This lesson is designed for the KS3 Year 8 Science course, specifically the B2 1.3 unit on Adaptation & Inheritance. For more lessons designed for KS3 and KS4 please visit my shop at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience. The lesson begins with a video on extinction, including an extra challenge task for pupils to come up with a definition of extinction. Whilst students are watching the video they will have a set of questions to answer, once this task has been completed students will self-assess their work using the mark scheme provided. Students will now be asked to ‘Think > Pair > Share’ their ideas about what causes extinction to occur within a species. Students will be given a few minutes to talk about this amongst themselves, before feeding back to the class. The answers will then be revealed using the PowerPoint presentation, students can mark and check their work against this mark scheme. Students will now be given cards of information on the 5 main causes of extinction: habitat destruction, introduction of new species, hunting & fishing, environmental changes & new diseases. Students should summarise this information in their books, writing a few sentences for each cause. In groups, students will be given cards of information on different organisms and the reasons why they are being pushed to extinction. Using this information students will need to complete a table of information to include 5 different organisms which are now extinct. Lastly, students will consider ways in which scientists are trying to prevent extinction. Each student will be given some information about the role of a gene bank, examples include: pollen banks, seed banks, cryobank & a tissue bank. They will then need to move around the classroom, sharing information with each to complete a summary table. This task can the be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided in the PowerPoint. The plenary task requires students to pretend you are a conservationist working for a charity that is trying to stop the extinction of one of the organisms you studied earlier in the lesson. Write a twitter message to your followers to raise awareness of the issues that are critically affecting this organism. All resources are included at the end of the presentation. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This lesson is designed for the KS3 Year 8 Science course, specifically the B2 1.2 Ecosystem Processes. For more lessons designed for KS3 and KS4 please visit my shop at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience. This lesson begins with a ‘Think, Pair, Share’ task for students to discuss amongst themselves - ‘Why can’t muscles continiously carry out aerobic respiration?’ After a short class discussion, the answer to this questions can be revealed to the class. Students will then complete a fill-in-the-blank task to summarise what they have learned about anaerobic respiration so far, this work can be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided. Students will now watch a video on anaerobic respiration, whilst students are watching this video they will need to answer a set of questions. This task can then be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided on the PowerPoint presentation. Students will now look at how anaerobic respiration is carried in different organisms, particularly plants and yeast, focusing on the importance of anaerobic respiration in yeast for food production. Next, students knowledge of aerobic and anaerobic respiration is assessed using a true or false activity, this task can be marked and corrected using the answers provided on the PowerPoint. The last activity is a set of exam-style questions, students can use their knowledge from this lesson to answer this set of questions in their books. This work can then be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided. The plenary activity requires students to come up with a list of questions for a list of answers which are provided for them in the plenary. All resources are included at the end of the presentation. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This lesson is designed for the KS3 Year 8 Science course, specifically the B2 1.1 Health & Lifestyle. For more lessons designed for KS3 and KS4 please visit my shop at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience. The lesson begins with an introduction into the role of bacteria in digestion. This then follows into a video on digestion, students should watch the video and whilst watching they will answer a set of questions. Once this task has been completed students can self-assess their work using the mark scheme provided. Students will now be introduced to the idea of ‘enzymes’ - molecular scissors which break down larger molecules into smaller, soluble molecules which can then be absorbed by the small intestine. This idea is demonstrated with a diagram, students can take notes on this in their books - including a sketch of the enzymes at work. For the next activity, students will each be given a different bit of information on a specific type of enzyme - lipase, carbohydrase and protease. Students will then need to share information, as they walk around the classroom, in order to complete questions and a summary table on their own worksheet. Once this task has been completed, students will then use the mark scheme provided on the PowerPoint to peer-assess their work. The final activity is an exam-style question, to assess students knowledge of what they have learned so far this lesson. Students can mark their work using the mark scheme provided. The plenary task requires students to write a twitter message about what they have learned this lesson, including #keywords. All resources are included at the end of the presentation. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This lesson is designed for the Activate KS3 Science Course, specifically Year 7 B1.1 Module on ‘Cells’ For more lessons designed for KS3 and KS4 please visit my shop at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience. The lesson begins with an introduction to the substances that move in and out of cells via a process called diffusion. Students are then asked to summarise this information by sketching and labelling a diagram of a cell. The idea of diffusion is further explained using an image of a deodrant bottle spraying smelly particles into the air and showing how they spread from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. A definition of this process is shown to students, before they are asked to complete a fill-in-the-blank task to summarise the process, this work can be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided. Next, students will need to sketch diagrams demonstrating the various stages of diffusion, and will need to match the correct statements to the correct diagrams. This work can be then be self or peer assessed using the mark scheme provided. The next part of the lesson looks at factors that affect diffusion, students are firstly asked to ‘Think > Pair > Share’ their ideas on the factors which might affect the rate of diffusion. After students have fed back into class discussion, the answers are revealed for students to note down in their books. They will then look more closely at the effect of temperature on the rate of diffusion by watching a video and then summarising what they have learned by completing a fill-in-the-blank task. Lastly, students are shown diagrams of plant cells of healthy plants vs. wilted planted to demonstrate the effect of having too much/too little water in the vacuole of plant cells. All resources are included at the end of the presentation. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This lesson is designed for the Activate KS3 Science Course, specifically Year 7 B1.1 Module on ‘Cells’ For more lessons designed for KS3 and KS4 please visit my shop at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience. The lesson starts with a ‘Cells Rap’ - students will be shown a video, during which they need to write down as many cell organelles as they can. Once they have finished watching their work can be self-assessed using the answers provided. Next, students will be shown a diagram of an animal and plant cell with the organelles labelled. Students are asked to note down the similarities and differences between these two cells, the answers to this task can then be revealed using the PowerPoint presentation. This is followed by a comprehension task whereby students will need to read an information sheet on ‘Animal & Plant Cells’, using this information they will need to answer a set of questions. The mark scheme for this task is included so students can self or peer assess their work once it’s complete. Next, students will learn about the functions of each of the organelles. Students will be given a card of information about the function of one of the organelles. They will need to walk around the room, sharing information in order to complete the summary table. Again, this work can be self-assessed once complete. Lastly students will complete a ‘Team Challenge’ in groups, each group will stand behind a poster and every person has one go to fill in part of the poster (either name/function of organelles), the fastest group to complete the poster correctly wins! The plenary requires students to summarise what they have learned in the lesson by completing the sentence starters provided. All resources are included at the end of the presentation. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA AS-level Biology course, particularly the ‘Cells’ module. For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-level Biology course please visit my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience A-Level lesson format: I teach in more of a lecture style compared to GCSE. In the majority of my A-level lessons the beginning portion of the lesson is mainly teacher-led, where students are expected to take notes onto a handout/in their books. This is then mixed in with student-led activities, as well as questions and exam prep. You will find some of my slides have blank spaces for you to add more detail/descriptions/explanations. If you look at the ‘Notes’ section underneath each of these slides, you will find additional content which you can add in as you teach! This lesson on cell specialisation and organisation begins with a discussion to review specialised cell examples. Students should also describe the difference between smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum, as well as the role of chloroplasts. To review organelles, students are then given a matching worksheet with descriptions of nine organelles. They can check the names of each with the answers on the slide. This task leads them to a series of organelle images to label and check as well. Students are then tasked with past-paper questions to check their understanding of cell structure. A mark scheme is on the next slide. To begin the discussion of cell specialisation students are tased with a worksheet to try with a partner. The worksheet asks students to consider what information each organelle can tell us. Suggested answers are on the following slides. The lesson should then spark some conversation about the organisation of certain cells, before students work through a few slides of questions about cell organisation in general. After learning the levels of cell organisation students are led through a few examples to decide for themselves which level each example fits in. To synthesise their learning, students will work through a ‘cut & stick’ task to create a table of each cell type and its characteristics. A completed table is on the following slide so students may self-asses. The plenary for this lesson is to write three sentences in their book summarising what they’ve learned! All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA AS-level Biology course, particularly the ‘Cells’ module. For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-level Biology course please visit my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience A-Level lesson format: I teach in more of a lecture style compared to GCSE. In the majority of my A-level lessons the beginning portion of the lesson is mainly teacher-led, where students are expected to take notes onto a handout/in their books. This is then mixed in with student-led activities, as well as questions and exam prep. You will find some of my slides have blank spaces for you to add more detail/descriptions/explanations. If you look at the ‘Notes’ section underneath each of these slides, you will find additional content which you can add in as you teach! This lesson on humoral immunity & antibodies begins with a starter discussion to get students to describe the role of cytotoxic t-cells, and the role of lysosomes during phagocytosis. They should also discuss the fate of cloned t-cells during a cell-mediated immune response. Humoral immunity is defined first, and students are asked to consider why the term humoral is used. Then, students will fill in gaps on their worksheet as humoral immunity is further explained. There are extra notes below the slide, and the answers will appear for self-assessment. The next slide sets out a diagram of humoral immunity, then students are asked to arrange the process by sequencing sentences, then self-assess. In pairs, students will then be given information on either plasma cells or memory cells and teach each other about the cell they’ve been assigned. Each student should complete descriptions of both types in their books. Students are then asked to consider why lymphocytes don not attack their own cells and taught the significance of lymphocytes development in the foetus. The next task is to sort information cards into categories; cell-mediated, humoral, or both. They can self-assess this task to the following slide. Students are then introduced to the structure of antibodies. They will watch a video, and answer seven questions, including a diagram. They can self-assess to the slide before considering how antibodies lead to the destruction pathogens. Students are also asked to consider why it is important that antibodies have two antigen binding sites. The plenary is to spend a full minute discussing with a partner what they have learned from this lesson. All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA AS-level Biology course, particularly the ‘Biological Molecules’ module. For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-level Biology course please visit my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience A-Level lesson format: I teach in more of a lecture style compared to GCSE. In the majority of my A-level lessons the beginning portion of the lesson is mainly teacher-led, where students are expected to take notes onto a handout/in their books. This is then mixed in with student-led activities, as well as questions and exam prep. You will find some of my slides have blank spaces for you to add more detail/descriptions/explanations. If you look at the ‘Notes’ section underneath each of these slides, you will find additional content which you can add in as you teach! This lesson begins with an introduction to proteins, the importance of such molecules in the human body as well as the general structural formula of an amino acid. Students are then shown the structural formula of two amino acids - glycine and alanine - and are asked to used their mini whiteboards to show how a condensation reaction could occur between the two molecules to form a peptide bond. There work can then be checked against the answer provided on the PowerPoint. Over the course of the next few slides, you can run through the main principles of the formation of a protein from the primary -> secondary -> tertiary -> quaternary structure. As students listen to the main principles, they can write these down onto their ‘Protein Summary Sheet’ - provided. Students will then be given a worksheet which shows an image/description of a protein as one of the four levels of protein formation, students have to identify which level it is at (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary). Once complete, students can self-assess their work using the answers provided on the PowerPoint. Students will now be introduced to the Biuret test for proteins, which they will need to be able to recite as well as give details of a positve/negative result. The last activity is a past-paper question to test students knowledge of what has been learned this lesson, which can be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided. The plenary requires students to write a twitter message to outline what they have learned this lesson, including #keywords. All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA AS-level Biology course, particularly the ‘Organisms & their Environment’ module. For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-level Biology course please visit my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience A-Level lesson format: I teach in more of a lecture style compared to GCSE. In the majority of my A-level lessons the beginning portion of the lesson is mainly teacher-led, where students are expected to take notes onto a handout/in their books. This is then mixed in with student-led activities, as well as questions and exam prep. You will find some of my slides have blank spaces for you to add more detail/descriptions/explanations. If you look at the ‘Notes’ section underneath each of these slides, you will find additional content which you can add in as you teach! This lesson in exchange systems begins by asking students to think of example of exchange systems and the substances which would need to be exchanged. The next slide demonstrates the differences in exchange process for single and multicellular organisms. Notes are available under the slide for discussion. Using the pictures on the slides, students will then identify some examples of substances that need to be interchanged between a living organism and its environment. Those images are then ordered specifically on the next slide to demonstrate SA and body size. If multicellular organisms relied on diffusion, they would die, so they have evolved in other ways! Students should identify these evolved features in their next task. They will fill a table out to explain how each feature functions to help organisms exchange the substances they need. They should be able to identify why multicellular organisms need specialised exchange surfaces or systems. The next slides explain Fick’s Law and define important terms before asking students to calculate the surface area of cells. Answers for self-assessment are on the following slide. Students will then complete lab task CP8 to engage with the effect of SA:V ratio on the rate of diffusion. Materials and method are explained on the slides. Exam-style summary questions are included to consolidate the lab task with lecture notes, and answers for self-assessment are on the following slide. As a plenary, students will spend 60 seconds speaking with the person next to them about what they learned from the lesson over all. All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA AS-level Biology course, particularly the ‘Organisms & their Environment’ module. For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-level Biology course please visit my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience A-Level lesson format: I teach in more of a lecture style compared to GCSE. In the majority of my A-level lessons the beginning portion of the lesson is mainly teacher-led, where students are expected to take notes onto a handout/in their books. This is then mixed in with student-led activities, as well as questions and exam prep. You will find some of my slides have blank spaces for you to add more detail/descriptions/explanations. If you look at the ‘Notes’ section underneath each of these slides, you will find additional content which you can add in as you teach! This lesson begins by reminding students of the four general things that need to be exchanged between an organism and their environment and the three factors which may affect the rate of diffusion. This discussion leads into the first few slides which explain how an organism like an amoeba gets the substances it needs. A worksheet is included for this lesson for students to complete as they take notes throughout. An amoeba is used as an example of a unicellular organism, which is then compared to insects. The following slides explain the basic form and function of insects, then the process by which they exchange water and O2. Students should take thorough notes on the spiracle, trachea and tracheoles in their books. The slides in this lesson are lecture based and very detailed, students will want to be sure they have a good understanding of the three ways that respiratory gasses move in and out of the tracheal system. The slides explain that gasses move along a diffusion gradient, through mass transport, and as the tracheoles fill with water. A quick check of exam-style questions and mark scheme follows to help students assess their learning. The plenary task is a true or false activity! All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA AS-level Biology course, particularly the ‘Cells’ module. For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-level Biology course please visit my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience A-Level lesson format: I teach in more of a lecture style compared to GCSE. In the majority of my A-level lessons the beginning portion of the lesson is mainly teacher-led, where students are expected to take notes onto a handout/in their books. This is then mixed in with student-led activities, as well as questions and exam prep. You will find some of my slides have blank spaces for you to add more detail/descriptions/explanations. If you look at the ‘Notes’ section underneath each of these slides, you will find additional content which you can add in as you teach! This lesson begins with a little challenge for students to calculate the actual size of a specimen and complete three measurement conversions. The first outcome is for students to begin to understand graticules and their use. The following slides define eyepiece graticules and explain how to calibrate the eyepiece properly. Students will also watch a short video before working though example (b). Students will then practice calculating magnification to understand the relationship between the eyepiece graticule scale and the stage micrometer scale. To practise their learning students will complete the Calibrating an Eyepiece Graticule worksheet. The next task is to practise calibrating the eyepiece and measure three onion cells. Students will also be asked to complete a biological drawing of their onion cells, and examples of poor and quality drawings are provided in the slides with more detailed expectations. Students will then consolidate their learning by completing an exam-style question, answers are provided on the following slide for self-assessment. The plenary task is a quick exit card, students should write thee things they’ve learnt, five key words, and on question for their peers about this lesson. All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This is a lesson designed to meet specification points for the new OCR GCSE (Gateway) Biology 'Scaling up’ scheme of work. This lesson begins with a definition for osmosis and defining the difference between solvent and solutes. Pupils are then asked to think > pair > share about what they think a partially permeable membrane might be. In the next activity, pupils are given a definition for concentrated and dilute solutions and are shown three different diagrams, they need to decide whether they are showing pure water, a concentrated or a dilute solution. Now pupils are introduced to isotonic, hypertonic and hypotonic solutions. They are firstly shown what happens to animals cells in each of these solutions using an animation. Pupils will then need to match the type of solution to it’s description and also complete a cartoon strip to explain what happens to animal cells in each of these solutions, a list of key words is provided. Students will then think about the importance of osmosis to plants and will need to match diagrams of plant cells in isotonic/hypertonic/hypotonic solutions to the correct description. The last activity is an exam-style question on osmosis, pupils can self-assess their work using the mark scheme provided. The plenary task is for pupils to write 5 summary sentences about what they have learnt so far using the list of key words provided. All resources are included in the PowerPoint presentation, thank you for purchasing :)

This is a lesson designed to meet specification points for the new OCR GCSE (Gateway) Biology 'Scaling up’ scheme of work. This lesson begins by getting pupils to think about what diffusion is and then giving them the scientific definition for the process. Pupils will then need to read statements about the stages of diffusion, look at diagrams demonstrating these stages and match them together in their books. This activity will be self-assessed using the answers in the PowerPoint presentation. Pupils will then need to think > pair > share about the factors they think will affect the rate of diffusion. Once they have come up with their own ideas and shared them as a class you can show them the animation provided to demonstrate how concentration of particles and size affects the rate of diffusion. Pupils are then asked to consider how temperature might affect the rate, you can demonstrate this affect using the link to another animation which demonstrates this effect. Pupils will then complete a fill-in-the-blank task to demonstrate their knowledge of how these different factors affect the rate of diffusion, which can be self-assessed using the answers provided. Pupils will then look at the importance of diffusion in living organisms and specifically the types of adaptation organism might have to speed up the rate of diffusion. The final activity is a past-paper questions, when completed pupils will self-asses using the mark scheme. All resources are included in the PowerPoint presentation, thank you for purchasing :)

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA AS-level Biology course, particularly the ‘Cells’ module. For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-level Biology course please visit my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience A-Level lesson format: I teach in more of a lecture style compared to GCSE. In the majority of my A-level lessons the beginning portion of the lesson is mainly teacher-led, where students are expected to take notes onto a handout/in their books. This is then mixed in with student-led activities, as well as questions and exam prep. You will find some of my slides have blank spaces for you to add more detail/descriptions/explanations. If you look at the ‘Notes’ section underneath each of these slides, you will find additional content which you can add in as you teach! This lesson begins with a review discussion of antibodies. Students should describe the structure and function of antibodies in addition to the roles of plasma and memory cells. Students are then introduced to the function of vaccines a simulation of immune response through a descriptive graph. They should take notes of the following slides which define immunity, both passive and active. The two forms of immunity are also described as a flowchart, students will use this chart to help them complete the first task of the lesson! Answers are available on the following slide for self-assessment. The second task is to copy and complete a table to summarise active and passive immunity. The next slides introduce the three main types of vaccines, students should take good notes before answering an exam style question. Answers are available on the following slide for self-assessment. Students will then think>pair>share to discuss the features of a successful vaccination program. They should consider side effects, administration, production, and herd immunity. Herd immunity is then defined and used to explain historical examples of population-wide vaccinations. Students will use these slides to inform the next task, in which they’ll be asked to consider why a vaccine may fail to eliminate a disease. They will be given a short reason and asked to describe why this reason impacts immunity. Answers for self-assessment are available on the following slide. The plenary task for this lesson is to create a keywords list from the lesson overall. All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This task is designed for the NEW AQA Trilogy Biology GCSE, particularly the ‘Infection & Response’ SoW. For more resources designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA Trilogy specifications for Biology, Chemistry and Physics please see my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience This activity contains a set of differentiated questions worth 20 marks in total, it also includes additional extra challenge tasks for higher ability students to complete. This worksheet could be used as a homework or as an extension or revision activity in class. I have included a comprehensive mark scheme for teacher or self-assessment of the work, there are also details of grade boundaries which I use to RAG pupils work against their target grades, a full explanation of how I do this is included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This task is designed for the NEW AQA A-Level Biology, particularly the ‘Cells’ unit. For more resources designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-Level specifications for Biology, Chemistry and Physics please see my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience This activity is a revision activity for the ‘Cells’ unit, students can either have a card each and the task can be completed as a card loop activity with the whole class. Alternatively, students could work in pairs and be given a set of the shuffled cards, they will then need to arrange the cards into the correct sequence so that the sentences make sense (like dominoes tiles). When students carry out this version of the activity, I often have a prize for the students who complete the task in the fastest time! The solution for this activity is included so you can check their answers. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This task is designed for the NEW AQA A-Level Biology, particularly the ‘Biological Molecules’ unit. For more resources designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-Level specifications for Biology, Chemistry and Physics please see my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience This activity is a revision activity for the ‘Enzyme Action’ lesson, students can either have a card each and the task can be completed as a card loop activity with the whole class. Alternatively, students could work in pairs and be given a set of the shuffled cards, they will then need to arrange the cards into the correct sequence so that the sentences make sense (like dominoes tiles). When students carry out this version of the activity, I often have a prize for the students who complete the task in the fastest time! The solution for this activity is included so you can check their answers. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)

This is a lesson which meets specification points within the OCR Gateway Science - B1 -Cell-Level Systems SoW. This lesson starts with a description, and diagram, of how DNA is copied via the process of transcription. Students will watch a short animation on the PowerPoint which further outlines this process, they will then need to complete a fill-in-the-blank task. This can be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided. Next, children will look at the structure of DNA and mRNA and compare the two, they will complete a table which outlines the similarities and differences between these two molecules. This can be self-assessed using the answers provided. The latter part of the lesson is on translation, children will be given a description and shown a short animation of the process of translation. After this, a video will be shown and students will need to answer a set of questions whilst watching. The answers to this task are included in the PowerPoint, and children will need to self-assess their work once it is complete. The final activity is an exam-style question on DNA. All resources are included, please review with any feedback :)