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The air that you breathe indoors may be dangerous to your health. How can we make indoor environments safer?

• Apply aerobiological engineering principles to buildings to control the bioaerosols in our indoor environments.
• Retrofit old buildings or specifically design new buildings to control airborne microbes.
• Develop regulatory standards for indoor environments.
• Become educated about sources and transmission routes of airborne pathogens.

A warming climate is altering sea ice conditions, which affects polar bears in many ways, including:

• more difficulty in getting to and hunting prey
• fewer den areas and lower cub survival
• increased interactions between bears and humans
• lower survival rate of the species in general

Mollusk species, such as snails and clams, are disappearing, but you may not know it since they do not typically stir up strong feelings. However, certain species

• have commercial value as food and medical research
• provide important nourishment and shelter (discarded shells) for other animal life
• keep the water clean by recycling nutrients through their systems

In response to the crisis of amphibian declines, the Amphibian Ark (AArk) would

• coordinate conservation activities
• assess amphibian species that may go extinct
• keep endangered species in captivity in suitable locations, such as zoos
• release animals into the wild when their survival can be assured

Genetic testing to predict disease can be helpful to individuals and some families but poses ethical, legal, and social questions. For example:

• Do you know your privacy rights when it comes to genetic testing?
• Does a doctor have a right to share your information with family?
• Would you allow a child to have genetic testing?
• Would you use genetic testing to choose the “right” embryo?

Fostering scientific literacy empowers students to:

• understand the basic concepts in the media and civic policy
• improve inquiry and critical thinking skills
• make connections about our interaction with the natural world

Viruses will continue to be a big threat because human ecology has changed. Did you know?

• RNA viruses evolve six times faster than human DNA.
• Viruses are parasites. They cannot exist by themselves.
• A virus is not picky about its host—as long as the host has the right cells for it to survive. That is why it can jump to humans from other species.

The decline of pygmy rabbits in the Columbia Basin in Washington State indicate trouble for groups of these animals elsewhere in the U.S. Using the ideas presented here, other organizations can

• discover what types of diseases and predators afflict the species;
• gather information about preserving habitat; and
• learn how to initiate repopulation in threatened areas.

Aging has lately been linked to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage.

• Mitochondrial DNA provides energy to the cells; when damaged, they do not provide the energy they need to help you function properly and you get sick.
• Damaged mitochondrial DNA in genetic diseases is similar to damaged mitochondrial DNA seen in older humans, only the damage presents itself much sooner.
• Humans are programmed to overeat—to “store up for winter,” but by overeating, mtDNA produces oxygen radicals that damage our bodies.

Some scientists have proposed a controversial idea for rewilding North America with megafauna that went extinct 13,000 years ago. They claim the idea would:

• restore balance to North American ecosystems
• create an ecological history park accessible to all
• add to the economy of nearby rural areas