Genes to Cognition (G2C) Online
www.g2conline.org
In 2005, we began development of Genes to Cognition (G2C) Online, a site on current research on the molecular basis of human thinking and disorders of thinking. The project is revolutionary because it was built in parallel with a major international research program—its namesake G2C at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute—and because it will employ a nonlinear, network structure designed to provide a user-driven learning experience.
Genes to Cognition (G2C) Online examines thinking and disorders of thinking across six levels of analysis: Genes, Biochemicals, Cells, Brain, Cognition (Behavior), and Environment. If site visitors are interested in autism, they will be able to view the disorder through a number of lenses that represent a continuum of approaches to science. So, autism is seen not only as a disorder of behavior, but a disorder of the brain, of neural circuits that make up the brain, of cells that make up these circuits, of proteins that signal within these cells, and, finally, of genes that encode these proteins.
We have incorporated two ways of exploring the site: users can interact with the dynamic networks maps to explore more than 750 items of unique content, or choose to follow the Selected Items ‘Subway Line’ for a tour of highlighted content. G2C Online features a variety of content: 2- and 3-D animation, demonstrations, interactive maps, text articles, and video interviews. Interactive tools, including the G2C 3-D Brain, Fly School, Model Center, and Chromosome Map of Disorders and Processes, will be sure to engage visitors. History, search, and glossary features assist with exploration.
G2C Online was produced by the Dolan DNA Learning Center of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The project was supported by the Dana Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
EDUCATORS:
We offer 1 ½-day workshops on using G2C Online in your classroom.
This 1.5-day workshop introduces educators to up-to-date neuroscience research using interactive, web-based experiments. From molecular signals, to neural circuits, to anatomical structures of the brain, participants explore thinking and disorders of thinking at different levels of complexity. A new Internet site, Genes to Cognition Online, provides resources to teach the complex workings of the brain, including unique learning aids that allow students to build concept maps to visualize the learning progress.
