DNA: School Edition (Oberon Modern Plays)

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Each act with the recurring beginning of Jan and Mark's introduction, Leah's big monologues, and big group scenes allow completely different directions and realizations.

Brian is a sensitive, emotional teenage boy who crumbles under the pressure of lying to the police in the wake of Adam’s “death.” Brian wants to come clean to the authorities as soon as… A Best Book of the YearSeed Magazine • Granta Magazine • The Plain-DealerIn this fascinating and utterly engaging book, Carl Zimmer traces E. coli's pivotal role in the history of biology, from the discovery of DNA to the latest advances in biotechnology. He reveals the many surprising and alarming parallels between E. coli's life and our own. And he describes how E. coli changes in real time, revealing billions of years of history encoded within its genome. E. coli is also the most engineered species on Earth, and as scientists retool this microbe to produce life-saving drugs and clean fuel,… Richard is in need of guidance from a leader. Richard’s way of dealing with the situations that arise is to become sarcastic and to put others down. John Tate to Danny: " you’re on you’re own side, which is, well, to be honest, very silly and dangerous" Vague descriptions of a murder incident by teenagers that allow lots of imagination and filling in the blank by yourself.John Tate only appears in Act 1 Scene 3. He leads through using fear to control others. However, he is visibly falling apart during Act 1 Scene 3 as he panics and is unable to control those around him or the situation. He tries to ban the word, ‘dead,’ he says he will ‘bite their face. Or something. ’ if anyone uses the word again. However, the use of ‘Or something’ shows he has clearly not in control of his thoughts, words or the situation. Act 4 Scene 2 Phil is sat with Richard in the field. The stage directions clearly state, ‘Phil is not eating.’ Although Richard takes Leah’s role, something is missing/ wrong as Phil is not eating. This is significant. Does he realise he needs Leah? The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Uncovering Secrets, Reuniting Relatives, and Upending Who We Are (Hardcover) Genes carry biological information that must be copied accurately for transmission to the next generation each time a cell divides to form two daughter cells. Two central biological questions arise from these requirements: how can the information for specifying an organism be carried in chemical form, and how is it accurately copied? The discovery of the structure of the DNA double helix was a landmark in twentieth-century biology because it immediately suggested answers to both questions, thereby resolving at the molecular level the problem of heredity. We discuss briefly the answers to these questions in this section, and we shall examine them in more detail in subsequent chapters.

Richard is a member of the group of teens at the center of the play who, in spite of appearing intimidating and even potentially violent at the beginning of the play, becomes calmer and more… By Act 3 Scene 3 Cathy is ‘second in command’ as she is charged with killing Adam. A conversation takes place between her and Phil and despite Leah’s attempts to be heard, she is ignored by them both (p58) Lou has no complicated speeches but instead speaks using simple sentences or short phrases. Phrases such as ‘We’re screwed’ (p34) make her appear young/ not assertive and relies on being given instruction. She also appears to believe the lies the group have created (p35) Had to read this for drama class in school. Thought that it was okay. I felt that the characters were very different and were all quite interesting, although were not developed very well (probably because the play itself was so short).What is Life? Decades of research have resulted in the full mapping of the human genome - three billion pairs of code whose functions are only now being understood. The gene's eye view of life, advocated by evolutionary biology, sees living bodies as mere vehicles for the replication of the genetic codes. This was my final read of the play before my exam & this is by far my favourite text we have studied for English. I love the characters, the philosophical and ethical meanings, the idea of nature VS nurture & especially the way Kelly diverts the audience's expectations through the use of anti-pastoralism to communicate the misconceptions of Teenagers. Scene 1: The audience learn that someone is ‘not going’…this is a reference to Brian not going to the police station

Scene 1: Mark and Jan discuss that someone is ‘dead’ and this throws the audience into the middle of the action. Again, this word laughing is repeated throughout the scene. However, it is also punctuated with other words such as, ‘ terrified’, ‘ crying’, ‘ stubbed out cigarettes’, ‘ punch him’, ‘ pegged a stone’. From very early on in the play, Cathy is shown to have no remorse about the groups’ actions. She finds the situation ‘exciting’ and ‘better than ordinary life’ (p16). Her excitement grows when she is asked by the TV for an interview. She shows no concern for Adam and the real reason why the cameras are at the TV station and instead focuses on her own gain: " They might even give me money for it, do you think I should ask for money?" (p36). I also enjoyed seeing Phil and Leahs relationship evolve, the way the two characters interacted was mostly coming from Leah's side. But when Leah moves away, we see that Phil is deeply affected by this, even though he appeared not to care much about Leah. These characters act as the ‘chorus’ or narrators. They throw the audience directly into the action at the beginning of each Act and are useful as they fill in any blanks for us.Collins presents cutting-edge science for lay readers who want to take control of their medical lives. He discusses cancer, obesity, aging, racial differences, and a host ofother concerns, as well as the medical advances directly attributable to the Human Genome Project. He is also not shy about taking on large political issues: he points out problems with our current health-care system, discusses stem-cell research, and ina cogent commentary, recommends—with caveats—direct-to-consumer DNA testing. He does a superb job of humanizing a complex scientific and medical subject.

Richard: " Cathy doesn’t care. She’s too busy running things…She’s insane. She cut off a first year’s finger, that’s what they say anyway." A group of teenagers do something bad, really bad, then panic and cover the whole thing up. But when they find that their cover-up unites them and brings harmony to their once fractious lives, where is the incentive to put things right. The past few years have witnessed a revolution in our ability to obtain DNA from ancient humans. This important new data has added to our knowledge from archaeology and anthropology, helped resolve long-existing controversies, challenged long-held views, and thrown up remarkable surprises. In this groundbreaking book, journalist and innovation expert Warren Berger shows that one of the most powerful forces for igniting change in business and in our daily lives is a simple, under-appreciated tool--one that has been available to us since childhood. Questioning--deeply, imaginatively, "beautifully"--can help us identify and solve problems, come up with game-changing ideas, and pursue fresh opportunities. So why are we often reluctant to ask "Why?"Act 2: The group finding out that an actual existing postman has been accidentally wrongfully accused of the crime. However, I found the whole thing quite...bizarre, I guess? At times, it felt like it was trying to be too edgy just for the sake of being edgy and not really adding to the story. I am a scientist with a love for fiction, and I’m very intrigued by and like to explore the intersections of science with the rest of the world— art, fiction, race, religion, life, and death. I bring these intersections into my teaching and writing. Over the past 30 years, I’ve taught TibetanBuddhist monks and nuns, undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, physicians and professors at Emory University, cadets at the Air Force Academy, and the general public. Why does science matter? Why is it beautiful? Dangerous? It’s the novelists who tell us best.