HHMI teaches immunology online that could educate students on how the body resists swine flu
Diana Clarke
Teachers can help educate students and themselves about how the body resists infections, such as the swine flu, by learning about the immune system.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) offers lectures on immunology at http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/immunology/lectures.html as part of their Holiday Lecture Series. The HHMI scientists give presentations to an audience of students.
The program, The Immune System: Friend or Foe, contains four lectures:
Lecture One—How immune cells create trillions of receptors from a few hundred
Lecture Two—How the immune system detects invaders
Lecture Three—How the host avoids 'friendly fire'
Lecture Four—stalking the elusive pathogen
The videos are appropriate for middle school and high school students.
To access other online educational materials, click the following:
“Virtual Labs” to access interactive immunology labs.
“Animation” to view “Cloning an army of T cells for immune defense.”
“Order” to request DVDs.
Teachers and students can view the lectures online. Teachers can also order free DVDs for use in their classrooms.
How to incorporate immunology into lesson plans
Arrange field trip to the public health department.
Ask an epidemiologist from the public health department to give a talk to students on influenza surveillance, statistics and disease control.
Assign students a project to complete HHMI virtual labs in immunology and report on how students’ immune response can help resist influenza.
View a video at http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=11226 on the swine flu from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and write a report.
Image credit of swine flu virus by CDC.
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Last modified: 04/27/09
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