Models of Classroom Assessment for Course-Based Research Experiences.

Course-based research pedagogy involves positioning students as contributors to authentic research projects as part of an engaging educational experience that promotes their learning and persistence in science. To develop a model for assessing and grading students engaged in this type of learning experience, the assessment aims and practices of a community of experienced course-based research instructors were collected and analyzed. This approach defines four aims of course-based research assessment - 1) Assessing Laboratory Work and Scientific Thinking; 2) Evaluating Mastery of Concepts, Quantitative Thinking and Skills; 3) Appraising Forms of Scientific Communication; and 4) Metacognition of Learning - along with a set of practices for each aim.

Genome Sequence of Cluster BI1 Streptomyces griseus Phage TaidaOne.

Bacteriophage TaidaOne was isolated from soil collected in Taipei, Taiwan, using the host Streptomyces griseus. It is a siphovirus with a 56,183-bp genome that contains 86 protein-coding genes. Based on gene content similarity, it was assigned to actinobacteriophage subcluster BI1, within which only TaidaOne and GirlPower genomes contain an acetyltransferase homolog gene.

Complete Genome Sequences of Mycobacteriophages Clautastrophe, Kingsolomon, Krypton555, and Nicholas.

We report here the complete genome sequences of four subcluster L3 mycobacteriophages newly isolated from soil samples, using mc155 as the host. Comparative genomic analyses with four previously described subcluster L3 phages reveal strong nucleotide similarity and gene conservation, with several large insertions/deletions near their right genome ends.

Drosophila muller f elements maintain a distinct set of genomic properties over 40 million years of evolution.

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D.

A central support system can facilitate implementation and sustainability of a Classroom-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in Genomics.

In their 2012 report, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology advocated "replacing standard science laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses"-a challenging proposition that presents practical and pedagogical difficulties. In this paper, we describe our collective experiences working with the Genomics Education Partnership, a nationwide faculty consortium that aims to provide undergraduates with a research experience in genomics through a scheduled course (a classroom-based undergraduate research experience, or CURE). We examine the common barriers encountered in implementing a CURE, program elements of most value to faculty, ways in which a shared core support system can help, and the incentives for and rewards of establishing a CURE on our diverse campuses.

A course-based research experience: how benefits change with increased investment in instructional time.

There is widespread agreement that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs should provide undergraduates with research experience. Practical issues and limited resources, however, make this a challenge. We have developed a bioinformatics project that provides a course-based research experience for students at a diverse group of schools and offers the opportunity to tailor this experience to local curriculum and institution-specific student needs.

Digital family histories for data mining.

As we move closer to ubiquitous electronic health records (EHRs), genetic, familial, and clinical information will need to be incorporated into EHRs as structured data that can be used for data mining and clinical decision support. While the Human Genome Project has produced new and exciting genomic data, the cost to sequence the human personal genome is high, and significant controversies regarding how to interpret genomic data exist. Many experts feel that the family history is a surrogate marker for genetic information and should be part of any paper-based or electronic health record.

The genomics education partnership: successful integration of research into laboratory classes at a diverse group of undergraduate institutions.

Genomics is not only essential for students to understand biology but also provides unprecedented opportunities for undergraduate research. The goal of the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP), a collaboration between a growing number of colleges and universities around the country and the Department of Biology and Genome Center of Washington University in St. Louis, is to provide such research opportunities.

Notch signaling and developmental cell-cycle arrest in Drosophila polar follicle cells.

Temporal and spatial regulation of cell division is critical for proper development of multicellular organisms. An important aspect of this regulation is cell-cycle arrest, which in many cell types is coupled with differentiated status. Here we report that the polar cells--a group of follicle cells differentiated early during Drosophila oogenesis--are arrested at G2 phase and can serve as a model cell type for investigation of developmental regulation of cell-cycle arrest.

Aph-1 is required to regulate Presenilin-mediated gamma-secretase activity and cell survival in Drosophila wing development.

Aph-1 is a multipass transmembrane protein and an essential component of the Presenilin (Psn)-mediated gamma-secretase complex. During protease assembly, Aph-1 stabilizes the newly synthesized Psn holoprotein to facilitate generation of the active form of Psn, which is a Psn-NTF/Psn-CTF heterodimer produced through a Presenilinase-initiated endoproteolytic cleavage of the Psn holoprotein. Although it is clear that loss of Aph-1 activity leads to failure of Psn heterodimer formation, little is understood about whether Aph-1 plays a role in regulating gamma-secretase activity in addition to assisting Psn maturation.

Examining requirement for formation of functional Presenilin proteins and their processing events in vivo.

Presenilin (Psn) is a multipass transmembrane protein that functions as the catalytic subunit of gamma-secretase for mediating intramembrane cleavage of type 1 transmembrane proteins. Normally active Psn is in the form of a heterodimer composed by its N-terminal and C-terminal fragments that are generated from a Presenilinase-mediated endoproteolytic cleavage within its large cytosolic loop during assembly of the protease complex. Using the Psn forms that either bypass or disable Presenilinase-mediated endoproteolysis, and a Psn form that has most of the large cytosolic loop deleted, we have established an in vivo system to enable investigations of Psn functional domains in Drosophila.