CURE's BioConnection Program

In the spring of 2004, CURE added the BioConnection Program to its array of popular educational programs. The BioConnection Program expands CURE's highly successful BioBus Program by delivering to schools the equipment and materials necessary to conduct the most popular experiment lessons from the BioBus. Over 14,000 students have used real-world research tools and techniques to conduct these experiments since the launch of the BioBus in September 2001.

Mission

The BioConnection Program is structured to enrich the scientific curriculum at middle and high schools with advanced investigational exercises using research tools and techniques beyond the scope of most classrooms. The BioConnection Program advances CURE's educational goals to: (1) generate student interest in and excitement for bioscience in order to motivate and encourage career exploration by utilizing fun, relevant, hands-on, inquiry-based science experiments; (2) provide educators with up-to-date bioscience information, innovative teaching techniques and experiences in a biotechnology laboratory; and (3) generate public understanding, enthusiasm and support for bioscience in Connecticut.

To participate or see if you are eligible for the BioConnection Program, please contact Sarah Berke, Director of BioBus Educational Programs, at (203) 777-8747 or sberke@curenet.org.

Funding

The BioConnection equipment, training and support materials are provided free of charge to eligible schools. During its pilot year, the BioConnection Program was funded through an earmark grant under the Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) from the United States Department of Education. The program is currently funded by BioBus sponsors.

How Does the BioConnection Program Work?

BioConnection is a laboratory equipment loan program designed to leverage the curriculum from CURE's highly successful educational outreach program, Connecticut's BioBus. Teachers at participating BioConnection schools will be trained in up to three experiments, adapted from the BioBus Program:

• The Art of Forgery experiment, which challenges students to identify a forged painting using gel electrophoresis (a technique used to separate molecules based on size and charge)


• The Mystery of the Crooked Cell experiment, which explores genetic testing of disease by identifying blood samples with sickle cell anemia


• The Cold Stone Caper experiment, which uses DNA fingerprinting to solve a fictitious crime.


• The Double Your Helix experiment, which uses PCR techniques to analyze DNA from the students' own cheeks


• The Genetically Modified Organisms experiment, in which students isolate DNA from soy flour and use PCR techniques to test whether it contains genetically modified organisms

In order to participate in the BioConnection Program, teachers must attend a one-day training workshop for which they will receive Continuing Education Units (CEU), required for Connecticut teachers to earn to maintain their certification. Over a period of up to two weeks, teachers will use the BioConnection Unit provided to them to teach their students the prepared lessons. Once completed, the BioConnection Unit is replenished and loaned to another school. The BioConnection Program reaches 200 to 250 students at each school.

What is in Each BioConnection Unit?

The Art of Forgery Unit


• In this experiment, students become forensic scientists and use a technique to determine which of four similar paintings is the masterpiece that recently was stolen from an art museum. Students perform gel electrophoresis on paint samples from the artwork and compare them to a paint sample similar to the original masterpiece. By making, pouring, and loading their own gel, students can observe the rate at which colors migrate through the gel and compare them to the original paint sample to determine which three are forgeries.
  
  Mystery of the Crooked Cell Unit
  
  
• In this experiment, students unlock the mysteries of genetically inherited diseases using gel electrophoresis to test for a particular genetic trait. Students explore different aspects of sickle cell anemia and develop an understanding of how the disease affects the patient at the molecular level. By employing an analysis of hemoglobin, a molecule of red blood cells that is affected by carriers of sickle cell anemia, students will determine whether or not a patient has the disease, is a carrier of the trait, or is normal.
  
  Cold Stone Caper Unit
  
  
• Acting as a crime scene investigator, students participating in The Cold Stone Caper utilize DNA fingerprinting to determine which of five suspects is guilty of stealing the Crown Jewels. This experiment is based on the concept that when a restriction enzyme is used to cut different DNA molecules, the size of the fragments generated will be unique to each genome. In this experiment, students utilize gel electrophoresis to analyze and compare the sizes of DNA fragments from the DNA found at the crime scene to DNA fragments generated from the DNA of the five suspects. The gel matrix acts as a sieve to sort the pieces of DNA by size as they migrate toward the positive charge. The student investigators analyze the results to determine the culprit.
  
  Genetically Modified Organisms Unit
  
  
• In this experiment, BioBus scientists will test soy products to determine if they have been genetically modified.  A company that grows organic, non-gmo soybeans suspects that some of their fields have been accidentally planted with genetically modified Roundup Ready® soybeans.  Students must test different batches of soy flour to determine which can indeed be labeled “GMO free” and which must be pulled from the company’s storerooms. Student will first isolate DNA from samples of soy flour and will then use a scientific technique called polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, to amplify a specific portion of the DNA to determine whether their product does in fact contain GMOs.
  
  Double Your Helix Unit
  
  
• Double Your Helix is an experiment designed for advanced biology classes targeting students interested in a career in bioscience. For the experiment students will extract DNA from buccal (cheek) cells and amplify it using polymerase chain reaction technique. Students then run their DNA samples through gel electrophoresis and determine whether they have an ALU sequence at the PV92 locus on chromosome 16.  Students will then compare their individual results not only with their classroom, but with the BioBus and the general populations as well. The equipment, reagents and supplies used in this experiment were generously donated by the Fisher Scientific Company, in addition to their BioBus sponsorship.