NWABR - Education Materials

General Background
Animations
Lesson Plans
National and International Policy
Ethics
Advocacy Groups
Latest News

General Background

NIH Stem Cell Basics
http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/
Offers both a longer explanation of stem cell research as well as a shorter 8-page version. Includes a hyperlinked glossary.

University of Wisconsin Stem Cell Site
http://www.news.wisc.edu/packages/stemcells/
Written for general audiences, includes some graphics

Stem Cell Science
http://www.stemcellscience.org
Details recent literature, news, tutorials, and a lab registry

Scientific American articles on Stem Cell Research:

The Mother of All Cells, June 2005
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000AA485-7635-12B8-B5AE83414B7F0000

The Stem Cell Challenge, June 2004 (Lanza and Rosenthal)
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000DFA43-04B1-10AA- 84B183414B7F0000&sc=I100322

Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine Online Book (2002)
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309076307/html/
National Academies Press

StemCellResources.org
http://www.stemcellresources.org
The mission of Stem Cell Resources is to provide timely, reliable, high-quality and scientifically credible stem cell information for the educational community worldwide. StemCellResources.org is a division of Bioscience Network (BSN), a publisher of online science education materials.

Animations and Videos

Stem Cells in the Spotlight
http://gslc.genetics.utah.edu/units/stemcells/
What is a Stem Cell? What are some different types of Stem Cells?
(geared at younger audiences)

Stem Cells Explained and Explored
http://www.lifesciences.umich.edu/research/featured/tutorial.html
Animation from the University of Michigan. Very thorough.

Riken Center for Developmental Biology
Four high-quality animations: Characteristics of Stem Cells, Pluripotent Stem Cells in the Early Embryo, Stem Cells in the Adult Body, and Embryonic Stem Cells in Culture.

European Consortium for Stem Cell Research
http://www.eurostemcell.org/Outreach/outreach_film.htm
15-minute online film about Stem Cells, available to order as DVD also. This site has additional information as well, including descriptions of stem cell regulations/legislation across Europe.

Human Embryonic Stem Cell Online Animation (requires Flash)
http://www.stemcellresearchfoundation.org/WhatsNew/EmbryonicStemCells.htm
Illustrates the basic steps in creating an embryonic stem cell line

PBS Newshour Stem Cell Online Animation
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/stem_cell_animation.html
Similar to the Stem Cell Research Animation

PBS Streaming Video
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec04/stemcell_8-10.html
PBS Online Newshour: Growing Stem Cells, 2004 (Streaming Video and RealAudio)
Lehrer Newshour feature on Stem Cells, including footage from the 2004 Democratic National Convention

Lesson Plans

PBS Newshour Extra Lesson Plans
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/august01/stemcells/
(internet research and advocacy brochure)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/science/adult_stemcell.html
(students use a worksheet to find basic information on the internet, and then use a graphic organizer to collect and discuss information on adult vs. embryonic stem cell research)

Genetic Science Learning Center
Teacher Resources -> Classroom Activities -> Stem Cells in the Spotlight
http://gslc.genetics.utah.edu/teachers/tindex/index.cfm?switch=single&unitid=stemcell
Provides a variety of lessons related to Stem Cell Issues, including ‘Meeting in Mutantville’ (deciding whether to grant a business license to a stem cell company) and ‘Embryos are Us’ (a couple decides what to do with extra embryos from an in vitro fertilization procedure). A pre-assessment activity entitled ‘What do you know about stem cells?’ asks students to interview others about stem cell research.

NWABR Ethics in the Science Classroom Workshop

NWABR's Science and Ethics of Stem Cells
also
NWABR Teacher-Developed Stem Cell Lesson Plans
http://www.nwabr.org/education/ethicslessons.html#ST
This set of lessons uses some of the material from the Genetic Science Learning Center as well as from other sources (news articles, hypothetical scenarios) to investigate issues surrounding stem cell research. The complete set of ethics lessons from summer workshops is available online at

ENGAGE: Stem Cells
http://www.stemcellnetwork.ca/engage/index.php
This high school teaching resource on stem cell research was developed through the Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI) by Genome Canada, and the Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB) at the University of Toronto. The ‘Resource Package’ Link provides access to the full lesson plans: http://www.stemcellnetwork.ca/engage/materials.php .

http://sciencecases.org/superman/superman_notes.asp
Saving Superman: A Look into Stem Cell Research
This is an online case-study approach that uses the story of Christopher Reeves. Background materials are also included. From the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, SUNY Buffalo: http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/case.html.

National and International Policy

History of Stem Cell Research and Policy
http://www.aaas.org/spp/cstc/briefs/stemcells/
American Association for the Advancement of Science Brief (updated 2005)

Politics of Stem Cells|
http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/02_03/stem.shtml
2003 Genome News Article about US Policy

US Stem Cell Map – Bloodlines PBS
http://www.pbs.org/bloodlines/mapping_the_future/map.html
The map shows cloning and stem cell legislation in the US, current as of 4/03

International Stem Cell Research Links from the NIH http://stemcells.nih.gov/research/intlresearch.asp
Includes links to the International Stem Cell Forum and International Society for Stem Cell Research

CBS News: UK Issues first cloning license, 8/04
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/11/health/main635359.shtml
CBS News article comparing policy in UK, Korea, and US
The ‘interactive’ link in the bar on the right offers some graphics as well as quotes from different perspectives.

Center for Genetics and Society: Lancet Report on International Policy
http://www.genetics-and-society.org/resources/items/20040710_lancet_tauer.html
Lancet article on cloning, stem cell research, and international policy

World Stem Cell Map
http://mbbnet.umn.edu/scmap.html
The map shows relative levels of permissive/flexible stem cell research policies across the globe.

Ethics

CNN: Ethics Matters with Jeffrey Kahn
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/bioethics/

President’s Council on Bioethics
http://www.bioethics.gov/topics/stemcells_index.html
Reports, transcripts, and background material

International Society for Stem Cell Research
http://www.isscr.org/public/ethics.htm

Remarks by the President on Stem Cell Research, by George W. Bush, August 9, 2001http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010809-2.html

Embryo Ethics: The Moral Logic of Stem Cell Research, New England Journal of Medicine http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/351/3/207
Two members of the President’s Council on Bioethics reflect on the use of embryonic stem cells from a moral perspective.

NY TIMES on Hwang Woo Suk and falsified data on human embryonic stem cell cloning.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/hwang_woo_suk/?inline=nyt-per

Special Science Magazine articles on Hwang Woo Suk, including original papers
http://www.sciencemag.org/sciext/hwang2005/

Advocacy Groups

Organization Promoting Adult Stem Cell Use
Do No Harm: The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics
http://www.stemcellresearch.org/

Organization Promoting Embryonic Stem Cell Use
Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research
http://www.camradvocacy.org/

Latest News

Stem Cell Research News
http://www.stemcellresearchnews.com/Stem_Cell_News.htm
A commercial, online newsletter that features stories about stem cells of all types.

Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=science&cat=stem_cell_research
Yahoo News Stories on stem cell research