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AP Biology
The AP Biology course studies the core scientific principles, theories, and processes that govern living organisms and biological systems. Through this investigation of natural phenomena, students are exposed to a variety of subjects such as Environmental Science, Medical Research, Statistics, and Public Health. Bolster your AP classroom with these resources and encourage students to see how their lessons fit a broader picture of society.
BIG IDEAS CAN START SMALL
Take the following resource: A Tale of Two Zip Codes. The four-minute video introduces a central concept of public health, the impact of social factors on predictors of life expectancy. How can this fit into the AP Biology curriculum? Consider how the video can fit into lessons on heredity—help your students think beyond DNA.
The College Board encourages AP Biology students to use the course to find a path to 52 majors and 103 careers. Find out how your students may someday impact society.
AP Biology Resource Library

Race
Climate Refugees: Nations under threat
Focused on the country of Kirobas, this eight-minute video addresses the way climate change disproportionately affects island communities.
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

Gender+Sexual Orientation
What the Cluck? How a Hen Turned Into a Rooster
This study is about chickens taking on the physiological behaviors of roosters, having everything except being able to lay eggs. They crow, have the same feathers as roosters, have spurs, and other physiological factors because they can develop male sex organs if their left ovary gets damaged or atrophies.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Sexual Orientation
To Survive Climate Catastrophe, Look to Queer and Dibbled Folks
This Op-Ed describes the efforts of queer disabled organizers to build climate resilient communities. The article calls for the recognition of many types of communities and their role in supporting our society, much like each component in the Earth's ecosystem.
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

Race
If You Want Clean Water, Don't Be Black in America
Using Flint, Michigan as a preliminary case study, this article describes water issues in relation to race throughout America
Duration:
45-60+ Minutes

Race+Gender
Study Links Gas Flares to Preterm Births, With Hispanic Women at High Risk
This article recognizes racial disparity in a women’s health issue caused by gas flares.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Race
Clinical Trials Have Far Too Little Racial and Ethnic Diversity
Many clinical trials are composed of 80 to 90% white patients, despite almost 40% of all Americans belonging to minority groups. This article explains the importance of diversity in clinical drug trials.
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

Gender
When disease strikes, gender matters
This Harvard panel discusses the importance of identifying differences between men and women when conducting disease research. This resource is pivotal to the understanding of the need for gender representation in clinical trials.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Gender
The Gender Spectrum: A Scientist Explains Why Gender Isn't Binary
This source is about non-binary individuals, and how the gender spectrum is not binary, instead following a bimodal distribution with higher probability of being on one side or the other. This source talks about the genetic factors of being intersex, the physiological factors that show gender and how is a spectrum, and ends with examples in the animal kingdom that don't follow the gender binary or can become transgender.
Duration:
45-60+ Minutes

Race
Human Genomics Research Has a Diversity Problem
Currently, minorities makeup less than 22% of genetic studies. This NPR article discusses the importance of involving minorities in genetic studies by providing examples of genetic variation between races and their contributions to different diseases
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

All
A Tale of Two Zip Codes
This 4-minute video explains how a person’s zip code has a larger impact on their health outcome than their genetic code.
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

Race
The Coronavirus Is Killing Black Americans at an Alarmingly High Rate
This article discusses the racial disparities within coronavirus mortality rates in black communities. They provide a lot of statistical evidence and explain possible causes of this disparity
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Sexual Orientation
Gay doctor passionately rallies against an 'old prejudice'
Nick McIntosh explains his desire to help people by giving blood but how Australia has bans on gay and bisexual men giving blood.
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

Race
The tribes paying the brutal price of conservation
This article shares the impact of conservation projects on international Native communities. The author focuses on the case study on the Central Kalahari game park in Botswana
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Gender
Climate breakdown 'is increasing violence against women'
Harvey covers a study which finds a correlated increase in gender-based violence with increases in environmental pressures.
Duration:
45-60+ Minutes

Race
Clean Water and Race
The water crisis as experienced by Black, Latinx, and Native Americans is shown in this article.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Race
Environmental Justice, Explained
A three-minute video which explains the origins of environmental justice issues and provides an overview of the subject.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Race
An Open Letter on DAPL
Jon Eagle Sr., a preservation officer for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, wrote this letter on the U.S. government’s treatment of tribal land.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Race
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obstetrics and Gynecology
This research article provides examples of racial disparities in women's health. The article also breaks down how patients, physicians, and the healthcare system contribute to these differences as well as provides potential solutions to reduce these disparities.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Race
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Henrietta Lacks visited Johns Hopkins Hospital for cervical cancer treatment. After she passed away, her cancer cells were discovered to be immortal and continued to multiply. Her cells were harvested without the permission of her family and used for research. These materials explain her and her family's story and how this event sparked conversations about ethics in medical research
Duration:
45-60+ Minutes

Gender
Are the Brains of Transgender People Different
This source is about the differences and similarities on transgender and cisgender brains. Although research is mixed, there's a general trend towards transgender individuals having the same brain structure as the gender in which they identify as, even when the studies are controlled for hormones.
Duration:
45-60+ Minutes

Race
Racism as a public health issue
On this episode of "Show Me The Science," scientists discuss the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of racism.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

All
The Social-Ecological Model
This article from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gives a basic overview of the socioecological model and how it is utilized for prevention efforts.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Race
Black, Latino patients more likely to undergo amputations
University of Southern California Professor David Armstrong speaks about amputations caused by diabetes, what Armstrong calls “an epidemic within an epidemic,” in this CNN article. The article also includes a short video on diabetes and its symptoms.
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

Race
Why are Black and Latino Kids More Likely to Die of Certain Cancers?
Published in 2018, this NPR article discusses a study by epidemiologist Rebecca Kehm about the effects of socioeconomic factors on childhood cancer survival.
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

Gender
Climate change is not gender neutral
This video, mentioned in the previous resource ("Is Ecofeminism still relevant?"), addresses the ways climate change is experience by women, as well as the way women's liberation can contribute to environmental progress.
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

Gender
Project Drawndown Solution: Health and Education
Project Drawdown's mission is to present solutions which would help the world reach "drawdown," the point at which greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and start to steadily decline. This solution focuses on the health and education of women.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Sexual Orientation
Seeking a New Lens to Study Same-Sex Behavior in Animals
Focusing on sexuality in evolution and animal biology, this New York Times article discusses a study from Yale and UC Berkeley researchers who seek to change the heteronormative assumptions of environmental science.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Race
Pollution Is Killing Black Americans. This Community Fought Back.
This feature discusses the efforts of a Black community in Philadelphia to reduce hazardous waste in their environment.
Duration:
45-60+ Minutes

Gender
Women in Science: Remembering Rosalind Franklin
This webpage highlights the importance of women in STEM by explaining the crucial role of Rosalind Franklin played in the discovery of DNA.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Race
Melanoma Among Non-Hispanic Black Americans
This is an analysis paper published on the CDC's webpage analyzing melanoma incidence and 5-year survival rates of non-Hispanic Black US- populations. Material provides resultant data and draws conclusions that healthcare providers need improved education on incidence of melanoma in non-Hispanic Black populations.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Sexual Orientation
How HIV Impacts LGBTQ People
This article explains disparities in HIV treatment and research. It provides inferences for why HIV disproportionately affects gay men and minorities.
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

Race
An Indigenous bioethicist on CRISPR and decolonizing DNA
An interview with Navajo bioethicist-geneticist Krystal Tsosie on the ethical implications of CRISPR-Cas9.
Duration:
45-60+ Minutes

Race
Coronavirus and Water Access
Individuals living in low-income rural communities do not have access to safe drinking water and must rely on bottled water. This article explains how the need for water has been exacerbated due to the global pandemic and why it needs to be addressed.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Race
Huge Racial Disparities Found in Deaths Linked to Pregnancy
This article brings attention to the health disparity found in maternal rates in the United States. The US has the highest maternal mortality of developed countries, and racial disparities are even more drastic with the United States. Doctors and public health officials explain risk factors, causes of death, and possible solutions to the crisis.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes

Race
Ethnic and Racial Minorities & Socioeconomic States
From the American Psychological Association, this article defines socioeconomic status, its relation to race, and how it affects societies' physical and psychological health.
Duration:
5-20 Minutes

Race
TED Talk: The toxic baby
Filmmaker Penelope Jagessar Chaffer presents during TEDWomen 2010 discussing the harmful effects of hormone altering chemicals on our children. She invites University of California, Berkeley Professor Tyrone Hayes to explain how the pesticide Atrazine has been linked to developing breast cancer and male sterilization, especially among men working in agriculture who tend to be Mexican American.
Duration:
25-40 Minutes