The A&P Professor Science & Education Updates - Issue #152

Life Science

Was the addition of mitochondria a first step in the formation of complex cells or one of the last? A new study of bacteria tries to answer this contentious question in evolutionary biology.

As people age, so do all of our cells, which accumulate damage over time. But why our offspring don’t inherit those changes — effectively aging a child even before birth — has been a mystery.

I originally published When Does a Human Life Begin? 17 Timepoints here at DNA Science in 2013. My intent was to inform those who confuse embryo with fetus with baby by presenting how biologists describe human prenatal development – beginning at fertilization. Human gestation is on average 38 weeks, not 40, according to biology.

I rerun “17 Timepoints” periodically to counter assaults on woman’s reproductive rights – which unfortunately happens with disturbing regularity.

No, not those gases.

Powering medical implants can be tricky, but tapping into the body’s own fuel source could keep them going long-term. A new design for a tiny fuel cell converts glucose into electricity to power implants more efficiently than any other so far.

The work reveals that the pandemic flu was likely the direct predecessor of the seasonal H1N1 flu that circulated for decades.

Teaching & Learning

Creating Community in Online STEM Classes

Can universities and colleges do more to identify and re-enroll people who attended college but dropped out before earning a certificate, or an associate or bachelor’s degree?

Absolutely, says the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which estimates in a new report that more than 39 million people checked that box as of July 2020.

TAPP News & Notes

A Collection of Simple Things We Can Do to Improve and Maintain Access and Inclusion in the Anatomy & Physiology Course

Healthy Skin = Healthy Microbiome | Clean: The New Science of Skin | Deadline Leniency {Again) | Small Shoulders at Birth | Missing B Vitamins