Lee Berger Announcement of Homo naledi Burial & Cave Etchings John S. Mead 2023-06-06 | Dr. Lee Berger's announcement of evidence that Homo naledi buried their dead in the Dinaledi Chamber of Rising Star Cave as well as his discovery of cave etchings attributed to Homo naledi. Presented at Stony Brook University on June 5th 2023 as part of the Richard Leakey Memorial Conference.
Feasting Paramecium John S. Mead 2023-01-18 | Paramecia feeding on carmine powder - showing off how quickly they form food vacuoles!#Microscopy300Years
Today in Microscope Lab - Didinium John S. Mead 2023-01-13 | My students captured Didinium undergoing binary fission and captured final moment of separation ( cytokinesis) #Microscopy300Years
Happy Microbe Holidays! John S. Mead 2022-12-23 | Enjoy the beauty of glowing orbs of Volvox swimming in darkfield.
Meads Microbe Mystery John S. Mead 2022-12-15 | My students & I have created infusoria and took a peek at the early blooms of protists and are debating what the two most common species are -- what do you think? Share your ideas in the comments!
Microsafari: Worming around with Aeolosoma John S. Mead 2022-02-20 | A Microsafari featuring the annelid worm Aeolosoma - a common freshwater micro worm that is not harmful to humans.#Microscopy300Years
A Decade of Classroom Madness : The Birth, Growth and Evolution of March Mammal Madness John S. Mead 2022-02-11 | Dr. Katie Hinde addresses the February 2022 session of the Texas Association of Biology Teachers Speaker series. She shares the history of March Mammal Madness and the status of the upcoming 2022 tournament.
Microsafari: Paramecium Pooping John S. Mead 2022-01-26 | A short video that illustrates one paramecium controlling homoeostasis via feeding , expelling water via the contractile vacuole and "pooping" via the exocytosis.#microscopy300years
Microsafari: Cyclops The Copepod John S. Mead 2022-01-25 | A short swim with the frantic copepod called Cyclops. This video show the basic anatomy of a copepod, their behavior, as well as females carrying egg sacs. You'll also see the immature form call "nauptilus"#Microscopy300Years
Microsafari: Bursaria truncatella John S. Mead 2022-01-24 | A fantastic encounter with the HUGE ciliate Bursaria truncatella that feeds like a vacuum cleaner.
Microsafari: Closterium John S. Mead 2022-01-22 | A brief look at the desmid alga Closterium - featuring views of its nucleus and the mysterious terminal vacuoles with vibrating gypsum crystals
Microsafari: Micrasterias & a surprise visitor John S. Mead 2022-01-15 | This microsafari is focused on the stunning desmid Micrasterias but we had an interloper join the fun & steal the show.
Microsafari: Euglena John S. Mead 2022-01-13 | This Microsafari centers on a single Euglena swimming close to some Spirogyra. You can easily see the eyespot, style of locomotion as well as the chloroplasts structure of the Spirogyra.
Microsafari: Up Close With Vorticella John S. Mead 2022-01-09 | This video takes a close up look at a single Vorticella individual as it feeds. You can observe both the action of cilia in feeding as well as the movement of food vacuole sin the cell body.
MicroSafari: Vorticella and Dead Ostracod John S. Mead 2022-01-07 | Discovered a small colony of Vorticella anchored onto a decaying ostracod body.
Microsafari: Paramecium 2022 John S. Mead 2022-01-06 | This short video of paramecia feeding was recorded from a pond sample that was allowed to age for several weeks and looked "lifeless" to the naked eye. Filmed using the 40X objective.
Microsafari: Mosquito Larva John S. Mead 2021-12-13 | Video of a mosquito larva captured in a local pond sample.
Microsafari encounter: Ostracods John S. Mead 2021-12-10 | A Microsafari encounter & exploration with some ostracods, a crustacean.
Human Cheek Cells John S. Mead 2021-12-09 | Views of Human cheek cells at 40X magnification. Recorded with my 6th grade students as part of our introductory microscope work.
Table Salt & Kosher Salt Crystals under the microscope. John S. Mead 2021-12-08 | A quick look at both table salt & kosher salt crystals at low (4X) and medium (10X) power.
Intro to Microscopy: The Letter e John S. Mead 2021-12-08 | Recording of the traditional "Letter e" sample viewed by many intro microscopy students. Incluses views at Low power (4x objective), Medium power (1x objective) and High power (40x Objective).The original print was made by a color copy machine and the print was Times new roman 12 point font.
Microscopic Salt Crystal Formation During Evaporation John S. Mead 2021-12-08 | During class my students & I filmed salt crystals forming while water evaporated. (Time lapse)
A Quarantine Conversation with David Quammen & Evolution Educators. John S. Mead 2020-05-07 | A Zoom conversation between author David Quammen and evolution educators from the National Center for Science Education and the Teacher Institute of Evolutionary Studies during the COVID-19 Quarantine period in May, 2020.
A Quarantine Conversation with Dr. Neil Shubin and Evolution Educators John S. Mead 2020-04-30 | A Conversation between Dr. Neil Shubin and members of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) and Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Studies (TIES) communities on April 28,2020
A Quarantine Conversation with Dr. Spencer Wells John S. Mead 2020-04-29 | Geneticist Dr. Spencer Wells visits with a group of evolution educators from the National Center for Science Education and the Teacher Institute of Evolutionary Studies during the COVID-19 Quarantine period in April, 2020.
A Covid -19 Conversation with Dr. Nathan Lents John S. Mead 2020-04-21 | On April 21, 2020 I had the privilege to interview molecular biologist Dr. Nathan Lents of John Jay College about his recent case of COVID-19.
A Conversation with Neil Shubin & Members of the Human Evolution Summer Teacher Workshop John S. Mead 2020-04-10 | Dr. Neil Shubin was generous to share time on 4/10/2020 to talk with members of the Human Evolution Summer Teacher Workshop. This is that conversation. Many thanks to Dr. Shubin for his time and allowing us to share the conversation here.
A COVID 19 Conversation with Dr Spencer Wells John S. Mead 2020-03-05 | My middle school students and I have been studying the COVID-19 outbreak for several weeks we have been lucky enough to have Dr. Spencer Wells agree to share his thoughts on the outbreak during a break in his travels through Southeast Asia. This conversation occurred on 3/3/2020 and all numbers reflect data available on that day.
Pond Water Zoo Test - Species Image Review John S. Mead 2020-01-13 | This is a review of species pictured in the book, Pond Water Zoo. Each species covered in the book as a 20 second clip which is identified in the last 5 seconds of the clip as a review tool for my students.You can get a review video featuring actual video clips filmed by students & myself at youtu.be/IFjQHroK5hM
Pond Water Zoo Test Review 2020 John S. Mead 2020-01-12 | This is the review video for my students as they prepare for our Pond Water Zoo Test which has a practical section based on the organisms they observed under the microscope. You can also see last year's review video at youtu.be/xtWvQOKtQnU
Wandering Water Bear Or Travels with a Tardigrade John S. Mead 2020-01-08 | Relax and join a water bear as it wanders across our slide. Seems like a Winnie The Pooh of the microworld!
Euplotes Feeds John S. Mead 2020-01-03 | In this video the hypotrich ciliate Euplotes has just captured a smaller unidentified ciliate. The remainder of the video shows how it hold the prey in its oral groove and eventually ingests it before continuing to attempt to feed on other passing items.
Up Close With Didinium John S. Mead 2020-01-03 | An individual didinium that was found in a "Pond Water Zoo" I maintain with my middle school students. I used Methyl cellulose ( "Proto-Slo") to slow it down so that it could be observed using a 40X objective lens.
Amoeba feeds! 2019 Version John S. Mead 2019-12-14 | Over the course of 30 minutes in class we observed this single amoeba engulf three euglena. This video shows the events along with annotations to detail the experience.
Dr. Lee Berger - Our Human Origins Story : A Paleoanthropologists Perspective John S. Mead 2019-07-16 | Dr. Berger's Skype visit with the participants of the 2019 Human Evolution Summer Teacher Workshop in Gainesville, Florida on July 15, 2019.
Teaching About the Five Deeps Expedition May 14 2019 John S. Mead 2019-05-14 | News clip of John Mead Teaching about the success of the five Deep Expedition.
Dividing Didinium John S. Mead 2019-03-23 | My students and I saw this Didinium undergoing binary fission in a sample with Paramecia.
Twisted spirostomum John S. Mead 2019-03-03 | My middle school students & I encountered this odd Spirostomum in aged pondwater. Unlike "normal" ones it is twisted like a pretzel and moves slowly. A normal Spirostomum zips around with great urgency and never stays twisted for more than a few seconds.Our hypothesizing about this individual continues.... feel encouraged to offer your thoughts in the comments below!
Vorticella - The Bell Animalcule John S. Mead 2019-02-28 | We encountered this colony of Vorticella in a campus pond here in Dallas, TX. These ciliates filter feed and use their contractile stalks to position themselves for more efficient feeding & to respond to perceived threats.
