Teacher Facilitation Guide

Program Overview
Frontiers of Medicine is a research-based curriculum that focuses on new fields of research and development in medicine. Students view video interview segments featuring four leading scientists who are on the frontiers of research in cloning, mapping human genes, DNA, and organ transplants. These interviews serve as a springboard for students' own research. A list of online resources is provided to support student research.

Viewing/Facilitation Strategies

Introduce the Frontiers of Medicine topic and video segments. Ask students to share examples of their current knowledge, experiences, and questions related to topics such as heredity, DNA, organ transplants, and cloning.
View the video segments as a class, in small groups, or individually.
Facilitate student selection of one of the research projects listed below which fits their interests and grade level.

Research Project Overview

Grades 7-9

Student Academic Standards

Students understand dance as a way to create and communicate meaning
Students understand dance in various cultures and historical periods.
Students understand connections between dance and healthful living.
Students understand movement elements and choreographic principles in designing and performing dance.
Students understand how informal and formal theatre productions create and communicate meaning.
Students understand the context in which performing arts are performed today as well as in the past.
Students know how to gather and use information for research purposes.
Students understand how to make multimedia presentations using text, images, and sound.

Projects and Investigations:

Scientist Profile: Research on the Frontiers of Medicine
The four scientists featured in the video segments are Dr. Ian Wilmut, Dr. James D. Watson, Dr. Francis S. Collins, and Dr. Denton A. Cooley. Each is doing cutting-edge scientific research. They are pioneers in new fields of medicine. Their work is both rich with potential benefit and yet often controversial. Cloning, organ transplantation, and genetic manipulation are hot topics and many people are divided over their use and implications. Select one of the featured scientists. Gather information about their lives and their scientific projects and breakthroughs. What makes this scientist a pioneer? What effect has this role had on his life and work? What does he hope to achieve? Use your research to develop a multimedia profile of this pioneering scientist in the field of the medicine.

Cloning Survey Project
In his interview Dr. Ian Wilmut asks: "Is it is appropriate to think of making a copy of a person?" As a research scientist, Dr. Wilmut has been on the forefront of cloning research yet he realizes that this scientific possibility raises many questions. Some questions are medical. Some are ethical. Cloning also raises religious questions. Research this topic further by reviewing Dr. Wilmut's complete interview in the Gallery of Science and by investigating the other listed online resources. Develop a series of questions about the topic of cloning and its implications. Survey your friends, family, and other community members by asking these questions and recording responses. Analyze the results and write a summary that presents your findings.

The Human Genome Project
Dr. Francis Collins states that he is "the luckiest guy in science." He has a chance to "stand at the helm of a project that he believes is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science." That is quite a statement since the history of science is rich with amazing and beneficial discoveries. Why is the Human Genome Project so extraordinary and important? What are the potential benefits to human health and society? Research the project by reading Dr. Collins complete interview in the Gallery of Science and by investigating the additional online resources for this topic. Develop a multimedia presentation that presents the Human Genome Project and its potential benefits to your class.

Grades 7-9

Student Academic Standards

Students understand the nature of scientific knowledge..
Students understand the principles of heredity and related concepts.
Students understand the nature of scientific inquiry.
Students understand that questioning, response to criticism, and open communication are integral to the process of science.
Students understand the chemical and structural properties of DNA and its role in specifying the characteristics of an organism.
Students gather and use information for research purposes.

Projects and Investigations:

New Discoveries: On the Medical Frontier
The field of medical research is rich in new areas of discovery and development. The four scientists featured in the video segments are pioneers in these areas which include the genetic mapping of humans, cloning, DNA, and organ transplants. Each area of research has opened the door to potential benefits and technologies. Each has also stirred controversy within the scientific community and in the public forum. Review the video segments and the scientists' complete interviews in the Gallery of Science. Conduct additional online research using the listed resources. Assume the role of documentary filmmaker. Use your research to develop an outline and rough storyboards for a documentary that highlights these new frontiers of medicine.

The Cloning Debate
As Dr. Ian Wilmut describes in his interview, the scientific possibilities of some forms of cloning have become realities. But many questions remain that divide public and scientific opinion about the benefits and negative effects related to cloning. For example, would it be beneficial to clone endangered animal species to save them from extinction? Is it beneficial to genetically modify foods to be resistant to disease thereby making more food available to the world's populations? These are important questions, but nowhere is the controversy more heated than in the area of human cloning. Besides medial questions, there are ethical, legal, and societal issues related to cloning a human being. Research these issues further after reviewing Dr. Wilmut's complete interview in the Gallery of Science. Consider issues related to fairness, privacy, psychological impact, societal stigmatization, reproductive issues etc. Use your research information to develop your own opinion and point of view. Write a position paper for a debate focused on the benefits of cloning.

The Passion for DNA
DNA's double helix structure was first discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953. In his Gallery of Science interview, Dr. Watson says that to "suddenly see the molecule which is responsible for heredity, and which makes possible human existence, was a very big step in man's understanding of himself...in the same sense that Darwin knew that the human species wasn't fixed, that we were changing. It was bound to affect your attitude to everything." In a recent PBS program, The Gene Hunters, Dr. Watson added that our knowledge of DNA is "good and great, but I'll only be truly happy if we stop cancer or stop schizophrenia." Research the developments in medicine since the discovery of DNA. Create a multimedia timeline that highlights the importance of DNA, medical breakthroughs because of this new knowledge, and the potential advances that could be made in the future.

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