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AP Biology

The AP Biology course studies the core scientific principles, theories, and processes that govern living organisms and biological systems. Through this investigation of natural phenomena, students are exposed to a variety of subjects such as Environmental Science, Medical Research, Statistics, and Public Health. Bolster your AP classroom with these resources and encourage students to see how their lessons fit a broader picture of society.

BIG IDEAS CAN START SMALL

Take the following resource: A Tale of Two Zip Codes. The four-minute video introduces a central concept of public health, the impact of social factors on predictors of life expectancy. How can this fit into the AP Biology curriculum? Consider how the video can fit into lessons on heredity—help your students think beyond DNA.

The College Board encourages AP Biology students to use the course to find a path to 52 majors and 103 careers. Find out how your students may someday impact society.

AP Biology Resource Library

Race

Climate Refugees: Nations under threat

Focused on the country of Kirobas, this eight-minute video addresses the way climate change disproportionately affects island communities.

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

Gender+Sexual Orientation

What the Cluck? How a Hen Turned Into a Rooster

This study is about chickens taking on the physiological behaviors of roosters, having everything except being able to lay eggs. They crow, have the same feathers as roosters, have spurs, and other physiological factors because they can develop male sex organs if their left ovary gets damaged or atrophies.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Sexual Orientation

To Survive Climate Catastrophe, Look to Queer and Dibbled Folks

This Op-Ed describes the efforts of queer disabled organizers to build climate resilient communities. The article calls for the recognition of many types of communities and their role in supporting our society, much like each component in the Earth's ecosystem.

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

Race

If You Want Clean Water, Don't Be Black in America

Using Flint, Michigan as a preliminary case study, this article describes water issues in relation to race throughout America

Duration:

45-60+ Minutes

Race+Gender

Study Links Gas Flares to Preterm Births, With Hispanic Women at High Risk

This article recognizes racial disparity in a women’s health issue caused by gas flares.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Race

Clinical Trials Have Far Too Little Racial and Ethnic Diversity

Many clinical trials are composed of 80 to 90% white patients, despite almost 40% of all Americans belonging to minority groups. This article explains the importance of diversity in clinical drug trials.

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

Gender

When disease strikes, gender matters

This Harvard panel discusses the importance of identifying differences between men and women when conducting disease research. This resource is pivotal to the understanding of the need for gender representation in clinical trials.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Gender

The Gender Spectrum: A Scientist Explains Why Gender Isn't Binary

This source is about non-binary individuals, and how the gender spectrum is not binary, instead following a bimodal distribution with higher probability of being on one side or the other. This source talks about the genetic factors of being intersex, the physiological factors that show gender and how is a spectrum, and ends with examples in the animal kingdom that don't follow the gender binary or can become transgender.

Duration:

45-60+ Minutes

Race

Human Genomics Research Has a Diversity Problem

Currently, minorities makeup less than 22% of genetic studies. This NPR article discusses the importance of involving minorities in genetic studies by providing examples of genetic variation between races and their contributions to different diseases

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

All

A Tale of Two Zip Codes

This 4-minute video explains how a person’s zip code has a larger impact on their health outcome than their genetic code.

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

Race

The Coronavirus Is Killing Black Americans at an Alarmingly High Rate

This article discusses the racial disparities within coronavirus mortality rates in black communities. They provide a lot of statistical evidence and explain possible causes of this disparity

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Sexual Orientation

Gay doctor passionately rallies against an 'old prejudice'

Nick McIntosh explains his desire to help people by giving blood but how Australia has bans on gay and bisexual men giving blood.

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

Race

The tribes paying the brutal price of conservation

This article shares the impact of conservation projects on international Native communities. The author focuses on the case study on the Central Kalahari game park in Botswana

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Gender

Climate breakdown 'is increasing violence against women'

Harvey covers a study which finds a correlated increase in gender-based violence with increases in environmental pressures.

Duration:

45-60+ Minutes

Race

Clean Water and Race

The water crisis as experienced by Black, Latinx, and Native Americans is shown in this article.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Race

Environmental Justice, Explained

A three-minute video which explains the origins of environmental justice issues and provides an overview of the subject.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Race

An Open Letter on DAPL

Jon Eagle Sr., a preservation officer for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, wrote this letter on the U.S. government’s treatment of tribal land.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Race

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obstetrics and Gynecology

This research article provides examples of racial disparities in women's health. The article also breaks down how patients, physicians, and the healthcare system contribute to these differences as well as provides potential solutions to reduce these disparities.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Race

Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks visited Johns Hopkins Hospital for cervical cancer treatment. After she passed away, her cancer cells were discovered to be immortal and continued to multiply. Her cells were harvested without the permission of her family and used for research. These materials explain her and her family's story and how this event sparked conversations about ethics in medical research

Duration:

45-60+ Minutes

Gender

Are the Brains of Transgender People Different

This source is about the differences and similarities on transgender and cisgender brains. Although research is mixed, there's a general trend towards transgender individuals having the same brain structure as the gender in which they identify as, even when the studies are controlled for hormones.

Duration:

45-60+ Minutes

Race

Racism as a public health issue

On this episode of "Show Me The Science," scientists discuss the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of racism.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

All

The Social-Ecological Model

This article from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gives a basic overview of the socioecological model and how it is utilized for prevention efforts.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Race

Black, Latino patients more likely to undergo amputations

University of Southern California Professor David Armstrong speaks about amputations caused by diabetes, what Armstrong calls “an epidemic within an epidemic,” in this CNN article. The article also includes a short video on diabetes and its symptoms.

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

Race

Why are Black and Latino Kids More Likely to Die of Certain Cancers?

Published in 2018, this NPR article discusses a study by epidemiologist Rebecca Kehm about the effects of socioeconomic factors on childhood cancer survival.

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

Gender

Climate change is not gender neutral

This video, mentioned in the previous resource ("Is Ecofeminism still relevant?"), addresses the ways climate change is experience by women, as well as the way women's liberation can contribute to environmental progress.

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

Gender

Project Drawndown Solution: Health and Education

Project Drawdown's mission is to present solutions which would help the world reach "drawdown," the point at which greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and start to steadily decline. This solution focuses on the health and education of women.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Sexual Orientation

Seeking a New Lens to Study Same-Sex Behavior in Animals

Focusing on sexuality in evolution and animal biology, this New York Times article discusses a study from Yale and UC Berkeley researchers who seek to change the heteronormative assumptions of environmental science.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Race

Pollution Is Killing Black Americans. This Community Fought Back.

This feature discusses the efforts of a Black community in Philadelphia to reduce hazardous waste in their environment.

Duration:

45-60+ Minutes

Gender

Women in Science: Remembering Rosalind Franklin

This webpage highlights the importance of women in STEM by explaining the crucial role of Rosalind Franklin played in the discovery of DNA.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Race

Melanoma Among Non-Hispanic Black Americans

This is an analysis paper published on the CDC's webpage analyzing melanoma incidence and 5-year survival rates of non-Hispanic Black US- populations. Material provides resultant data and draws conclusions that healthcare providers need improved education on incidence of melanoma in non-Hispanic Black populations.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Sexual Orientation

How HIV Impacts LGBTQ People

This article explains disparities in HIV treatment and research. It provides inferences for why HIV disproportionately affects gay men and minorities.

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

Race

An Indigenous bioethicist on CRISPR and decolonizing DNA

An interview with Navajo bioethicist-geneticist Krystal Tsosie on the ethical implications of CRISPR-Cas9.

Duration:

45-60+ Minutes

Race

Coronavirus and Water Access

Individuals living in low-income rural communities do not have access to safe drinking water and must rely on bottled water. This article explains how the need for water has been exacerbated due to the global pandemic and why it needs to be addressed.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Race

Huge Racial Disparities Found in Deaths Linked to Pregnancy

This article brings attention to the health disparity found in maternal rates in the United States. The US has the highest maternal mortality of developed countries, and racial disparities are even more drastic with the United States. Doctors and public health officials explain risk factors, causes of death, and possible solutions to the crisis.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

Race

Ethnic and Racial Minorities & Socioeconomic States

From the American Psychological Association, this article defines socioeconomic status, its relation to race, and how it affects societies' physical and psychological health.

Duration:

5-20 Minutes

Race

TED Talk: The toxic baby

Filmmaker Penelope Jagessar Chaffer presents during TEDWomen 2010 discussing the harmful effects of hormone altering chemicals on our children. She invites University of California, Berkeley Professor Tyrone Hayes to explain how the pesticide Atrazine has been linked to developing breast cancer and male sterilization, especially among men working in agriculture who tend to be Mexican American.

Duration:

25-40 Minutes

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