Science stories you can count on : 51 case studies with quantitative reasoning in biology

This book features real case studies with quantitative reasoning skills enmeshed in the story line to help teach biology and show its relevance to the lives of future citizens. Front Cover 1 CONTENTS 6 1 - INTRODUCTION 12 2 - A CASE FULL OF NUMBERS 30 3 - MATH AND DATA EXPLORATION 44 4 - REINVENTING THE WHEEL 52 SECTION I: THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD 76 5 - CELL PHONE USE AND CANCER 78 6 - IS HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP BAD FOR THE APPLE INDUSTRY? 82 7 - FEELING DETOXIFIED 98 8 - RABBIT ISLAND AND THE SEARCH FOR TUBERCULOSIS TREATMENT 106 SECTION II: CHEMISTRY OF LIFE 116 9 - SWEET INDIGESTION 118 10 - DUST TO DUST 122 11 - A CAN OF BULL 128 SECTION III: THE CELL 136 12 - THE MYSTERY OF THE SEVEN DEATHS 138 13 - WRESTLING WITH WEIGHT LOSS 142 14 - NANOBACTERIA 148 SECTION IV: MICROBIOLOGY 164 15 - FECAL COLIFORMS IN ANTARCTICA 166 16 - ELVIS MELTDOWN! 174 17 - RESISTANCE IS FUTILE ... OR IS IT? 184 18 - AN INFECTIOUS CURE 198 SECTION V: GENETICS 206 19 - THE “BLUE PEOPLE” OF KENTUCKY 208 20 - TO THE BITTER END 212 21 - IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH 218 22 - THE CASE OF DESIREE’S BABY 226 23 - A SICKENINGLY SWEET BABY BOY 234 SECTION VI: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 240 24 - “NOT EXACTLY” 242 25 - THE CASE OF THE DRUID DRACULA 250 26 - WHICH LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MARKET? 256 27 - CLASSIC EXPERIMENTS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 262 SECTION VII: EVOLUTION 272 28 - MY BROTHER’S KEEPER 274 29 - AS THE WORM TURNS 280 30 - TROUBLE IN PARADISE 286 31 - PKU CARRIERS 290 32 - SUPER BUG 296 33 - EXAGGERATED TRAITS AND BREEDING SUCCESS IN WIDOWBIRDS 308 SECTION VIII: PLANT FORM AND FUNCTION 318 34 - IS GUAIACUM SANCTUM EFFECTIVE AGAINST ARTHRITIS? 320 35 - I’M LOOKING OVER A WHITE-STRIPED CLOVER 326 36 - THE ECOLOGY OF OPUNTIA FRAGILIS(NUTTALL) HAWORTH 336 37 - TOUGHER PLANTS 344 SECTION IX: ANIMAL FORM AND FUNCTION 352 38 - THE 2000-METER ROW 354 39 - GIRL PULLED ALIVE FROM RUINS, 15 DAYS AFTER EARTHQUAKE 358 40 - HOT AND BOTHERED 364 41 - KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES 372 42 - THE HUNGER PAINS 382 SECTION X: HEALTH 388 43 - MICHAEL’S STORY 390 44 - BREAST CANCER RISK 400 45 - A LIGHT LUNCH? 406 46 - PHARMACOGENETICS 412 SECTION XI: ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR 422 47 - THE DEAD ZONE 424 48 - THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY 438 49 - THE WOLF, THE MOOSE, AND THE FIR TREE 448 50 - MATHEMATICS IN CONSERVATION 454 51 - SEARCH FOR THE MISSING SEA OTTERS 468 SECTION XII: BIOSPHERE AND CONSERVATION 480 52 - LIVING DOWNSTREAM 482 53 - DO CORRIDORS HAVE VALUE IN CONSERVATION? 488 54 - THE WEALTH OF WATER 496 55 - THE EFFECTS OF COYOTE REMOVAL IN TEXAS 504 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS 510 APPENDIXES 514 A - EXPECTATIONS FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS 516 B - BIOLOGY EDUCATION TO PREPARE RESEARCH SCIENTISTS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY 524 C - RESOURCES FOR QUANTIFYING CASES 538 INDEX 546 Back Cover 561 Using real stories with quantitative reasoning skills enmeshed in the story line is a powerful and logical way to teach biology and show its relevance to the lives of future citizens, regardless of whether they are science specialists or laypeople.” —from the introduction to Science Stories You Can Count On This book can make you a marvel of classroom multitasking. First, it helps you achieve a serious goal: to blend 12 areas of general biology with quantitative reasoning in ways that will make your students better at evaluating product claims and news reports. Second, its 51 case studies are a great way to get students engaged in science. Who wouldn't be glad to skip the lecture and instead delve into investigating cases with titles like these: • “A Can of Bull? Do Energy Drinks Really Provide a Source of Energy?” • “ELVIS Meltdown! Microbiology Concepts of Culture, Growth, and Metabolism” • “The Case of the Druid Dracula” • “As the Worm Turns: Speciation and the Maggot Fly” • “The Dead Zone: Ecology and Oceanography in the Gulf of Mexico” Long-time pioneers in the use of educational case studies, the authors have written two other popular NSTA Press books: Start With a Story (2007) and Science Stories: Using Case Studies to Teach Critical Thinking (2012). Science Stories You Can Count On is easy to use with both biology majors and nonscience students. The cases are clearly written and provide detailed teaching notes and answer keys on a coordinating website. You can count on this book to help you promote scientific and data literacy in ways to prepare students to reason quantitatively and, as the authors write, “to be astute enough to demand to see the evidence.”