BIOLOGY IN FOCUS

BLUEPRINT OF LIFE

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

Evolution
www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/redesign.shtm
Evolution games: the world is changing—you’ll have to adapt if you want to survive. Play the evolution
game and see if you can last until the present day. Try this game and many other interactive evolution-
based games.
www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/BioBookEVOLI.html
Deals with pre-Renaissance thought, evolutionary thought during the 1770s, evolution by natural
selection, and natural selection and genetics. It also has interesting links to a geological timeline and
the debates between science and creationism.
http://books.nap.edu/html/creationism/preface.html
‘Creation science’—is there a place for it in the classroom?
staffwww.fullcoll.edu/.../myths_of_evolution.htm
A student-friendly website that provides a concise overview of evolution, outlines what a theory is and
has an interesting approach to debunking the myths of evolution.

Natural selection
www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/10/4/l_104_03.html
Video clip showing evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Website has a good, detailed explanation
of how antibiotic resistance can be considered a form of evolution by natural selection.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/survival/clock/index.html
Interactive website on antibiotic resistance.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/10/1/l_101_02.html
Artificial selection—the evolution of pesticide-resistance in modern-day living organisms.
www.blackwellpublishing.com/ridley/tutorials/The_theory_of_natural_selection__part_1_13.asp
A brief outline of DDT resistance in mosquitoes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT#Mosquito_resistance_to_DDT
Mosquito resistance and DDT—keeping in mind the questionable reliability of Wikipedia, this website
has a detailed description and links to reliable references.
www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb05340.x
Tick resistance to arsenic-based dips—an agricultural website.
www.publish.csiro.au/paper/ZO9780699.htm
Possums and fluoroacetate resistance—Australian Journal of Zoology from the CSIRO.
www.australiazoo.com.au/our-animals/amazing-animals/mammals/?mammal=koalas&animal=
koala
This website explains that koalas vary in size and colour depending on where they live in Australia.
www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/mecol/1999/00000008/00000006/art00009
Clinical variation in koalas.
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Comparative anatomy—vertebrate forelimbs

www.talkorigins.org/faqs/anatomy.html
Animated images of manatee, dog, human and bat. Linked to
www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Homology_of_forelimbs.htm page 123
Human, cat, whale and bat—homologous forelimbs.
www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Analogy_of_forelimbs.htm
Website that examines the analogy of bat and bird wings.
www.eskeletons.org/cmpAna/comparativeAnatomy.html
Interactive website that allows comparisons of specific bones in the forelimb between humans and
other primates.

Copyright © 2008 McGraw-Hill Australia. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
BIOLOGY IN FOCUS

DNA and amino acid sequencing technology

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http://books.nap.edu/html/creationism/evidence.html
‘Molecular clocks’ determine the rate at which a particular kind of gene or protein evolves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_sequencing
The history of DNA sequencing technology. Linked to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Genome_Project page 125
Sequencing of the human genome.
Note: Wikipedia gives some good, concise information, but discuss the reliability of this website with
your teacher.
www.dna-software.co.uk/#intro
A further website for extension work. This website gives an idea of the type of computer software
available for DNA sequence analysis.
www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/mol.bio.html
Student activity website on amino acid sequencing.

Mitochondrial DNA
www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/ingman.html
Mitochondrial DNA and human evolution.
www.geneticorigins.org/mito/mitoframeset.htm
The evolution of the mitochondrial genome.

Evolutionary relatedness
www.springerlink.com/content/u0036302005x1160/
This website documents studies of the origin of tetrapods.
www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/evolution98/evol6-d.html
This website looks at relatedness of humans, chimpanzees and gorillas and also testing and
validating models, theories and laws.

Mendel’s experiments
www.mendel-museum.org/eng/1online/room4.htm
This website has accurate information on Mendel’s experiments. It is from the Mendel museum and
all the articles are based on information from primary sources—Mendel’s papers. The timeline on
this site, ‘From Mendel to the Human Genome Project’, gives an excellent overview of the progress
of genetics as a science over 150 years.
www.mendel-museum.org/eng/1online/experiment.htm
This site contains an animated version of Mendel’s experiments.
www.mendelweb.org/Mendel.html
This website has an English translation of Mendel’s actual paper describing his experiment plan,
procedure and results. Section 2 outlines in detail how he set about avoiding experimental error.

Genetic problems
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www.cccoe.net/genetics/daddyhome.html
Interactive website for students to solve genetics problems using Punnett squares and other
problem-solving techniques.
www.mustangs4us.com/Horse%20Colors/genes1.htm Linked to
This website deals with genetics in horses. page 153
www.lsu.edu/deafness/genetics.htm
This website deals with genetic deafness in dogs.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD71639F930A35751C1A967958260&
sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print
Genetic traits and dog breeding.
http://ib.berkeley.edu/courses/ib162/Week3a.htm
Genetic traits in cats.
http://medicine.jrank.org/pages/2638/Pedigree-Use-Pedigrees.html
The use of pedigrees in human genetics.

Copyright © 2008 McGraw-Hill Australia. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
BIOLOGY IN FOCUS

Familial breast cancer studies

www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1413975
This paper presents the findings of research conducted by the Westmead Institute for Cancer
Research, University of Sydney at Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead Hospital, of two genetic
regions identified to contain genes that are ‘low risk’
www.nbcf.org.au
Source the Pink Ribbon Newsletter October 2007—this newsletter features a brief, easily understood
report on the Australians who carry high risk mutations, as well as the work of kConFab and the
findings of the ‘whole genome search’ for low risk genes.
www.kconfab.org/Index.shtml
Information on familial breast cancer studies are currently being undertaken by kConFab.

Chromosomes
www.genomenewsnetwork.org
Online magazine that covers important developments in genomic research worldwide.

Sutton and Boveri’s Findings

www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/e11/11.htm
This website describes Boveri’s work and how the pattern of chromosomal segregation and genetic
data indicate that chromosomes are the vehicles for hereditary factors in genes.
www.genetics.org/cgi/content/full/160/1/1
This website gives an overview of the life and contributions of Sutton to the ‘chromosomal theory of
heredity’, a well as documenting his subsequent work as a surgeon and his sudden death.
www.genome.gov/25520242
Visit this website for a summary of Sutton’s contribution; this website also has links to an excellent
timeline of genetic discoveries, discrimination acts and ethics-based amendments.
www.genomenewsnetwork.org/resources/timeline/1902_Boveri_Sutton.php
This website features a concise article on Sutton and Boveri’s contribution to ‘chromosomal theory of
inheritance’, as part of a genetics timeline presentation.

Meiosis
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/units/basics/tour
This website has brilliant animations on DNA, protein synthesis and meiosis simulation (under ‘What
is Hereditary?’ it shows random assortment in gamete formation).
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073031216/student_view0/exercise14/meiosis_
movie.html
This website contains a video (with sound) on meiosis.
www.cellsalive.com/meiosis.htm
Website animation of stages of meiosis.
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/olc/dl/120074/bio18.swf
This website shows the random orientation of chromosomes during meiosis.

Thomas Hunt Morgan and sex-linkage

http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Chromosomes/chromo.htm
A good website that outlines the path of discovery to the chromosome theory of heredity, particularly
the early beliefs of Thomas Hunt Morgan and his later findings and contributions to understanding sex
linkage—bringing together the chromosome theory of inheritance and Mendelian genetics. The site
contains an interesting photograph of Thomas Hunt Morgan and a diagram of a fruit fly.
www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/e11/11b.htm
This website shows pictorially how gene analysis in Thomas Hunt Morgan’s work led to the discovery
of crossing over in chromosomes.
www.lrb.co.uk/v23/n05/wool01_.html
This website reviews the book The Century of the Gene by Evelyn Fox Keller, outlining the concept of
genes and the historical processes in the first half of the 20th century that led to the gene becoming
the basis of biological explanations, such as Darwinian evolution.

Copyright © 2008 McGraw-Hill Australia. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
BIOLOGY IN FOCUS

www.genomenewsnetwork.org/resources/timeline/1910_Morgan.php
Outline of the work of Thomas Hunt Morgan, leading to his Nobel Prize in 1933.
http://medicine.jrank.org/pages/2600/Nature-Gene-History.html
Website featuring information on the historical nature of the gene. Click ‘The Chromosome Theory’ link
for a summary of Thomas Hunt Morgan’s contribution to the chromosome theory of inheritance.
www.siue.edu
This website has a power point presentation giving a good, clear and simple outline of Thomas Hunt
Morgan’s experiments, results and how he reached his conclusions, providing further evidence for the
chromosomal theory of inheritance. (From the University of Southern Illinois website—in the search
box on this website, type in ‘chromosome theory of inheritance’ to source the presentation.)

Colour blindness
www.hhmi.org/senses/b120.html
Report from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute dealing with colour blindness, starting with a brief
historical outline of how the current ideas on colour perception came about. The article titled ‘Breaking
the code of colour: red, green and blue cones’ has links to other areas of interest such as how we
judge colour, motion blindness and the role of the brain in colour perception.
www.mcw.edu
The Neitz Color Vision Lab at the University of Wisconsin presents information on the types of colour
blindness, a pedigree of inheritance, images presented as they would appear to colour blind people
and to normal trichromats, as well as spectral sensitivities of cone pigments.
www.richmondeye.com/visiontest.asp
This website has colour vision tests and charts to check for colour deficiencies and colour blindness.

Genes and inheritance

www.thenaturetrail.com/CGene.htm
Rabbit coat genetics.
www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspDetail&ResourceID=453
Genetics crosses—online and interactive site.
http://scienceblogs.com/evolgen/2006/09/phylogeny_friday_8_september_2.php
Sex determination systems and their evolutionary origins.

The discovery of DNA

www.rsnz.org/news/releases/wilkins_dna.php
www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/watsoncrick.html
Crick and Watson and their DNA discovery.
http://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/archive/Crick62.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1962/crick-bio.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3937475.stm
Francis Crick.
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/archive/Watson62.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1962/watson-bio.html
James Watson.
www.nzedge.com/heroes/wilkins.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1962/wilkins-bio.html
Maurice Wilkins.
www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/franklin.html
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SCfranklinR.htm
http://discovermagazine.com/2003/jul/featdialogue
Rosalind Franklin.

Copyright © 2008 McGraw-Hill Australia. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
BIOLOGY IN FOCUS

Beadle and Tatum’s experiments

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1958/tatum-bio.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1958/beadle-bio.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1958/beadle-lecture.pdf
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1958/tatum-lecture.html
http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/curric/stage6/biol/index.html
The lives and works of George Beadle and Edward Tatum.
www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0847943.html
Edward Tatum.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/molecular-biology
Useful website on molecular biology.

DNA
www.dnai.org/text/mediashowcase/index2.html?id=61
http://personal.uncc.edu/jmarks/DNAHYB/dnahyb1.html
DNA hybridisation—Charles Sibley and his student, Jon Ahlquist, developed a technique to compare
the composition of genomes of different primate species. This is an interesting article to see how
adjusting mathematical formulae can affect interpretations of results.

Protein synthesis
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9dhO0iCLww
Human role-play to model protein synthesis.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJxobgkPEAo&feature=related
Computer graphics model (with sound) explaining the process. Linked to
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvYEqGb7XN8&feature=related page 208
Good visual model (no sound).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uAKAicgqn4
Model based on a sequence of diagrams (not a working model)—good detail and shows sound
understanding.
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/olc/dl/120077/micro06.swf
Very good step-by-step outline of the process—detailed and accurate.
www.johnkyrk.com/DNAtranscription.html
www.johnkyrk.com/DNAtranslation.html
These weblinks provide animated graphics depicting the steps of protein synthesis.
www.accessexcellence.org/AB/GG/protein_synthesis.html
Diagram representing the steps involved in protein synthesis.
www.wisc-online.com/objects/index_tj.asp?objID=AP1302
Computer-generated model of protein synthesis shown in a sequence of several steps, each
animated.
www.biostudio.com/a_sitemap.htm
Technical visual animations of protein synthesis (as well as many other biological processes).
http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEPC/WWC/1994/protein_synthesis.php

Hybridisation
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/watermelon1.html
Website on seedless watermelons.
www.tallpoppies.net.au/cavalcade/farrer.htm
This website has an interesting account of William Farrer’s background and his contributions in the
field of wheat hybridisation in Australian agriculture.
http://xttm.agroviet.gov.vn/TestE/load/hang/gao-spec-detail.asp?tn=tn&id=31485
Call for hybrid rice—advantages and disadvantages listed.
www.vir.nw.ru/cotton/resist_c.htm
Hybridisation as a source of resistance to cotton wilt in Russia and Central Asia.
www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0100-29452006000200002&script=sci_arttext
Mango cultivars resulting from hybridisation in Brazil.

Copyright © 2008 McGraw-Hill Australia. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
BIOLOGY IN FOCUS

www.ajevonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/58/2/234
Grape hybrids.
www.1888articles.com/hybrid-vigour-or-heterosis-with-mixed-breed-dogs-such-as-
labradoodles-045e2lf72b.html
Hybrid dogs.

Selective breeding
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www.chicken.org.au/page.php?id=205
Selective breeding experiments carried out on chickens at James Ruse Agricultural High School in
NSW, Australia.
www.ridgebacks.com.au Linked to
Selective breeding of Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs in Australia. page 219
www.akc.org/breeders/resp_breeding/Articles/evolutionofbreeds.cfm
Selective breeding of dogs—historical and current.

Cloning
www.equivetaustralia.com/ai/semfrozen.php
Details on artificial insemination of horses in Australia.
www.biology-online.org/2/12_selective_breeding.htm
This website deals with the effects of selective breeding on evolution.
www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986029,00.html
This website presents short notes about the contributors of articles (on Dolly and cloning) to Time
magazine.
www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3393
www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/17/1045330540153.html
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/dolly/index.asp
Dolly the sheep.
www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/16/scidolly116.xml
An article in the Telegraph newspaper in London entitled: ‘Dolly creator Prof Ian Wilmut shuns cloning’.
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/units/cloning/clickandclone/
Great interactive site on cloning—it helps students to think about and understand the methodology of
cloning as they go through each step themselves.
www.thecattlesite.com/news/16609/meat-milk-from-cloned-cattle-safe
Website on the cloning of Japanese cattle for meat production.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3129441.stm
Prometea—the world’s first horse clone (born in 2003).
http://www.cryozootech.com/index.php?m=the_horses&d=pieraz_st_en&l=en
First images of a cloned stallion’s sperm.
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/28227.php
Will bans on racing cloned horses be lifted?

Transgenic species debate

http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=1372&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_
SECTION=201.html
This website explains bioethics and how the term ‘bioethics’ came to be used. It contains links to many
other useful websites on bioethics and genetics.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001524/152487E.pdf
This website gives an excellent outline of ethics and bioethics. It gives a course outline from
UNESCO, hyperlinked to concise information. It also offers information about the criteria used when
making judgments.
www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071208/fob1.asp
‘Skin cells fix anaemia in mice’—this website contains an article outlining how the use of viruses
carrying genes replaces the use of embryonic stem cells in treating disease in mice.
www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/OtherCancers/tb/7493
Information on transgenic mice developed to resist cancer.

Copyright © 2008 McGraw-Hill Australia. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
BIOLOGY IN FOCUS

www.checkbiotech.org/green_News_Genetics.aspx?infoId=16255
Website on drought-tolerant transgenic plants.
http://law.by/work/EnglPortal.nsf/0/1C23650B7B2E9866C225738D00495D1B?OpenDocument
Transgenic ‘goatlings’ with implanted human DNA.
www.utextension.utk.edu/fieldcrops/cotton/cotton_insects/btcotton.htm
Website on Bt cotton.
www.bucconeer.worldcon.org/contest/2002e_5.htm
General website on the transgenic debate (including transgenic strawberries).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_food_controversy
Genetically modified food controversies.
www.srtp.org.uk/geneng0.shtml
This website looks at various aspects of genetic engineering and cloning and the ethical issues
involved—the Society, Religion and Technology Project.
www.grg.org/OHSUmonkey.htm
Website on ANDi, the first transgenic Rhesus monkey. The article voices animal rights concerns and
questions whether humans will be next.
www.csiro.au/pubgenesite/debate.htm
This CSIRO website presents the ‘gene technology debate’. It explains how all technology that has
benefits also has risks and explores some of the risks and benefits of gene technology.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Human_Physiology/Genetics_and_inheritance#Genetic_
Engineering
Genetic engineering and gene therapy in humans.
http://www.biology-online.org/2/13_genetic_engineering.htm
Genetic engineering: advantages and disadvantages.

Copyright © 2008 McGraw-Hill Australia. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.