Enacting molecular genetic processes with a versatile DNA stamp kit

In this paper, we report on the DNA stamp kit, an innovative tool for molecular biology education that has, in recent years, become widely used in upper secondary schools in the Netherlands. This stamp kit is a versatile teaching and learning tool that can be used for embodied simulations (i.e. simulations using tangible materials and/or bodily movements) of DNA-replication and protein synthesis. Teachers have also started using the DNA stamp kit and accompanying DNA font to develop embodied simulations of other genetic and epigenetic processes, such as DNA-methylation and genome editing with CRISPR/Cas9. During these simulations, students typically play the role of enzymes, and are responsible for the manipulation of physical representations of biological structures in their own interpersonal space. A questionnaire completed by 56 teachers suggests that simulations with the DNA stamp kit (a) increase students’ motivation, (b) increase students’ understanding, (c) reveal misconceptions and facilitate formative assessment, and (d) help students to remember the simulated processes. Video recordings and student evaluations of eight lessons with the stamp kit provide preliminary evidence supporting these claims. Educational implications and directions for future research are discussed

Biostratigraphical and palaeoecological implications of the small mammal assemblage from the late early Miocene of Montalvos2, Teruel Basin, Spain

The rich early Miocene small mammal assemblage from Montalvos2, collected from lacustrine deposits directly overlying the basement, is unique within the Teruel Basin, a basin that is otherwise well known for its late Miocene/Pliocene mammal faunas. The presence of Democricetodon decipiens, Megacricetodon primitivus, Eumyarion and Ligerimys ellipticus enables correlation with the local biozone Ca (approx. 16.3 Ma, MN4). The high percentage of ochotonids in Montalvos2 is remarkable, a phenomenon that is known to occur in older assemblages from the adjacent Calatayud-Montalbán Basin. The association in Montalvos2 includes species indicative of an arid biotope, such as the ochotonid Lagopsis penai and the rodents Simplomys simplicidens, Armantomys aragonensis, Melissiodon dominans and the xerine squirrel Heteroxerus, and species that are supposed to have lived in a more humid forested biotope, such as the Talpidae and the flying squirrel Albanensia. This wide range of species indicates that the environment in the Teruel Basin was highly diverse during the early Miocene

Learning by creating and exchanging objects: the SCY experience

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