Great hands-on activity

My high school biology class used this simulation this week. It was perfect to help them understand how viruses can modify. We ran the simulation for several "seasons" and then were able to ... See More

My high school biology class used this simulation this week. It was perfect to help them understand how viruses can modify. We ran the simulation for several "seasons" and then were able to graph the data to determine the number of different strains, what seasons the strain were present, and the relative occurrence of the particular stain. We had a class discussion to pick the strains that should be in next year's vaccine. We also were able to talk about new novel strains because we generated some in the simulation. You have got to try this. It is simple to set up and easy to incorporate into your existing curriculum.

Modeling how new virus strains evolve

By making models of the flu virus, students can understand how quickly the virus can evolve using antigenic shift and antigenic drift. Students begin by constructing several different flu m... See More

By making models of the flu virus, students can understand how quickly the virus can evolve using antigenic shift and antigenic drift. Students begin by constructing several different flu models. Next students explore reassortment of genes by completing another simulation. Students then determine how many new strains have been produced and compare what they did in class with the methods that the CDC uses. Web resources are included.