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Topic:
Life in the lab - there are a lot of videos on YouTube and similar sites made by student researchers - some are to dramatize a concept, and some are to dramatize aspects of research life.

• A Lady GaGa Parody called'Bad Project' from the Zheng Lab is a favorite around my lab Link

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Topic:
Chestnuts and Chestnut Blight - there are a number of University and USDA research labs that conduct and/or fund research on the American Cehstnut (and its relatives) and the two main diseases that have affected them.

• The American Chestnut Foundation is a group of citizens who have helped raise money to fund projects, and breed resistant hybrids, allowing citizen-scientists to participate. Last year Steve Barilowitz, treasurer of the local chapter, participated in the class. The ACF Web site
• Although maybe a little too data-centric, this is a site where whole groups of researchers deposit data to share with each other and the public. THe Fagaceae are chestnuts, beeches and oaks. Fagaceae Genomics Web
• The US Department of Agriculture -Natural Resources Conservation Service has Web pages that profile plants - here is the page that talks about the American Chestnut, showing images of leaves and trees, and a map of where they occurred historically and now: PLANTS - chestnut

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Topic:
The polymerase chain reaction - animating how PCR works is a favorite video and animation theme

• The PCR Song from researchers at BioRad was a hit a few years ago Link
• An animated and narrated description of PCR Link
• You do have to know how DNA is copied (replicated) before PCR can happen, so here is a description of that process Link

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Topic:
Science Blogs - a number of scientists have shown real talent for writing about their interests for non-experts, and a number of journalists have taken on the task of making science accessible and exciting. I have providing links to a few of my favorite science blogs here, I hope you find one or two that you want to follow.

• Sandra Porters blog, Discovering Biology in a Digital World is partly interesting to me because she has done a lot to make sequencing and bioinformatics accessible to high school and community college students DigitalBio
• PZ Meyers is a developmental biologist who is interested in evolutionary questions - and is very entertaining Pharyngula
• Jonathon Eisen is a professor at UC Davis who does lots of sequencing ( a 'genomicist') and analyzes the results (a 'bioinformatician) and writes well about the implications of the science he does The Tree of Life