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Unit B: Cells and Systems

Students looking bored in class

Is There Too Much Carbon Dioxide in Your Classroom?

STEM Explained

Did you know that too much carbon dioxide in the classroom can affect your body, and even your grades?

Electronic cigarette and traditional cigarettes

Is Vaping Safer Than Smoking?

STEM Explained

Learn how e-cigarettes and other vaping products work, and why scientists and health professionals have concerns about their safety.

monster about to sneeze

How does snot work?

Hands-on Activities

Make some fake snot and explore the function of mucus in this fun activity.

How fast does a heart pump blood?

How fast does a heart pump blood?

Hands-on Activities

Get active in this activity and explore the impact of exercise on your heart rate. Ready, set, GO!

How much air do I breathe in?

How much air do I breathe in?

Hands-on Activities

Learn how to measure lung capacity and about the factors that can affect our lung capacity in this hands on activity.

Snake with open mouth

How Snake Venom Kills… and Saves Lives

STEM Explained

Snake venom can be dangerous for your circulatory system, nervous system or muscular system. But it can also be very useful in medicine.

DNA "unzipping"

How can I obtain a sample of DNA?

Hands-on Activities

Be a biochemist! Learn how to extract DNA from an onion and find out what DNA looks like.

aging through childhood, adulthood and old age

Have Scientists Found a Way for People to Live Longer?

STEM Explained

Everything and everyone ages. But scientists have made discoveries about our cells and circulatory and immune systems that could potentially one day be used to increase human lifespans.

Woman having a panic attack

Chemical Equilibrium and Panic Attacks

STEM Explained

Panic attacks are scary and they upset your body’s chemical equilibrium. Learn what happens to acids & bases in your circulatory system during a panic attack.

Massive algal bloom

Eutrophication: Why you should care about pond scum

STEM Explained

When fertilizers from agriculture get into lakes and rivers, big problems can result for aquatic ecosystems, food chains & webs!

Cocoa beans and cocoa powder

Can Chocolate Make Your Brain Work Better?

STEM Explained

Researchers have found that consuming foods rich in flavanols is linked to more efficient blood flow, which can improve brain function.

Image © TLFurrer, iStockPhoto.com

Are Microbes Your Friend or Foe?

STEM Explained

Microbes are everywhere, even in your digestive tract. Some of these microbes are helpful, and some aren’t.

heavy metal band

A Taste of Heavy Metal

STEM Explained

Heavy metal is a term for some toxic chemical elements. They can cause problems like bioaccumulation, but are useful in nuclear medicine and medical imaging.

Test tubes in a laboratory

DNA Extraction

Backgrounders

Learn the basics of how DNA can be extracted from cells.

Chiara Toselli au travail dans un laboratoire

Chiara Toselli

Career Profiles

PhD Candidate

Chiara Toselli is a PhD Candidate in Life Sciences at the University of British Columbia.