Concept Art

Before there was a Teacup Rex blog, there was concept artwork. At the time, I never intended to use this as a blog of my own . . . I was just squatting on the URL so I could sell it for millions of dollars someday, when some genetic genuis Read more

By Wendy St. John, ago

Intro Bio Student Comments

This semester, one of the questions I asked on the final exam (to give them a freebie) was to ask them their favorite organism that we looked at during the course. I’m posting a few of my favorite responses here. I found this one particularly touching: “Thank You. You’ve actually Read more

By Wendy St. John, ago

Asexual Plant

I received this gift on the last day of class from one of my biology students. She’d grown it from a cutting . . . not only is the plant adorable, but it came with this (scientifically accurate!) caption: “Asexual plants: only 1 parent required. Parent passes all its genes Read more

By Wendy St. John, ago

Whoa.

Just sent off both my final exams to be printed by the campus copy shop, and I’m totally caught up on grading (as much as I can be before a bunch of new stuff arrives on my desk next week). But as of right now, I am completely caught up. Read more

By Wendy St. John, ago

Strike Averted!

One of the most pressing issues on campus this semester was the possibilty of a teacher’s strike, in response to a lack of pay increases for faculty in recent years. “I don’t want to strike, but I will” was our motto, and I was 100% prepared to go on strike, if it had come to that.

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By Wendy St. John, ago

Dragon Genetics Student Artwork

One of the assignments I give my intro biology students is called “Dragon Genetics,” in which they determine the alleles (versions of genes) that a baby dragon will inherit from its parents. Then, I ask them to create an accurate image of the dragon, based on the inherited traits. Most Read more

By Wendy St. John, ago