeared about the long-term impacts of these experiences on participants' career trajectories and their level of career satisfaction. In addition, many studies of undergraduate research lack a comparison group. This article reports a…

Inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's idea of philology and William Gass's concept of transreading, Huiwen (Helen) Zhang employs "transreader" to suggest the integration of four roles in one: reader, translator, writer, and scholar. "Transreader" recognizes that close reading, literary translation, creative writing, and…

In this essay, Mohammed Albakry discusses the notion of accommodating cultural differences in translation and the need to respect these differences without compromising or emphasizing them. First, Albakry reflects on translation as an act of interpretation in light of Terence's famous saying "nothing human can be foreign to me."…

It is generally believed that new PhD graduates begin their first faculty positions having already outlined a research agenda that will guide their work during the next several years of their careers. Yet very little guidance is provided regarding how to accomplish this important task. In fact, little explanation is provided about what, exactly, a…