Shedding Light on the Situation - KS4: Drug Trials

Light is more than just light bulbs and sunshine. Researchers can use different types of light to investigate and do a range of things. Researchers at the University of Oxford are using a technique called optoporation that involves using infrared lasers to pierce holes in cell membranes in order to deliver drugs directly into a cell.
This lesson is suitable for extending the more able KS4 students when teaching about drug trialling. They will first find out about how drug trials are carried out before applying this knowledge to write a grant application to a research council in order to fund a project into optoporation. Students will also work in groups as members of a review panel and review applications based on criteria.
Learning outcomes: 1) Describe the stages and functions of a drug trial; 2) Apply one’s scientific knowledge to write and review a grant application.
See more at: http://www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/content/shedding-light-situation