Eleanor Miele

Autocatalytic replication of recombinant RNA

We demonstrate that a heterologous RNA sequence can be copied in vitro by Q beta replicase when it is inserted into a naturally occurring Q beta replicase template. A recombinant RNA was constructed by inserting decaadenylic acid between nucleotides 63 and 64 of MDV-1 (+) RNA, using phage T4 RNA ligase. The insert was located away from regions of the template known to be required for the binding of the replicase and for the initiation of product strand synthesis. To minimize the disruption of template structure, we inserted the heterologous sequence into a hairpin loop on the exterior of the molecule. Q beta replicase copied this recombinant RNA in vitro, and the complementary product strands served as templates for the synthesis of additional copies of the original recombinant RNA. The reaction was therefore autocatalytic and the amount of recombinant RNA increased exponentially. A 300-fold amplification of the recombinant RNA occurred within nine minutes. Insertion of biologically significant RNAs into the MDV-1 RNA sequence should allow them to be replicated autocatalytically.

Improving Urban Earth Science Education: The TRUST Model

TRUST, or Teacher Renewal for Urban Science Teaching, is a National Science Foundation funded Earth science teacher preparation partnership between the American Museum of Natural History and Brooklyn and Lehman Colleges of the City University of New York. Our research and practice form a promising and replicable model for formal-informal partnership between teacher education programs and science-rich institutions such as museums, zoos, and botanical gardens. The model takes a problem-based approach to urban teacher shortages by focusing on the knowledge required for Earth science teacher certification. The initiative included two types of participants, teachers seeking Earth science certification and teacher leaders/school administrators seeking to improve science instruction in their schools. Key features of the model included new college-based courses that focus on Earth systems science and urban Earth science investigation and a two week museum-based summer institute emphasizing essential questions, interactions with scientists, and approaches to science teaching outside the classroom. The overall findings after four-years of implementation, action research, and external evaluation indicate that the model successfully provides timely and relevant approaches to partnership that complex urban situations require.

Online Teacher Education: A Formal-Informal Partnership Between Brooklyn College and the American Museum of Natural History

This article describes the evolution of a partnership between Brooklyn College (BC) of the City University of New York (CUNY) and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) that ultimately resulted in the formal incorporation of the museums online Seminars on Science (SoS) courses into masters degree programs at Brooklyn College for teachers of science in childhood and middle childhood. The challenges faced and their resolution are described along with program evaluations and participant comments.