DNA Applications is a fantastic new release from DNA Interactive -- the series of Web-based educational features from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Users are invited to "investigate techniques of forensic analysis and use them to solve a historical puzzle. Find out how DNA science may be applied to healthcare, and delve into the mysteries of our species' past." The Web site contains four...

How do gene patterns affect our lives? Geneticists learn new things everyday about such matters and young people (and others) can bask in this fascinating knowledge via the Baylor College of Medicine's Gene You project. Funding for the project comes from the Science Education Partnership Award program at the National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The content includes...

This Web site provides instructions for a genetics-based collaborative project from the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education. This survey-based project helps students ages 12-18 understand genetic inheritance by "gathering a great deal of information about specific, easily-seen human features," formulating hypotheses, and testing these hypotheses using data compiled by themselves...

Exploring the world of the human genome project can be quite an undertaking for students new to the subject. Fortunately, the U.S Human Genome Project website contains a veritable cornucopia of accessible and age-appropriate educational materials for use in the classroom. First-time visitors may wish to start on the left-hand side of the page, which includes a FAQ area, a glossary, and a basic...

The journal Nature presents this online special feature on the recently sequenced Y chromosome. The Web site offers a number of free informative resources, including an account of the sequencing project as well as related scientific papers and letters published in the journal. An archive of Y chromosome-related articles are also available for registered users (no cost for registration). In all,...

This online tutorial on the Biological Basis of Heredity was developed by Dennis O'Neil of the Behavioral Sciences Department at Palomar College. The tutorial provides information about five main topics: Basic Cell Structures, Cell Reproduction, Recombination and Linkage, Sex Linked Genes, and Molecular Level of Genetics. Students wishing to review content material from the different topic areas...

The DNA Files are a series of award-winning radio programs hosted by John Hockenberry with consultation from a panel of expert scientists. From 1998 to 2007, the Soundvision team produced nineteen one-hour radio programs that explored the science of genetics, along with its ethical and social implications. On this site, visitors can take an aural trip through their work by listening to the...

Created by the Biology Project at the University of Arizona, this website features an interactive Blood Types Tutorial. In addition to well-crafted problem sets, this site offers information about blood types, inheritance, and Rh factors. The problem sets for this tutorial were created by using edited versions of questions sent to the Biology Project from curious site users. The questions were...

This Web siteby the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute provides information about genome science for various levels of awareness. Although the advanced section is not yet complete, the beginner and intermediate touch on genes, DNA, RNA, and the Human Genome Project. If your curiosity is not satisfied by the Web site, there is a form for submitting questions directly to the Sanger Institute. Two nice...