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Mendelian Inheritance Lab
This online activity—a supplement to a hands-on lab at the Dolan DNA Learning Center's Harlem DNA Lab—asks students to analyze pigment mutations in corn and use the collected data to prove or disprove one of Gregor Mendel’s conclusions (the Law of Dominance) about inheritance. Turning to humans, students conduct a mini-population study to discover what simple human traits (such as a cleft chin or widow’s peak) their classmates possess. They create a Punnett square to visually represent the mathematical probability of various traits being passed down to the next generation. Users of the online activity will find information that helps explain the way traits are inherited and the importance of genetic variation within a population. For example, in a video interview, scientist Matt Ridley explains why color blindness is found much more often in men than in women. A “How Unique Are You?” quiz allows users to record some of their own characteristics and compare them with other people’s traits. The site also contains a biography of Gregor Mendel, known as the “Father of Genetics,” and background about his work and theories, as well as information about creating a pedigree, a chart used to track human heredity. The Mendelian Inheritance Lab is one of six experiments available at the Lab Center's Internet site. The experiments cover key genetics and biotechnology concepts taught in middle school and high school science classes.
Mendelian Inheritance Lab
This interactive online activity helps students understand Gregor Mendel's work by analyzing mutations in corn and examining their own and their classmates' traits.
Media: Flash MultimediaProgram Director: David Micklos
Award Years: 1990, 1994, 1999, 2007
Summary: Cold Spring Harbor is a private, non-profit research and education institution in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. Its HHMI-funded initiatives include:
- An integrated laboratory and computer system that allows students to examine their own DNA polymorphisms, share data via the Internet and reconstruct human evolution;
- A large-scale program, Genetics as a Model for Whole Learning, that brings hands-on genetics into middle school classrooms, involving more than 10,000 students per year from 22 school districts and five private schools in metropolitan New York; and
- A professional development program, a close collaboration between the Dolan DNA Learning Center and the New York City Department of Education, which enables teachers to deliver hands-on, inquiry-based experiments in genetics and biotechnology to eighth- and ninth-graders. An online Lab Center—a mini-website including animations, interviews, class results, follow-up activities and projects—supports the program.