Online Master of Science Teaching Biology UIUC

02/08/2022

https://twitter.com/mary_roach/status/1491101535736320005?s=20&t=B331kinfN2OF4CYWmNgIfQ

One of my favorite authors, Mary Roach, has a kid's version of her book, Packing for Mars, and science teachers can get it for free!
Here is the text of her tweet:
Attn science teachers! Get a free early copy of my 1st young readers book: PACKING FOR MARS FOR KIDS. Email [email protected] with school name and grade level. Supplies limited! And thx for all you do. Teaching science to young minds has never been as important as it is now

“Attn science teachers! Get a free early copy of my 1st young readers book: PACKING FOR MARS FOR KIDS. Email [email protected] with school name and grade level. Supplies limited! And thx for all you do. Teaching science to young minds has never been as important as it is now”

10/06/2021

Hi OMST alumni, would anyone be interested in providing a quote/comment about their OMST experience? We're advertising in an upcoming fair and would appreciate an alumni perspective - what skills you gained, where you are now, your favorite parts of the program, etc.

The first four folks to reply will be sent a gift card! Please email [email protected] or reply to this post if you're interested.

Thank you!

01/07/2021

Something appropriate for IB 534, Evolution and Medicine.

WASHINGTON (AP) — If you’re an identical twin who’s always resisted being called a clone of your sibling, scientists say you have a point. Identical twins are not exactly genetically the...

11/06/2020

OMST’s application deadline for admission to the Spring 2021 semester is coming up soon—Sunday, November 15, 2020.

You can see more information about applying to our program at http://omst.sib.illinois.edu/apply/.

The biology courses being offered this Spring are IB 532 Sustainability and Global Change (taught by Allison O’Dwyer), and IB536 Evolutionary Biology (taught by Alison Bell). You can email the program directly at [email protected] if you have any questions.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Online Master of Science Teaching Biology Program apply School of Integrative Biology OMST Program

06/18/2020

"We are in a new era of more frequent, higher-impact, higher-velocity zoonotic threats.” https://www.wired.com/story/covid-19-is-bad-but-it-may-not-be-the-big-one/ by Maryn McKenna

Health experts want a 9/11 Commission-style report on the US pandemic response. They say we must forecast and prepare for outbreaks as we do for wars or weather.

06/15/2020

OMST’s application deadline for admission to the Fall 2020 semester is coming up soon—Wednesday, July 1, 2020.

You can see more information about applying to our program at http://omst.sib.illinois.edu/apply/

You can email the program directly at [email protected] if you have any questions. The biology course being offered this Fall is IB 534 Evolution and Medicine, taught by Joanne Manaster.

05/12/2020

In IB 536 Evolutionary Biology we learn how to recognize the regions of a genome upon which natural selection is operating and those upon which it is not.

This article clearly explains the process of mutation in the novel coronavirus and identifies genomic regions favored by selection, here termed 'brittle' or 'essential' regions that cannot be changed without harming virus function. These regions will be important in the development of antiviral drugs.

The virus has mutated. But that doesn’t mean it’s getting deadlier.

04/30/2020

OMST’s application deadline for admission to the Summer 2020 semester is this Friday, May 1, 2020. You can see more information about applying to our program at http://omst.sib.illinois.edu/apply/. The course being offered this summer is IB 535 Biology and Tech Innovation, taught by Allison O’Dwyer. You can email the program directly at [email protected] if you have any questions.

02/04/2020

A topic of interest for current students in IB 531, Emerging Infectious Disease

Experts see two scenarios: 2019-nCoV becomes like the four little-known coronaviruses already endemic in people, or it becomes like the seasonal flu.

01/29/2020

Our IB 531 course, Emerging Infectious Disease, is learning about the R0 (pronounced r-naught) of diseases. This article explains its significance in understanding disease spread.

Here’s what the oft-cited R0 number tells us about the new outbreak—and what it doesn’t.

01/29/2020

Our course, IB 532, Sustainability and Global Change, covers these topics and more.

Beef, cheese, chocolate and coffee growth and production are huge greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters!
For most foods – and particularly the largest emitters – most GHG emissions result from land use change (shown in green), and from processes at the farm stage (brown). Farm-stage emissions include processes such as the application of fertilizers – both organic (“manure management”) and synthetic; and enteric fermentation (the production of methane in the stomachs of cattle). Combined, land use and farm-stage emissions account for more than 80% of the footprint for most foods.
Transport is a small contributor to emissions. For most food products, it accounts for less than 10%, and it’s much smaller for the largest GHG emitters. In beef from beef herds, it’s 0.5%.
Not just transport, but all processes in the supply chain after the food left the farm – processing, transport, retail and packaging – mostly account for a small share of emissions.

‘Eat local’ is a common recommendation to reduce the carbon footprint of your diet. But transport tends to account for a small share of greenhouse gas emissions. How does the impact of what you eat compare to where it’s come from?

‘Eat local’ is a common recommendation to reduce the carbon footprint of your diet. But transport tends to account for a small share of greenhouse gas emissions. How does the impact of what you eat compare to where it’s come from?

03/02/2017

In the genomics course (summer), we cover briefly GINA, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act that was implemented in 2008. Unfortunaltely, there still seems to be cases where those guidelines are not being met.

Despite laws meant to protect US citizens from insurance discrimination due to their DNA, some still fear such judgment, while others claim they have experienced it.