This subject describes and illustrates computational approaches to solving problems in systems biology. A series of case-studies will be explored that demonstrate how an effective match between the statement of a biological problem and the selection of an appropriate algorithm or computational technique can lead to fundamental advances. The subject will cover several discrete and numerical algorithms used in simulation, feature extraction, and optimization for molecular, network, and systems models in biology.

This course is an introduction to computational biology emphasizing the fundamentals of nucleic acid and protein sequence and structural analysis; it also includes an introduction to the analysis of complex biological systems. Topics covered in the course include principles and methods used for sequence alignment, motif finding, structural modeling, structure prediction and network modeling, as well as currently emerging research areas.

" During development, the genetic content of each cell remains, with a few exceptions, identical to that of the zygote. Most differentiated cells therefore retain all of the genetic information necessary to generate an entire organism. It was through pioneering technology of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) that this concept was experimentally proven. Only 10 years ago the sheep Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult organism, demonstrating that the differentiated state of a mammalian cell can be fully reversible to a pluripotent embryonic state. A key conclusion from these experiments was that the difference between pluripotent cells such as embryonic stem (ES) cells and unipotent differentiated cells is solely a consequence of reversible changes. These changes, which have proved to involve reversible alterations to both DNA and to proteins that bind DNA, are known as epigenetic, to distinguish them from genetic alterations to DNA sequence. In this course we will explore such epigenetic changes and study different approaches that can return a differentiated cell to an embryonic state in a process referred to as epigenetic reprogramming, which will ultimately allow generation of patient-specific stem cells and application to regenerative therapy. This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching."

Linear elastic and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. Experimental methods. Microstructural effects on fracture in metals, ceramics, polymers, thin films, biological materials and composites. Toughening mechanisms. Crack growth resistance and creep fracture. Interface fracture mechanics. Fatigue damage and dislocation substructures in single crystals. Stress- and strain-life approach to fatigue. Fatigue crack growth models and mechanisms. Variable amplitude fatigue. Corrosion fatigue. Case studies of fracture and fatigue in structural, bioimplant, and microelectronic components.

Our goal is to create high-quality, freely available science instructional materials aligned to the NGSS for elementary through high school. Our development work began at the middle school level, and will grow to include full course materials for elementary through high school with grades 6-8 completed in 2022 and high school in 2024. As science educators, we endeavor to develop science classroom materials that provide equitable learning opportunities for historically disenfranchised students.
The OpenSciEd Instructional Model uses a storyline approach – a logical sequence of lessons that are motivated by students’ questions that arise from students’ interactions with phenomena. Each OpenSciEd unit undergoes an 18-month development process that includes external reviews, a robust field test, and revision. After the materials are evaluated by NextGenScience’s EQuIP Peer Review Panel and have received a quality rating, OpenSciEd makes those units freely available.
If your school system is considering using the OpenSciEd instructional materials, we would be happy to provide a presentation and answer any questions you may have.
Request a Presentation 
Elementary School ScienceWe will open a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process for elementary development in Summer/Fall 2021 and the development of materials will start in late 2021. 
Organizations interested in developing the science classroom materials will be asked to submit a response to our Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in Summer/Fall 2021. This RFQ will ask interested parties to assemble a team who are able and interested in developing elementary school science materials designed for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The team chosen for this development will work within OpenSciEd’s structure of partnering with states to provide direction and field testing in order to bring practitioner voices to the forefront of the development process as well as build demand for high-quality curriculum and professional learning materials. We hope to have a diverse group of organizations that are interested in creating free online science resources for teachers!
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Middle School Science Classroom MaterialsOur middle school science materials and free online science resources for teachers are phenomenon-based, three-dimensional units that prioritize student coherence and equitable science sensemaking. The units are developed with teacher and student voices from across the country informing the selection of the phenomena and the storyline of the unit. Throughout our units, students develop their ability to solve problems, ask and answer questions, and argue from evidence.
The OpenSciEd Middle School science program follows the OpenSciEd Scope and Sequence and addresses all of the middle school NGSS standards. 
Grade 6 units: 

6.1 Light & Matter
6.2 Thermal Energy
6.3 Weather, Climate & Water Cycling
6.4 Rock Cycling and Plate Tectonics (available Fall 2021) 
6.5 Natural Hazards (available Summer 2021) 
6.6 Cells and Systems (available Winter 2022) 

Grade 7 Units 

7.1 Chemical Reactions & Matter
7.2 Chemical Reactions & Energy (available Summer 2021)  
7.3 Metabolic Reactions
7.4 Matter Cycling & Photosynthesis
7.5  Ecosystem Dynamics (available Fall 2021)
7.6 Natural Resources & Human Impact (available Winter 2022)  

Grade 8 Units 

8.1 Contact Forces
8.2 Sound Waves 
8.3 Forces at a Distance 
8.4 Earth in Space (available Fall 2021)
8.5 Genetics (available Fall 2021)
8.6 Natural Selection and Common Ancestry (available Winter 2022)  

High School Science Materials & Resources for TeachersThe development of our high school science classroom materials began in January 2021 and will include materials for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses with the Earth and Space Science standards woven throughout each. The full program will be available by January 2024 with units available starting in late 2022, including free online science resources for teachers.
The high school instructional materials and associated professional learning will be developed by the High School Development Consortium, led by the University of Colorado, Boulder. This consortium was selected as a result of a rigorous process that included both a Request for Qualifications and a Request for Proposals. To learn more about the process and the applications submitted, visit our Future Development page. 
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COVID-19 & Health Equity UnitsThe COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique and real-life opportunity for students to explore the ways in which science and society are connected. Through each of the COVID-19 & Health Equity units, students explore how communities are impacted differently by the virus through the lens of historical inequities, and consider how they can take action to prevent further spread.
These four units are meant to be supplemental science classroom materials that can be integrated into the classroom at any point during the year. While designed for science educators, these units could be used as part of a health class, an advisory class, as part social studies or as a multidisciplinary unit. These free online science resources for teachers include integrated social-emotional learning and supports for teachers and families in addressing these emotional and essential topics. Learn more about the development of our COVID-19 science materials. 

COVID-19 & Health Equity (K-2 Science)
COVID-19 & Health Equity (3-5 Science)
COVID-19 & Health Equity (Middle School Science)
COVID-19 & Health Equity (High School Science) 

How we Share our Instructional MaterialsTeachers know their students and their classrooms best. That’s why OpenSciEd creates high quality instructional resources that meet the highest learning standards and can easily be tailored based on the individual needs of students. Because of the flexibility of the open source Google Apps for Education platform, we host most of our materials in Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets. We encourage teachers to copy our resources and modify them to suit their classroom needs.
For some of our materials in the OpenSciEd Curriculum, we also offer a bulk downloader tool, which allows you to download full units of content to your own Google Drive. When you click “Copy to my Google Drive,” you give permission to the bulk downloader to create a new unit folder in your Google Drive. The units, when downloaded, are organized into folders by lesson and all the files are editable, rather than view only. This allows you to make any appropriate modifications to the OpenSciEd curricular materials without having to download each individual lesson and document. This also allows you to upload the unit content into Google Classroom more easily, as you will have an organized unit on your Drive from which you can create assignments and quizzes in Google Classroom. Please view the privacy policy related to the bulk downloader tool to understand how this tool accesses your Google Drive.

Since the discovery of the structure of the DNA double helix in 1953 by Watson and Crick, the information on detailed molecular structures of DNA and RNA, namely, the foundation of genetic material, has expanded rapidly. This discovery is the beginning of the "Big Bang" of molecular biology and biotechnology. In this seminar, students discuss, from a historical perspective and current developments, the importance of pursuing the detailed structural basis of genetic materials.

Are you interested in investigating how nature engineers itself? How engineers copy the shapes found in nature ("biomimetics")? This Freshman Seminar investigates why similar shapes occur in so many natural things and how physics changes the shape of nature. Why are things in nature shaped the way they are? How do birds fly? Why do bird nests look the way they do? How do woodpeckers peck? Why can't trees grow taller than they are? Why is grass skinny and hollow? What is the wood science behind musical instruments? Questions such as these are the subject of biomimetic research and they have been the focus of investigation in this course for the past three years.

Objective
SWBAT identify a problem within the environment and brainstorm, develop, and present models that can serve as solutions to the problem.

Big Idea
In this lesson students build models to help prevent frogger from become a hazard in the real world.

"Like transistors in a computer, synapses perform complex computations and connect the brain's non-linear processing elements (neurons) into a functional circuit. Understanding the role of synapses in neuronal computation is essential to understanding how the brain works. In this course students will be introduced to cutting-edge research in the field of synaptic neurophysiology. The course will cover such topics as synapse formation, synaptic function, synaptic plasticity, the roles of synapses in higher cognitive processes and how synaptic dysfunction can lead to disease. This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching."

Fundamentals of Biology focuses on the basic principles of biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and recombinant DNA. These principles are necessary to understanding the basic mechanisms of life and anchor the biological knowledge that is required to understand many of the challenges in everyday life, from human health and disease to loss of biodiversity and environmental quality.

The topic of this video module is genetic basis for variation among humans. The main learning objective is that students will learn the genetic mechanisms that cause variation among humans (parents and children, brothers and sisters) and how to calculate the probability that two individuals will have an identical genetic makeup. This module does not require many prerequisites, only a general knowledge of DNA as the genetic material, as well as a knowledge of meiosis.

The topic of this video module is genetic basis for variation among humans. The main learning objective is that students will learn the genetic mechanisms that cause variation among humans (parents and children, brothers and sisters) and how to calculate the probability that two individuals will have an identical genetic makeup. This module does not require many prerequisites, only a general knowledge of DNA as the genetic material, as well as a knowledge of meiosis.

Deals with the specific functions of neurons, the interactions of neurons in development, and the organization of neuronal ensembles to produce behavior, by functional analysis of mutations and molecular analysis of their genes. Concentrates on work with nematodes, fruit flies, mice, and humans.

The principles of genetics with application to the study of biological function at the level of molecules, cells, and multicellular organisms, including humans. Structure and function of genes, chromosomes and genomes. Biological variation resulting from recombination, mutation, and selection. Population genetics. Use of genetic methods to analyze protein function, gene regulation and inherited disease.

This course introduces the parallel evolution of life and the environment. Life processes are influenced by chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and the solid earth. In turn, life can influence chemical and physical processes on our planet. This course explores the concept of life as a geological agent and examines the interaction between biology and the earth system during the roughly 4 billion years since life first appeared.

Objective
Students will be able to use a textbook to gather information about the structure and function of the organs in the digestive system.

Big Idea
Food and oxygen follow a path to get to the cells.

Objective
Students will be able to make connections between the digestive, circulatory and respiratory systems in understanding how food and oxygen gets to the cells.

Big Idea
Blood: A highway filled with oxygen and food.

Objective
Students will be able to model the functioning and connections of the Digestive, Circulatory, and Respiratory systems.

Big Idea
Getting food and oxygen to the cells takes a lot of parts and coordination!

research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary integration can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons. Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for current science curriculum.

Fundamental principles of biochemistry. Analysis of the mode of action and structure of regulatory, binding, and catalytic proteins. The tools and analytical methods that biochemists use to dissect biological problems. Analysis of the mode of action and structure of regulatory, binding, and catalytic proteins.