News

In the summer of 2020, the BABEC curriculum team quickly adapted to educator’s needs for virtual learning resources. We adapted our most popular lab activities into 100% virtual options – with flexible lesson plans for teachers, and custom-made videos to simulate the BABEC lab experience for students.  These new materials were intended to serve as substitutes for hands-on laboratory activities for high school biology and biotech ...

Educational communities everywhere are incorporating software tools to better prepare students for their next step. Read on to see how BABEC and Benchling help to enable careers in biotechnology. Locally grown and responsibly sourced science education The San Francisco Bay Area is widely known as a hub of innovation in software, biotechnology, and medicine which is largely connected to its educational infrastructure. Top-tier universit ...

In an innovative example of how faculty are using COVID-19 as a learning experience, CLSI education partner, the Bay Area Bioscience Education Community (BABEC), developed two innovative simulation COVID-19 test kits, which students can perform from home: In one test, students use a lateral flow or paper strip as a mock rapid test for the COVID-19 antigen. This is the example game-changer test that can be administered quickly for ...

To support teachers with much needed remote learning resources, BABEC delivered a comprehensive workshop series that reached 94 high school science teachers across the Bay Area. The series was intended to support high school biology and biotech teachers with online substitutes for hands-on labs during distance learning. We also wanted to provide space for teachers from across the Bay Area to connect, collaborate, and build community � ...

In a pilot project to provide hands-on experience with diagnostic tests, BABEC developed a simulation to test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This Mock COVID-19 ELISA and Rapid Test Kit provides hands-on practice for at-home learning of two techniques widely used in diagnostics and testing. ELISA, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, is a plate-based technique used to detect small molecules such as antigen, antibodies, hormones, and peptides ...