Download HSC Biology Tour – Tour Outline and Syllabus Outcomes

HSC Biology Tour – Tour Outline and Syllabus Outcomes
ANSTO is a leader in biological, medical and environmental research, and produces many of
Australia’s radiopharmaceuticals.
ANSTO will be conducting HSC Biology tours from February 2012. The tour covers specific
dot points in the HSC Biology syllabus and involves:
A 45 minute lecture in our Visitors Centre theatrette
A 15 minute break for students
A two hour tour of ANSTO’s research facilities, including the OPAL research reactor,
the Neutron Guide Hall, and the ANTARES and STAR linear accelerators
HSC syllabus dot points covered in tour
8.2 A local ecosystem
2) Students:
- Gather information from first-hand and secondary sources to
construct food chains and food webs to illustrate the
relationships between member species in an ecosystem
8.3 Patterns in nature
1) Students learn to:
- identify cell organelles seen with current light and electron
microscopes
- describe the relationship between the structure of cell
organelles and their function
Students:
- Process information from secondary sources to analyse
electron micrographs of cells and identify mitochondria,
chloroplasts, Golgi bodies, lysosomes, endoplasmic
reticulum, ribosomes, nucleus, nucleolus and cell membranes
2) Students learn to:
- Identify the major groups of substances found in living cells
and their uses in cell activities
Students:
- Plan, choose equipment or resources and perform a firsthand investigation to gather information and use available
evidence to identify the following substances in tissues:
- glucose
- starch
- lipids
- proteins
- chloride ions
- lignin
4) Students:
- Use available evidence to discuss, using examples, the role
of technologies, such as the use of radioisotopes in tracing
the path of elements through living plants and animals
9.2 Maintaining a balance
2) Students:
- Analyse and present information from secondary sources to
report on progress in the production of artificial blood and use
available evidence to propose reasons why such research is
needed
9.3 Blueprint of life
3) Students learn to:
- Outline ways in which the environment may affect the
expression of a gene in an individual
4) Students learn to:
- Discuss evidence for the mutagenic nature of radiation
Students:
- Process information to construct a flow chart that shows that
changes in DNA sequences can result in changes in cell
activity
- Process information form secondary sources to describe
Tour content
The ratio of certain radioisotopes can be used to determine
how different organisms are connected in food webs. We
explain how ANSTO scientists measure the ratio of carbon
and nitrogen isotopes in wetland-dwelling organisms to
investigate how the food webs are affected by droughts and
floods.
Both scanning and transmission electron microscopes are
used for biological research at ANSTO. We explain how
electron microscopes work, emphasise the differences
between what can be seen with light microscopes and
electron microscopes, and identify cellular organelles in
electron microscope images generated at ANSTO.
Glucose, the energy source for cell metabolism, is stored in
plant cells as starch. When starchy foods are eaten, most
starch is rapidly digested and absorbed as glucose through
the wall of the small intestine. A fraction of the starch, called
resistant starch, is not digested but continues to pass through
to the large intestine and colon. Resistant starch in the diet
reduces the incidence of colon cancer. ANSTO scientists are
studying why resistant and soluble starches behave
differently in the digestive tract, and hope to design new
foods enriched with resistant starch.
We discuss current research projects at ANSTO that use
radioisotopes to understand transport and metabolic
processes in plants and animals.
Previous attempts to design artificial blood using solutions of
haemoglobin have been unsuccessful, since human
haemoglobin molecules break apart and poison the kidneys.
ANSTO scientists are studying the properties of crocodile
haemoglobin molecules, which clump together in large
chains and do not break apart. Understanding the chemical
properties of crocodile haemoglobin may help scientists
engineer a similar molecule for artificial blood.
We explain how large or prolonged doses of ionising
radiation can cause mutations in DNA and can change gene
expression in the damaged cell. Mutations that affect the
expression of genes controlling programmed cell death
(apoptosis) can lead to uncontrolled cell growth and cancer.
Rosalind Franklin’s x-ray diffraction image of DNA (Photo 51)
provided crucial information about the structure of the DNA
and analyse the relative importance of the work of:
- James Watson
- Francis Crick
- Rosalind Franklin
- Maurice Wilkins
in determining the structure of DNA and the impact of the
quality of collaboration and communication on their scientific
research
9.4 The search for a better health
2) Students learn to:
- Explain why cleanliness in food, water and personal hygiene
practices assist in the control of disease
molecule. Without Franklin’s knowledge or permission,
Maurice Wilkins showed Photo 51 to James Watson and
Francis Crick, who published their ideas about the helical
shape of DNA less than a month later. Wilkins, Watson and
Crick received the Nobel Prize for their discovery, but
Franklin’s contribution was not recognised. ANSTO scientists
still use x-ray diffraction to study the structure of biological
molecules.
3) Students learn to:
- Identify the role of antibiotics in the management of
infectious disease
Students:
- Process information from secondary sources to discuss
problems relating to antibiotic resistance
Antibiotics can be very effective for treating bacterial
infections, but an increasing number of bacterial strains are
displaying resistance to common types of antibiotics. Some
bacterial strains, such as MRSA, are now resistant to even
the most powerful antibiotics available. ANSTO scientists are
investigating the potential to use antimicrobials that occur
naturally on the skin of frogs to kill antibiotic-resistant
bacteria.
4) Students learn to:
- Identify antigens as molecules that trigger the immune
response
- Explain why organ transplants should trigger an immune
response
5) Students learn to:
- Identify the components of the immune response
(antibodies, T cells, B cells)
- Outline the reasons for the suppression of the immune
response in organ transplant patients
Recipients of organ transplants usually require
immunosuppressive drugs to prevent immune rejection of the
donated organ. We explain how antigens trigger the immune
response. We also describe how ANSTO uses their GATRI
facility to irradiate and sterilise bones and tendons for
transplants, and explain why patients receiving these
transplants do not require immunosuppressive drugs.
6) Students:
- Identify data sources, plan and perform a first-hand
investigation or gather information from secondary sources to
analyse and present information about the occurrence,
symptoms, cause, treatment/management of a named noninfectious disease
7) Students learn to:
- Discuss the role of quarantine in preventing the spread of
disease and plants and animals into Australia or across
regions of Australia
Students:
- Process and analyse information from secondary sources to
evaluate the effectiveness of quarantine in preventing the
spread of plant and animal disease into Australia or across
regions of Australia
- Gather and process information and use available evidence
to discuss changing methods of dealing with plant and animal
diseases, including the shift in emphasis from treatment and
control to management or prevention of disease
The GATRI facility (Gamma Technology Research Irradiator)
at ANSTO is used to sterilise medical products, such as
bandages, cotton tips, catheters and artificial joints. ANSTO
works with medical manufacturers to determine what level of
radiation is sufficient to kill bacteria and viruses on medical
equipment for hospitals.
ANSTO manufactures 10,000 doses of radiopharmaceuticals
a week for the diagnosis, treatment and management of
many diseases, particularly cancers. We describe several
cutting-edge radiopharmaceuticals and detection techniques
developed by ANSTO scientists that can be used to detect
and treat cancers at very early stages.
Plants, animals, as well as products made from animal and
plant material, can harbour diseases and pests. Quarantine
aims to prevent the spread of these pests and diseases into
new areas by restricting the movement of live animals and
plants into the country and into certain regions of Australia.
We explain how quarantined goods from overseas can be
sterilised using gamma radiation in the GATRI facility at
ANSTO.
Outbreaks of the Queensland fly can devastate crop-growing
regions in South Australia, northern Victoria and southern
New South Wales. Historically, outbreaks of fruit fly were
managed using large-scale pesticide sprayings, which were
often ineffective. We explain the current method of
management for the Queensland fruit fly, which involves
releasing large numbers of sterile male fruit flies produced in
the GATRI facility at ANSTO.