Resources
Acquired and Passive Immunity:
Diphtheria Antitoxin Serum
Grade level: 7–9 | subject—science & technology
This lesson plan uses the “Living Factories” section of the From DNA to Beer site, so that students learn about how horses and other animals were used to develop and produce antitoxin serum in order to prevent children with diphtheria from dying of suffocation. Students learn about and define acquired and passive immunity in animals, as they explore the horse’s immune response to the diphtheria toxin injection and the horse’s antitoxin serum that could prevent death in diphtheria patients.
The lesson plan is developed in collaboration with Samantha Candia (Francis Scott Key Middle School, Silver Spring, MD), with contributions by the 2013 Teacher Institute Participants.
Diphtheria Antitoxin Serum
Grade level: 7–9 | subject—science & technology
This lesson plan uses the “Living Factories” section of the From DNA to Beer site, so that students learn about how horses and other animals were used to develop and produce antitoxin serum in order to prevent children with diphtheria from dying of suffocation. Students learn about and define acquired and passive immunity in animals, as they explore the horse’s immune response to the diphtheria toxin injection and the horse’s antitoxin serum that could prevent death in diphtheria patients.
The lesson plan is developed in collaboration with Samantha Candia (Francis Scott Key Middle School, Silver Spring, MD), with contributions by the 2013 Teacher Institute Participants.
Class Resource
Acquired and Passive Immunity: Diphtheria Antitoxin Serum
Engineering the Genes: Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Biotechnology
This resource is a module developed for undergraduate courses by Nadine Weidman, PhD, lecturer in the Department of History of Science at Harvard University. This higher education module sets developments in biotechnology since the 1970s into historical context and addresses the ethical issues they raise.
This resource is a module developed for undergraduate courses by Nadine Weidman, PhD, lecturer in the Department of History of Science at Harvard University. This higher education module sets developments in biotechnology since the 1970s into historical context and addresses the ethical issues they raise.
Class Resource
Engineering the Genes: Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Biotechnology
Hormones are your body's chemical messengers, affecting processes including growth and development, metabolism, sexual function, reproduction, and mood. Scientists produce and harvest hormones from other organisms for human medical use. This health topic page in MedlinePlus provides reliable and trusted online resources that offer descriptions and links to additional resources on hormones.
NLM Health Information
Hormones—MedlinePlus
Scientists harnessed the natural defenses of microbes to produce antibiotics, medicines that fight bacterial infections. This health topic page in MedlinePlus provides reliable and trusted online resources that offer descriptions and links to additional resources on antibiotics.
NLM Health Information
Antibiotics—MedlinePlus
Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection, usually affecting the nose and throat. Scientists inoculated horses with bacterial toxin and collected their antibodies to be used as a treatment for humans with diphtheria. This health topic page in MedlinePlus provides reliable and trusted online resources that offer descriptions and links to additional resources on diphtheria.
NLM Health Information
Diphtheria—MedlinePlus
This article recounts the discovery of penicillin, explains how it works, and discusses takeaways from mid-20th century antibiotic research.
PubMed Central (PMC)
Penicillin’s Discovery and Antibiotic Resistance: Lessons for the Future?
This article explores various aspects of animal testing and argues for continuing to use animals in biomedical research.
PubMed Central (PMC)
Public perception of laboratory animal testing: Historical, philosophical, and ethical view
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the NLM provides structural diagrams of molecules involved in medicine and biological processes. Here, they provide a model for human growth hormone.
NLM Health Information
NCBI, Molecular Models, Human Growth Hormone
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the NLM provides a 3D structural model for diphtheria toxin.
NLM Health Information