JoinAll Case Studies
The cases alone are freely accessible. A subscription is required for access to teaching notes and answer keys.
In keyword search, list the criteria you would like to find cases. Multiple criteria can be listed separated by commas (i.e. directed, high school)
Educational levels are defined as follows: Elementary, Middle, High School, College
Types of cases are defined as follows: Analysis/Issues, Clicker, Debate, Intimate Debate, Demonstration, Dilemma/Decision, Directed, Discussion, Interrupted, Jig-saw, Journal Article, Laboratory, Student Presentations, Mini-case, Problem-Based Learning, Public Hearing, Role-Play, Trial, Flipped, Game
By Michèle I. Shuster, Karen Peterson
This case study takes a combined directed and discussion approach to explore risk factors for breast cancer. After a preparatory reading assignment, students assess various medical histories derived from actual women with breast cancer and rank their...
Giving Birth to Someone Else's Children?
By Jessica Hutchison
Most students have heard about situations in which the paternity of a child is questioned, but maternity? This case was designed for introductory biology students and asks them to develop hypotheses to explain how a mother cannot be genetically relat...
By Jacqueline Washington, Anne Zayaitz
When a newborn develops symptoms eerily similar to those of an older sibling who died shortly after birth, his Mennonite parents are understandably alarmed. They soon discover that their son has Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD), a recessively inherit...
By Barry Chess
In this interrupted case study, Greg and Olga, a young couple planning a family, have decided to see a genetic counselor because of a family history of genetic disease. Students construct a pedigree from the information presented in the case; then, o...
By Kristen L.W. Walton
This interrupted case study follows the declining health of an infant who suffers from recurrent infections and finally is diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). The case was developed for use in an undergraduate upper-level immunolo...
Which Little Piggy Went to Market?
By Debra A. Meuler
In this case study, a scientist is contacted by a friend from a meat processing plant who is looking for a test to determine the sex of the animals that contributed to a particular batch of meat. He needs to know because meat from uncastrated males (...
By Wendy Heck-Grillo, Andrea Novicki, Brian Rybarczyk
Since caffeine is a widely used substance, especially by college age students, this case on the effects of caffeine on the human body serves as a real-world connection to many students’ lives. The case is divided into sections covering background i...
SNPs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails, and That's What People Are Made Of
By Debby Walser-Kuntz, Sarah Deel, Susan R. Singer
In this case on genome privacy, students work together to research one of six assigned lobbying groups’ views in this area and then present their groups’ positions before a mock meeting of a U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee as they cons...
The Case of the Tainted Taco Shells: Advanced Edition
By Ann T.S. Taylor
This case discusses some of the issues associated with the use of genetically modified plants, including ecological risks, resistance, and allergenicity. The case has two versions, or editions. The "General Edition," also published on this site...
By Martin Kelly
At what point in evolutionary development does a group of individuals become two distinct species? This case addresses that fundamental question by asking students to decide whether apple maggot flies are distinct as a species from hawthorn maggot fl...
By Patricia Schneider
This case is based on Kate Chopin’s short story “Desiree’s Baby,” a tragic tale of race and gender in antebellum Louisiana first published in 1893. Students read the story and then answer a series of questions about the genetics and evolution...
By Elaine M. Schamber, Paul A. Hammond
A possible act of industrial espionage is the backdrop for this case study, which introduces students to analytical techniques routinely used in most areas of biotechnology, including forensic science and patent lawsuits. In this fictional case, "Rog...
Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis
By Eric Ribbens
This case is based on a research paper about the lignin content of genetically modified corn published in the American Journal of Botany. Students are asked to analyze and discuss the paper, focusing on questions related to experimental design and in...
Sometimes It Is All in the Genes
By Anne Galbraith, David R. Howard
Nancy, five months pregnant, agrees to a routine genetic test that indicates she carries the mutation for the fatal disease, cystic fibrosis. She convinces her husband to get tested and discovers that he too is a carrier. Knowing that there is a 25 p...
Genetic Testing and Breast Cancer
By Charlotte R. Zales, Joseph C. Colosi
In this dilemma case, the central character, Kathy, must decide whether or not to be tested for known mutations in the breast cancer genes. Students assume the roles of members of Kathy’s book club and, using a jigsaw technique, explore the advanta...
By Jennifer Hayes-Klosteridis
This dilemma case, designed for use in an undergraduate genetics course, explores the basic genetic concepts underlying the cloning process as well as the ethical, medical, political, economic, and religious issues surrounding human cloning. While th...
By Julia Omarzu
This dilemma case is based on the true story of Jack and Lisa Nash, whose daughter Molly was born with a rare genetic disorder, Fanconi anemia. By having another child with specific genetic markers, the Nashes hoped to cure Molly using stem cells fro...
Gender: In the Genes or in the Jeans?
By William J. Hoese, Judith R. Gibber, Bonnie S. Wood
How are males and females different? Most people have a sex that is consistent on all levels: genetic, gonadal, internal genitals, external genitals. But sometimes there are discrepancies. This case explores the biology of human sexual differentiatio...
By Lauren E. Yaich
In this case study about a baby born with the genetic condition holoprosencephaly, students explore the “Sonic hedgehog” gene, signal transduction, and the ethics of body and tissue donation. The assignment involves students writing an informed c...
By Kim R. Finer
This case uses the real story of Dawn Langley Simmons, who may have been misidentified as male at birth, to illustrate the developmental basis of human sexual dimorphism and how gender misidentification may occur. Students also consider the emotional...
Can a Genetic Disease Be Cured?
By Michael S. Hudecki (rr)
In this discussion case, parents must decide whether or not to enroll their sons in an experimental treatment program designed to alleviate the symptoms of muscular dystrophy. The case explores the genetics and physiology of the disease as well as th...
By Jennifer Nelson, Clyde Freeman Herreid
The setting for this case is the family dinner table, where a heated discussion about genetically altered foods is taking place. Marsha Cumberland’s brother-in-law has joined the family for dinner. Ed is an industry official whose job it is to deci...
By Susannah Gal, Jessie W. Klein
In this true story, students examine the case of a woman with a family predisposition to cancer who is considering genetic testing. Students learn about various aspects of DNA testing and determine how to counsel the woman. The case was designed for ...
By Yelena Aronova-Tiuntseva, Clyde Freeman Herreid
This case deals with the genetics of the hemophilic condition that afflicted the royal families of Europe. Students trace the pedigrees of the descendants of Queen Victoria and the passage of the recessive X-linked trait from ancestor to ancest...
By Clyde Freeman Herreid
This directed case study on a genetic disorder was developed for an exam on genetics for a general biology course. The case is based on an article by scientist and author Jared Diamond titled “Founding Fathers and Mothers” that appeared in Natura...