What is Case It?
Case It provides a framework for collaborative case-based learning in molecular biology. This NSF – funded project won a Science Prize from AAAS for its effectiveness as a tool for inquiry-based instruction, as described in this essay published in Science magazine. Supplementary materials published with the essay provide suggestions for class use.
Case descriptions reference DNA and protein sequences included in the download package.
Features of Case It v7.0.5
- Runs on the latest versions of the Windows and Mac operating systems.
- Performs common laboratory procedures on any DNA or protein sequence, including qPCR, SNP and expression microarrays, restriction enzyme digestion, gel electrophoresis, PCR, ELISA, Southern or Western blots, and dot blots.
- Works with plasmid DNA and run gels with 5′ labelling, two requirements for the CRISPR exercise. It also adds enhanced features for searching and viewing restriction enzyme sites (including that of Cas9) in the double-stranded configuration.
- Sequence search capabilities, useful for undergraduate research applications.
- Integrated with bioinformatics software and web sites for sequence alignment and tree-building.
- Displays flow cytometry and cytokine ELISA results based on Kariko et al. 2005, the Nobel Prize-winning publication that set the stage for development of mRNA vaccines. Cytokine ELISA and flow cytometry results from this publication are used in the mRNA exercise.
Case It! mobile allows access to selected cases via mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, without having to download Case It v705. You can view the case scenarios, then “run” the procedures via videos of the Case It simulation in action. Selected mobile cases are linked both here and also on the Cases page (search for ‘mobile version’ on that page). To run those cases and exercises not converted to a mobile format, or to use your own sequences, it will be necessary to download Case It v705 via the link below.
Acknowledgements
Tamura K, Dudley J, Nei M & Kumar S 2007. MEGA4: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) software version 4.0. Molecular Biology and Evolution 24:1596-1599.
Dereeper A., Guignon V., Blanc G., Audic S., Buffet S., Chevenet F., Dufayard J.-F., Guindon S., Lefort V., Lescot M., Claverie J.-M., Gascuel O. Phylogeny.fr: robust phylogenetic analysis for the non-specialist Nucleic Acids Research. 2008 Jul 1; 36 (Web Server Issue):W465-9. Epub 2008 Apr 19. (PubMed)
MAFFT v7 © 2013 Kazutaka Katoh
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