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Futurebody
Futurebody
Future Body
LENGTH OF LESSON:
Two class periods
GRADE LEVEL:
6-8
SUBJECT AREA:
Human Body
CREDIT:
Audrey Carangelo, freelance curriculum developer.
OBJECTIVES:
Students will understand the following:
1. The human body uses electric signals to send messages to and from the brain.
2. The human nervous system uses these signals to permit the body to sense, move, and
act in the world.
3. Computer chips or electrodes might someday repair or augment that system.
MATERIALS:
For this lesson, you will need:
Research materials about the human nervous system and about cyborg technology
Computer with Internet access
PROCEDURE:
1. Ask your students if they have ever heard the term cyborg. Establish that a cyborg is a
human that has machine parts incorporated into his or her body.
2. Ask students if they can think of any ways that people today benefit from cyborg
augmentation, or increase in some physical function due to electronic or mechanical
parts. Lead them to realize that contact lenses, hearing aids, cochlear implants in the ear,
artificial hearts, and artificial joints and limbs are all examples of cyborg augmentation.
(Students might be interested to learn that the word cyborgoriginated in science fiction
but is now used as a scientific term.)
3. Next, review with the students what they know about the human nervous system. How
do messages travel to the brain from our sense organs, and from the brain to other parts of
our bodies? Make sure students know that the nervous system transits electric signals to
send messages to and from the brain and that these signals permit the body to sense,
move, and act in the world.
4. Ask students to conjecture, with the above discussion in mind, about how cyborg
technology in the form of computer chips or electrodes could be used to augment people's
ability to see and hear or help people who have sensory impairments. (You might mention
that recently the brains of ferrets were rewired so that a part of their brains that
ordinarily carried only sound messages was able to carry visual messages as well. New
York Times, 2/25/00.)
5. Have students research the human nervous system, particularly the ways that electric
signals permit the body to sense and move.
6. Have students work in groups to create posters with informative labels about how the
electrical system in the body works. Posters should indicate points at which computer
chips or electrodes might someday repair or augment that system.
7. Encourage students to give oral reports and present their posters to the class.
ADAPTATIONS:
EXTENSION:
Nano-Invention
Have students research simple machines and tools, and then apply the concepts they
uncover to invent new pieces of nanotechnology. Suggest that students focus on how their
new piece of technology might work inside the human body. To get them started, provide
them with an example or two, like a miniature screw that could be used to hold damaged
tissue cells together. When their inventions are complete, ask them to prepare an
informative brochure that explains their new piece of nanotechnology. Make sure that
they include graphic displays.
Resistance Is Futile
Many science-fiction books, movies, and television shows depict future applications of
cyborg technology. Lead a class discussion about the entertainment world's vision of the
cyborg future. Raise the idea that, although cyborg technology is very useful to
humankind, it might run amok in the future. Encourage students to imagine this kind of
scenario and collaborate with classmates to write and perform a radio or television play
about a disastrous situation involving cyborgs or nanotechnology. When students are
confident about their performance, encourage them to record or videotape their play or
perform it for other classes.
SUGGESTED READINGS:
Future
Michael Tambini. Knopf (Eyewitness Books), 1998.
See beautifully colored pictures and illustrations of future home workstations, pocket-size
TVs, virtual reality robo-pals, High Speed Surface Transport (HSST), and of cars that
use a navigational computer so that they don't need a driver, brakes, or a steering wheel!
You'll also find a calendar of the future which predicts that artificial blood and ears will
be available in 2001 and robotic pets will be here in 3014. Do you agree?
21st Century Earth: Opposing Viewpoints
Oliver W. Markley and Walter R. McCuan, editors. Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1996.
Read these fascinating essays with different viewpoints on topics such as the impact of
new technologies, intelligent machines, extending human longevity, making robots more
humanlike, and making contact with aliens. Evaluate what you've read and decide which
point of view you support.
WEB LINKS:
genetic engineering
The science of altering the genes of a plant or animal.
Context:
Through genetic engineering, scientists can create new breeds.
implant
Something embedded, especially in human tissue.
Context:
In the near future doctors will correct people's vision by inserting a tiny computer chip
implant behind the eye's retina.
ACADEMIC STANDARDS:
Grade Level:
6-8
Subject Area:
health
Standard:
Knows essential concepts about the prevention and control of disease.
Benchmarks:
Understands how lifestyle, pathogens, family history, and other risk factors are related to
the cause or prevention of disease and other health problems.
Grade Level:
6-8, 9-12
Subject Area:
life science
Standard:
Understands the genetic basis for the transfer of biological characteristics from one
generation to the next.
Benchmarks:
Benchmark 6-8:
Knows that hereditary information is contained in genes (located in the chromosomes of
each cell), each of which carries a single unit of information; an inherited trait of an
individual can be determined by either one or many genes, and a single gene can
influence more than one trait.
Benchmark 9-12:
Knows the chemical and structural properties of DNA and its role in specifying the
characteristics of an organism (e.g., DNA is a large polymer formed from subunits of four
kinds [A, G, C, and T]; genetic information is encoded in genes as a string of these
subunits and is replicated by a templating mechanism; each DNA molecule in a cell
(e.g., scientists propose explanations for questions about the natural world that are always
tentative and evolving, and engineers propose solutions relating to human problems,
needs, and aspirations; both science and technology depend on accurate scientific
information, and they cannot contravene scientific laws).
Benchmark 9-12:
Knows that science and technology are pursued for different purposes (scientific inquiry
is driven by the desire to understand the natural world and seeks to answer questions that
may or may not directly influence humans; technology is driven by the need to meet
human needs and solve human problems).
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