“As Many Exceptions As Rules” is a free online resource in which exceptions to natural and biological rules and stories of adaptation and diversity are used to illustrate and reinforce the core concepts of biology.

Posted weekly by Mark Lasbury of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the IUPUI School of Education, each story includes pertinent vocabulary with etymology, interesting questions to spark discussion, links to the reports from the latest research on the subject being discussed and a list of online resources for more information and classroom activities.

Some recent stories addressed include:

  • Did you know that some moving parts of cells don’t move at all, and that this makes them even more important?
  • Did you know that roundworms are the most numerous animals on Earth, even though their male gamete cells can’t swim?
  • Did you know that some plants can swim on their own?

Upcoming topics will include how your brain is connected to overeating by a single hair on your brain cells, and how the tiniest change in our bones will allow us to travel to Mars and beyond. Finally, do you think you know where your heart is? Many people are wrong even if they point to the normal place.

Click here to access the resource. To receive weekly email notifications of new posts, email Lasbury at lasburymark1@hotmail.com.