Our Era is characterized by a profound crisis of biodiversity. In the last hundred years, at an impressive speed compared to the slow times of biology, man's activity has profoundly altered the planet and its ecosystems, causing a vast fragmentation of natural environments and the consequent reduction in the size of natural populations, both animals and plants. These conditions, often associated with competition with domestic and/or alien species introduced are the causes of the dizzying increase in the risk of extinction for many species. It therefore become essential to undertake actions for the conservation of Biodiversity before is too late and that the extinction of too many species characterizes our near future. Here are presented education activities conceived as part of the innovative experimental educational project Next-Land on STEAM themes characterized by experiential insights. Integrated theoretical-practical activities with the aim of catalyzing the observation and understanding of the physicochemical properties of DNA, the biological macromolecule repository of genetic information in all living cells on Earth. The young students were involved in some simple experimental activities and equipped with paper, pencil, ruler, multicolored sticky notes and imagination, they have build 3D DNA models with "poor" and/or edible (candies and/or milk) and/or recycled materials.They were involved through the game to deduce the numbers related to genetic complexity of different organisms or microorganisms, discovering C-value paradox, K-value or N-value paradoxes and other key concepts of biodiversity. The manual activities were integrated with online quiz games using remote platforms (www.mentimer.com and quizziz.com ) that I have implemented with my original quizzes with the aim to teach to the students that the Genetic information is encoded by genome and that the DNA study can be applied to biodiversity conservation by pointing out that genetic tools with non-invasive methods from biological traces (such as blood, feathers or hair collected in the field) are able to identify the species they belong to, the presence of hybrid individuals, the monitoring of alien species, but also useful for the fight against poaching to conserve the biodiversity of ecosystems and/or territories.
Double Helix's Platinum Anniversary: from paper to bioplastic, a new hands-on/STEM-Based project training innovators of biodiversity conservation / DEL GAUDIO, Rosanna. - (2023).
Double Helix's Platinum Anniversary: from paper to bioplastic, a new hands-on/STEM-Based project training innovators of biodiversity conservation.
DEL GAUDIO Rosanna
Writing – Review & Editing
2023
Abstract
Our Era is characterized by a profound crisis of biodiversity. In the last hundred years, at an impressive speed compared to the slow times of biology, man's activity has profoundly altered the planet and its ecosystems, causing a vast fragmentation of natural environments and the consequent reduction in the size of natural populations, both animals and plants. These conditions, often associated with competition with domestic and/or alien species introduced are the causes of the dizzying increase in the risk of extinction for many species. It therefore become essential to undertake actions for the conservation of Biodiversity before is too late and that the extinction of too many species characterizes our near future. Here are presented education activities conceived as part of the innovative experimental educational project Next-Land on STEAM themes characterized by experiential insights. Integrated theoretical-practical activities with the aim of catalyzing the observation and understanding of the physicochemical properties of DNA, the biological macromolecule repository of genetic information in all living cells on Earth. The young students were involved in some simple experimental activities and equipped with paper, pencil, ruler, multicolored sticky notes and imagination, they have build 3D DNA models with "poor" and/or edible (candies and/or milk) and/or recycled materials.They were involved through the game to deduce the numbers related to genetic complexity of different organisms or microorganisms, discovering C-value paradox, K-value or N-value paradoxes and other key concepts of biodiversity. The manual activities were integrated with online quiz games using remote platforms (www.mentimer.com and quizziz.com ) that I have implemented with my original quizzes with the aim to teach to the students that the Genetic information is encoded by genome and that the DNA study can be applied to biodiversity conservation by pointing out that genetic tools with non-invasive methods from biological traces (such as blood, feathers or hair collected in the field) are able to identify the species they belong to, the presence of hybrid individuals, the monitoring of alien species, but also useful for the fight against poaching to conserve the biodiversity of ecosystems and/or territories.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
