The A﹠P Professor Science & Education Updates - Issue #205

Life Science

Chomping on food takes so much energy that it shaped human evolution. Our ancestors spent many hours a day chewing, which may have shaped our teeth and jaws.

So... the more I eat, the more calories I burn? Hmm.

Study finds stress response changes people’s ‘odour profile’ – which dogs can sniff out.

This doesn't surprise me at all!

Online dating is big business these days. There are approximately 324 million online daters around the world, according to an industry report, earning app developers an estimated $5.6 billion in revenue in 2021.

Since their discovery over 100 years ago, neurons in the brain’s olfactory bulb called tufted cells have been difficult to study. The close proximity between tufted cells and other neurons called mitral cells, restricted the ability to dissect each individual neuron’s activity.

By leveraging fluorescent genetic markers and new optical imaging technologies, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) neuroscientists were able to compare the neurons’ activity.

Throughout the pandemic, some people have avoided catching COVID — despite multiple exposures. Do their immune systems have some type of protection that others are missing?

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

Teaching & Learning

“HELP! I CAN’T BE THIS SPECIFIC ABOUT BIOLOGY!” Even if you’re in a place where you cannot say anything from this document, try showing examples in the spirit of the excerpt below. You know what is right for your students.

“I want everyone to get used to using accurate language for body parts and functions without assuming that there are only two sexes and that everyone within a particular sex is the same. It’s important to be able to communicate about our bodies in accurate ways.”

Land acknowledgments have come under considerable criticism as performative, token gestures, and largely meaningless. We offer 8 calls to action instead.

TAPP News & Notes

Simple methods your students can use to identify, connect, & apply core concepts of anatomy & physiology by running concept lists.

Consider fonts when creating learning materials | Is hard-to-read better than easy-to-read? | More on the course syllabus | Poop, poop, poop.