The first pair is administered an oral glucose load and a placebo injection of saline. The second pair is administered an oral glucose load and an insulin injection. The third pair is administered an oral placebo of water and a placebo injection of saline. The blood glucose levels of the six rats are monitored at 20-minute intervals for 2 hours by taking blood samples from each rat's tail. Each student is asked to design and implement a set of mastication experiments, thus gaining exposure to library research, outlining a feasible project, writing a grant proposal, data collection, analysis, and final presentation of results.
Biological assays are important tools for detecting hazardous materials in water.
Presented here is an inexpensive, reproducible assay that requires minimal preparation and equipment. Students are provided with a direct method of detecting potentially biohazardous materials in water by observing the reduction in bacterial luminescence in the non-pathogenic marine bacteria, Vibrio harveyi or Vibrio fischeri . This novel procedure, an attention getter, serves as a motivational tool, stimulating interest and evoking curiosity. This laboratory exercise utilizes a zoological collection to teach vertebrate zoology in an introductory biology lab. Many colleges are near major vertebrate collections kept in zoos and aquariums.