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Curricular Units

Texas Biomed education program

Texas Biomedical Research Institute is pioneering and sharing scientific breakthroughs to protect you, your families and our global community from the threat of infectious diseases. The Texas Biomed education program supports this mission through free, downloadable curricular units which engage students in critical thinking, model making, and hands-on lab experiences connected to current science issues. Curricular units consist of multiple lessons and each lesson contains activities. Each unit is aligned with education standards (TEKS and NGSS) and provide instructional flexibility. Units and lessons can be implemented in their entirety or activities can be used as stand-alone explorations to support existing curriculum. Texas Biomed curricular units are funded through the National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA).

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Pulmo Park Unit Pulmo Park Unit

Exploring the Respiratory System: Understanding the structure and function of the respiratory system is vital to making informed decisions to maintain health. Pulmo Park provides a comprehensive overview of the pulmonary system, from integration of body systems to investigations about how structure influences function. Students will observe, gather and analyze data while exploring the impact respiratory diseases and environmental factors impact the respiratory system and overall health.

Tuberculosis Unit

illustration of lungs with a magnifying glass over the right side, in the magnifying glass is a representation of tuberculosis On a global scale, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (aka: TB) persists as the ninth leading cause of death from an infectious pathogen. Every day, 4,400 people are infected with TB. In this lesson, Good News! TB Killer on the Loose!, students will evaluate data obtained from an article written by TB researchers at Texas Biomedical Research Institute. The lesson is based on a published scientific research article about TB. Such articles can be challenging to read and understand. To make the research easier to understand, middle school and high school teachers read the article, talked with scientists, and created a transformed article. The transformed article is shorter, easier to read, and more accessible. Good News! TB Killer on the Loose! explores how TB spreads from person to person and investigates how the body’s immune system responds to this bacterial invader!


DNA Unit

Deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) is referred to as the building blocks of life. This arrangement of sugars and phosphate groups looks very much like a twisted ladder. DNA is held together by chemical bonds which determine the genotype (the genetic make-up) and phenotype (physical properties) of an organism. Although DNA is formed by chemical bonding, DNA is central to biology and life for most organisms. The following activities provide bridges between environmental science, biology, and chemistry concepts, reinforcing the connectivity between science disciplines.