Course-integrated Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) involve large numbers of students in real research. We describe a late-year microbiology CURE in which students use yeast to address a research question around beer brewing or synthesizing biofuel; the interdisciplinary student-designed project incorporates genetics, bioinformatics,…

Spectrophotometric analysis is essential for determining biomolecule concentration of a solution and is employed ubiquitously in biochemistry and molecular biology. The application of the Beer-Lambert-Bouguer Lawis routinely used to determine the concentration of DNA, RNA or protein. There is however a significant difference in determining the…

Plant-derived phenolic compounds such as those found in red wine, tea, and certain fruit juices may protect against cardiovascular disease by detoxifying (scavenging) superoxide and other unstable reactive oxygen species. We present a laboratory exercise that can be used to assess the superoxide-scavenging capacity of beverages. Among the…